EDUCATION UPDATEMarch 2000Curriculum and Learning

UNICEF: Curriculum and Learning

What is UNICEF’s orientation in its support of governments in developing schoolcurricula? UNICEF wants to ensure that curriculum outcomes support quality education,provide equitable pathways for learning for girls and for boys, and teach life skills forbetter living. The UNICEF agenda is mixed into all five orientations. Where is yourcountry along the road to learning?

In this volume of Education Update, a variety of articles from UNICEF-supportedprojects and other initiatives around the globe focus on learning and curriculum issues.The aim is to offer ideas and information that educators in UNICEF will find useful inworking with education systems, schools and groups of children.

Editorial

By Elaine Furniss, Senior Adviser, Education

In almost every UNICEF primary education project the same words are used: ‘introducechild-centred teaching methodologies’, ‘use cooperative learning strategies’, ‘givechildren opportunities to learn’. How able are we to ensure that education systems canachieve such lofty ideals?

Many of us have visited project sites and watched as eager young children seem todemonstrate that these ideals have been put into practice, and then, on observing moreclosely we have understood that such practices are often merely ‘putting on a good face’for the visitor or the funder. Children are eager learners and are keen to be involved inchanges of pace and new activities. But have you ever returned the day after a plannedproject visit, and found the groupings of children returned to desks in rows and rotemethods re-instated? I have.

How can we as teachers, planners and education managers become better observers ofwhat it is that children actually know and can do in classrooms? Mostly children arelearning in whole class instruction or even in groups, but as Marie Clay has written:“classes do not learn. Only individuals learn”.1

A recent study of the achievement levels of more than 5,200 people in families involvedin microcredit programmes in Bangladesh found that at least 29 per cent of the testedpopulation failed to master the lowest achievement level of performance in the four basicareas of reading, writing, written mathematics and oral mathematics. Only 10 per cent

achieved the minimum competency level in each area. Only one third of those who hadcompleted primary school achieved the minimum competency level in all four basicskills.2

This is not to single out a particular country; the results could be repeated in manycountries. It illustrates the point that getting children into school, and demonstrating thatthey are involved in modern, often western education activities, make little difference ifthere is little achieved.

For the observant teacher, the child is the creator of awareness. What the teacher has todo is to really understand what it is going on when learning is occurring. Writing abouteducator Eleanor Duckworth, Clay observes: “For her, curriculum can be taken to be thethings we do to engage students with matters we think are important. Minds get engaged,children see their own confusions, they learn to be tentative, and they learn theexcitement of owning ideas…The teacher’s task, Duckworth says, is to learn tounderstand someone else’s understanding.”

The research about learning would do better to reflect the “many false starts, half- correctprocesses, and much self-correction en-route to a recognisable product or achievement”rather than the orderly sequence of achievement it seems to suggest, Clay adds.

Clay provides some general principles for teaching from a learning point of view.Because intelligence and reasoning (processes such as evaluating during problem-solving, self-checking for understanding, linking new ideas with what is known) arelearned, teachers should ensure that they:

• Observe individual learners closely;• Tune in to what each child does;• Converse with individual learners; and• Give individual learners opportunities to demonstrate what they know and can do,

especially with the ways that they can learn how to learn.

Students should be able to find ways to use what they know to take on new learning. Thisobviously is not happening when we are faced with ‘displays’ of so-called learning whichwhen questioned are shown to be empty of meaning. An example: memorization of apoem or a song in a language that is totally unknown (often by the teacher as well). Manytimes when teachers have only the textbook, and a lock-step series of facts to teach, thereare few pegs onto which children can put what they already know and understand.Making links and finding pathways is the real job of teaching, and also realising thatchildren come to learning by many diverse routes.

1. Clay, M. M. By Different Paths to Common Outcomes, Stenhouse/ Heinemann, 1998. ISBN 0-86863-294-5.

2. Greaney, V., S. Khandker and A. Mahmudul. Bangladesh: Assessing Basic Learning Skills,University Press, 1999. ISBN 984 05 1419 X.

Progress on Programme Priorities:Improving Access to, and Quality of, Education

Sheldon Shaeffer, Chief, UNICEF Education Section

The Education for All (EFA) Assessment, efforts to include the excluded, and a variety ofschool-improvement projects were the focus of many UNICEF activities in 1999.Stronger links were forged with a variety of partners, and lessons were learned about thegender gap in school enrolment and the challenges of advancing a life skills curriculum.

I. The current situation

More children continue to be added to school rolls, part of a trend since mid-decade thatseems to be indicated by the national EFA reports and their regional syntheses, which arebeing analysed by the UNESCO Institute of Statistics. There are national exceptions tothis, unfortunately, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and in CEE/CIS countries, due bothto conflict and increasing poverty, and often large and stubborn pockets of excludedchildren elsewhere in the world.

Too many children are learning far less than either desired or taught for, however, oftendue to poor teaching environments and demotivated teachers, malnourishment and ill-health of children. This low achievement was indicated in results from studies conductedin more than 60 countries looking at quality through the UNICEF/ UNESCO Monitoringof Learning Achievement project.

Better reporting is providing a clearer picture of progress and challenges. Perhapsinspired by the EFA assessment exercise, UNICEF now more systematically reports ongains in enrolment as a result of UNICEF activities. But clear analyses of howUNICEF’s work itself is making a difference are still largely absent.

II. Focus of activities in 1999

The EFA Assessment will form the basis for a global review of progress at the WorldEducation Forum in April and also for follow-up assessment in the future. UNICEFoffices were involved in many aspects of the work, including: building capacity ofministry staff working on the Assessment, financing the data collection and analysisprocess, writing the final country report, and mobilising regional syntheses and meetings.

The year saw a strong focus on the “unreached” in activities focused on including theexcluded. Studies such as one in the Kyrgyz Republic explored the reasons why childrenare not in school or drop out, community education activities in refugee camps inTanzania emphasized the inclusion of children with disabilities, and cooperation betweenUNICEF and partners in Lao PDR and Viet Nam demonstrated that working withminorities requires long-term dedication and commitment.

A wider variety of more broadly-based school improvement projects took place in1999. The projects attempted to look at school quality more holistically, through healthand protection as well as learning, and to do this through stronger community and schoolpartnerships. With similar goals, they go by different names: the Whole School Approachin Nepal, the Active School in Bosnia-Herzogovina, the Healthy School Programme inEcuador, hygiene and health education projects in Tadjikistan and Turkmenistan.

III. Key results in 1999

A major result of the year’s activities was the production of 183 national reportsproduced through the EFA exercise. Education officers and advisers were committed tocompleting the reports, despite a shortage of time and resources, anticipating theirusefulness in building stronger national partnerships and more systematic and accuratebaseline data.

More and more countries are reporting specific results of UNICEF support in relation toincreased enrollment: 15,000 more children were enrolled in school in Eritrea and 27,000in Ethiopia (with a 20 per cent increase in girls’ enrolment); 36,000 in Peru and 37,000 inNicaragua (a 9 per cent increase overall); 85 per cent of refugee children in Macedonia;almost 1.5 million in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh and over 1 million across severalcountries of East Asia. An emphasis on education for girls and a more communityinvolvement in schools seems to have contributed to the enrolment achievements. InAfrica, between 1996 and 1998 the following countries showed increased enrolments forgirls: Benin, Eritrea, Guinea, Mali, Namibia, Niger, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda,and Tchad.

Somewhat fewer concrete results can be found for other activities. More teachers arebeing trained; many books are still being distributed, especially in emergency situations;and achievement scores are going up (there was a 12 per cent improvement in readingand writing in Peru, for example).

IV. Partnerships

Stronger linkages are being established in some countries between ministries of educationand health; a trend that will be enhanced by the new inter-agency school healthcomponent of child-friendly schools that is being added to ongoing education reformprogrammes in a number of countries, with support from the World Bank, UNESCO,UNICEF and WHO.

Another trend is that UNICEF continues to be more frequently involved in sector-wideapproaches, such as ESIP in Uganda, the BPEP in Nepal, and ESPD in Ethiopia. TheEFA process should provide an added incentive for such approaches.

Ongoing partnerships continued in 1999 with Ministries of Education, NGOs (notablywith the Forum for African Women Educationalists and partners of the SCF Alliance),

and other agencies. The partnership with UNESCO was critical, especially with regard toEFA.

V. Constraints and lessons learned

In addition to lack of resources and capacity, bureaucratic sluggishness, and otherlongtime constraints, two other areas of constraint were in the spotlight in 1999: thegender gap and the challenges of implementing life skills education.

Enrolment of girls is only the first step in attaining gender equality. More and moreprojects to promote girls’ education are being funded, and more and more girls are, infact, enrolling. But this does not automatically mean that girls will stay in school orachieve as much as boys. In some countries, girls’ enrolment is rising but boys’enrolment is rising even more quickly.

Developing a life skills curriculum is only the first step in getting it learned in theclassroom. More and more countries are going through the process of writing andpiloting a life skills curriculum, but they are also learning that a lack of resources fordissemination, government denial of the problem, and teacher and community resistanceto the message make actual use of it problematic.

VI. How UNICEF is making a difference

EFA: UNICEF's constant pressure on UNESCO and other major actors to undertake theEFA assessment process in a more systematic, professional, and participatory has made adifference. It contributed to stronger (and hopefully more sustainable) nationalassessment teams and more accurate and usefully disaggregated baseline data againstwhich further progress can be measured.

Girls’ education: The girls’ education framework is being applied in more than 60countries. More focused and context-specific projects are one important outcome.Specifically, UNICEF support is enabling the injection of gender sensitivity into ongoingnational education plans, policies and programme implementation by mainstreaminggender issues. Through strong advocacy, sensitisation and training initiatives, theprogramme has been able to ensure strong partnerships for girls’ education activities. Intargeted zones girls’ enrolment has improved and parents and communities areincreasingly supporting girls’ education. UNICEF is leading the UNDG Girls’ EducationInitiative, started by the Secretary General and designed to mount a sustained campaignto improve the quality and level of girls’ education worldwide.

Education in conditions of crisis and instability: In Kosovo, 97 per cent of children arenow in school, and UNICEF has been active in repairing schools, providing supplies andtraining for psycho-social support and mine awareness. In East Timor, education supplieswere distributed, construction materials supplied and over 7,000 teachers registered.UNICEF cooperated with WFP in setting up a school feeding programme and supplyingincentives for teachers. The HIV/AIDS crisis continued to affect school populations,

especially when parental death means that families can no longer afford to send childrenschools, as was often the case in Sub-Saharan Africa.

There has been a development of “umbrella organisational advocacy tools", in the wordsof one report. Multi-sectoral frameworks and priorities have gradually become clarified,as in the areas of child-friendly schools, ECC-SGD, life skills and other curriculumissues, girls’ education, and Education for Development. Fifty-nine country officeshelped complete a study of the ways in which UNICEF demonstrates concerns forgender-sensitive curriculum in diverse areas such as literacy, numeracy, life skillsapproaches in health, peace education and Education for Development. Another isplanned on teacher education. Programme understanding and advocacy were alsoenhanced through UNICEF Working Papers on Education in Emergencies and PeaceEducation; the newsletters Education Update and EDev News: The Education forDevelopment News Bulletn; the 1999 State of the World's Children, which focused oneducation; Girls at Work; and the implementation of interactive Web activities throughVoices of Youth and Teachers Talking About Learning.

Sources of the UNICEF Agenda for Curriculum

By Elaine Furniss, UNICEF New York

The UNICEF agenda for curriculum takes its beginnings from commitments made duringimportant global conferences convened by the United Nations in the 1990s to addressmajor developmental, economic, environmental and social concerns. The conferencesaddressed problems of a global magnitude that countries realized were beyond theirindividual capacities to solve: the well-being of children, basic education for all, primaryhealth care, basic social services for all, emergency assistance, food security,environmental protection, population, poverty eradication and the rights of women.

Issues raised at these conferences are related to the specific areas that UNICEF wouldlike to see articulated in primary school curricula: practical and relevant literacy andnumeracy curricula; support for life skills approaches in areas of health and safety, peaceeducation, education for development and other areas where values and skills for life arearticulated; and support for curriculum that is gender-sensitive. All curricula should haveclearly defined learning outcomes that link to national goals as well as to teacher trainingand professional development.

Curriculum response of UN conferences

World Conference on Education for All: Meeting Basic Learning Needs, Jomtien,1990

• Acquisition of literacy and numeracy;• Ensure quality learning outcomes especially for girls;

• Remove educational disparities for underserved groups: ensure curriculum isequitable and includes the concerns of rural and remote populations, nomads, migrantworkers, indigenous children, ethnic, racial and linguistic minorities.

World Summit for Children, New York, 1990• Acquisition of literacy and numeracy;

• Ensure quality learning outcomes especially for girls.

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 1992• Incorporate concepts of environmental awareness and sustainable developmentthroughout curricula;• Include education for environmental responsibility, with overriding attention toeducation of the girl child;• Revise curriculum materials to ensure gender relevant material and appreciation ofwomen’s roles.• Provide health and hygiene education.

World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna, 1993

• Curriculum should strengthen respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo, 1994

• Increase public awareness of the value of the girl child, and concurrently, tostrengthen the girl child’s self-image, self-esteem and status;

• Eliminate stereotypes in all types of communication and educational materials thatreinforce existing inequities between males and females and undermine girls’ self-esteem.

World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen, 1995• Introduce national languages;

• Ensure appropriate curriculum for children in especially difficult circumstances;• Ensure curriculum protects and promotes the rights of the child;

• Provide appropriate education to combat HIV/AIDS.

Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace,Beijing, 1995

• Ensure curriculum materials for teachers and educators that raise awareness about thestatus, role and contribution of women and men in the family;

• Ensure education curriculum is non-discriminatory especially with regard to skillsdevelopment for girls.

Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), Istanbul, 1996

• Ensure equal access to all levels of education and skills development for persons withdisabilities.

The list above identifies the sources on which UNICEF has based its concerns forcurriculum. UNICEF country programmes play a key role in lobbying governments toinclude issues raised at global conferences in national curricula.

Reference: Compendium of Social Issues from the United Nations Global Conferences in the90s, United Nations ACC Task Force on Basic Social Services for All, United Nations 1997.

21Principles for Curriculum Design

Excerpted from the forthcoming UNICEF Working Paper "Curriculum Report Card".

1. Curriculum is a process, not just textbooks and other learning materials. It includesintended, taught and learned curriculum.

2. National goals for education need to be linked with national assessment, pupils'learning outcomes, school curriculum, and teacher training curricula.

3. Curriculum needs to extend beyond an emphasis on acquiring fact-based knowledge toinclude skills, attitudes, and values.

4. Curriculum must specify adequate instruction time for basic subjects, especiallylanguage development and mathematics in primary grades.

5. Professionals with current teaching experience need to be involved at all levels ofwriting, developing, and evaluating curriculum.

6. Curriculum should be widely validated by parents, community members,teachers, ministries across sectors and the business community. This will buildunderstanding, support and confidence in schools and teachers.

Textbooks and Materials

7. Textbooks need to follow the clear, well-organized scope and sequence of thecurriculum and to be available when a new official curriculum is published.

8. Textbooks and materials need to be piloted before they are distributed widely.

9. National investments need to make provision for updates and changes to textbooksand learning materials.

Curriculum Review and Evaluation

10. The curriculum review and development cycle must proceed expeditiously to ensurethat the curriculum is relevant and current. For example, a ten-year cycle is too long.

11. Effective curriculum evaluation examines and makes judgments on the value ofintended, taught, and learned curriculum according to pre-set standards. Summativeevaluation should precede curriculum revision.

Curriculum Integration

12. Curriculum needs to be responsive to emerging issues as they arise, for example, LifeSkills approaches, whether they relate to HIV/AIDS prevention, Environment Education,

Peace Education, or Education for Development. It will often be necessary to incorporatenew agendas into curriculum.

Teaching and Teacher Education

13. Pupil achievement is enhanced if pupils first become literate in their mother tongue,but investments in first language texts of increasing complexity may be prohibitivelyexpensive. However, whatever the languages policy may be, teaching must be effectivefor pupils to achieve.

14. Curriculum also consists of how the teacher teaches and makes links with whatchildren already know. Direct improvement of teaching and learning at the classroomlevel can contribute to better learning outcomes, even in the face of a less than optimalcurriculum.

15. Teacher education and professional development need to include a curriculumdevelopment focus that helps teachers understand both curricula content and theprocesses involved in supporting learning (e.g., how to teach reading and writing andhow to assess student learning).

Learning Outcomes

16. The curriculum development process is most effective when learning outcomes andperformance standards are established first and then linked to what teachers must do toensure that learning takes place.

17. Learning outcomes should describe what children should know and can do, and theyshould be observable in the course of classroom life through a variety of mechanisms.Learning outcomes, not written tests, should drive the curriculum.

18. Establishing clear learning outcomes provides the context for practical assessment.

Assessment

19. Assessing student ability to perform specific learning outcomes needs to be viewedas a tool which helps teachers to know whether learning is occurring or not.

20. Assessment is more than testing children’s understanding. It also involves assessingthe entire educational system's ability to provide learning opportunities for children.

Curriculum Change

21. System-wide support is necessary for true curriculum change, especially for changeat the most important level, the classroom.

Making Comparisons Between CurriculaThe following is excerpted from “Packaging the Curriculum”, an article by Bruce Wilson, theCEO of the Curriculum Corporation in Australia and the Editor of the quarterly publication EQAustralia. Eight key learning areas form the basis for Australian curriculum. Although “there isnothing divine” about the number eight, writes the author, the process conducted during the1980s to reach greater national agreement about the curriculum resulted in a remarkable levelof agreement in the Australian federal system. Reprinted with permission.

The table on this page sets out in a brutally summarised form the results of a brief surveyof the issue in a number of English-speaking education systems. The categories alone, ofcourse, often hide as much as they reveal: terms like ‘technology’, ‘health education’ andeven ‘language’ turn out to mean different things in different locations.

There are also some caveats on the data. It was derived from the Internet, and while itcame from official sources, issues of currency and accuracy are hard to check. Officialsites are often prepared for informed local audiences rather than for independentresearchers, and it might be that the data has been misinterpreted in some cases.Certainly, there have been judgements made about meanings which require testing. Anobvious judgement is the presentation of the data in relationship to the Australiancategories, which has required some assumptions and some forcing of categories.

With all those caveats, however, there are some significant issues raised by this limiteddata set.

The first issue concerns the extraordinary achievement represented by the Australianconsensus. In comparable nations, notably the federal systems in Canada and the UnitedStates, there seems much less consensus beyond the core areas than in Australia. Thedifferences between Ontario and British Columbia in Canada are as great as thosebetween any two of the countries. By contrast, the national curriculum in England andWales provides the clearest statement of categories. The unitary political basis foreducation in England and Wales and two decades of national priority attention havesharpened the focus and solidified the public statements.

A second issue concerns citizenship education. If there is one candidate for a majoremerging area, this is it. In England and Wales, citizenship education is becoming astatutory requirement at secondary school and as an advisory component at primaryschool. Singapore has a strong focus on citizenship and moral education. Australia hascarried out a national intention to strengthen this area, with the support of all States andTerritories. A similar process is occurring in the United States, although without theformal engagement of the federal government to the extent which has occurred inAustralia.

Curriculum emphases

A significant issue concerns the focus or emphasis of the curriculum in differentcountries. Singapore has a strong focus on languages, with the intention that all studentswill be multilingual, and that more capable students will learn additional languages athigher levels.

In most countries, the issue of focus at the early years has been grafted on to a broadstructure. Australia is typical, in its concern about the overcrowded curriculum in theearly years, and a determination within education systems to focus on literacy andnumeracy. All countries now emphasise literacy and numeracy in this way, and thissometimes sits uncomfortably with the apparent formal commitment to the full range oflearning areas or subjects at these years.

A related issue concerns the broadening of the curriculum through the years of schooling.While Australian systems largely maintain a formal commitment to eight learning areasthroughout the compulsory years, the delivery of these areas is articulated in morespecialised ways in the more senior years. The clearest case in studies of society andenvironment, which is often in an integrated form in primary school but begins to appearas history, geography and other subjects in the secondary school.

This broadening appears in other forms. In the United Kingdom, modern languages arenot formally introduced into the national curriculum until secondary school. Businessstudies begins to appear in the later secondary years in some systems. Career education isoften not part of the formally specified curriculum, but is evident in most systems at somepoint in the secondary years. California has an area called ‘'School to career’, and Ontariohas senior subject called ‘Guidance and career education’.

Strong similarities

The clearest outcome of the analysis, however, is the evident similarity in curriculumstructure, especially in well-established areas. English, mathematics, science andlanguages are universal. Physical education is always there, usually accompanied bysome kind of health education (though the two categories are sometimes separated).There is always at least one category related to social sciences, although history is usuallyspecified as a category. There is always some commitment to the arts, though thespecific arts named often differ.

The area of greatest difference is also the newest and probably the least robust category.The categorisation of technology education differs substantially between countries. Thisvariety reflects both the newness of the area and its boundary problems, with the name‘technology’ unevenly reflecting information technology (IT), design and technology,and the old crafts.

The technology learning area in Australia includes some elements of informationtechnology within a broader technology context, but the predominant approach to IT isthrough integration in other learning areas. In England and Wales, the nationalcurriculum includes a subject called ‘information technology’ and another called ‘design

and technology’. In Singapore, IT is an emphasis at junior levels through integration, butbecomes a subject (computer applications) for some students in the secondary years.British Columbia specifies an area called ‘information technology’ in years 8 - 10, but itis integrated with other subjects. Ontario links science and technology.

Australia United Kingdom Singapore Ontario CaliforniaEnglish English English Language Language artsMathematics Mathematics Mathematics Mathematics MathematicsScience Science Science Science and

technologyScience

Languages otherthan English

Language Languages Languages(various)

Foreign language

Health andphysicaleducation

Physicaleducation (Sexeducation iscompulsory butnot part of theNationalCurriculum)

Health andphysicaleducation

Health andphysicaleducation

Studies ofsociety andenvironment

HistoryGeographyCitizenshipeducation

Social studies(primary)History,Geography, Civicsand moraleducationSocialstudies/sciences

Social studies /sciencesHistory,GeographyBusiness studies(9-10)

History - socialscience

The arts MusicArt

MusicArt and craft

The arts Visual andperforming arts

Technology Design andtechnologyInformationtechnology

Focus on IT butnot as a subject

Science andtechnologyTechnologyeducation (9-10)Guidance andCareereducation (9-10)

School to career

Education Curriculum: A Question of Quality

By Gwen Willems, Anne Gichuri, Jeanette Colby, and Grace Akukwe, ConsultingAssociates, Miske Witt & Associates

Introduction

What makes for quality in education? In addition to sustainable basic education,international research has contributed to consensus on essential elements: peaceeducation, gender equity, and reading and writing, within the context of planned learningoutcomes. In 1999, informal survey respondents from 59 countries helped UNICEFestablish a baseline understanding of how these issues emerge in curricula reform aroundthe world. Here is their ‘report card’.

Peace Education

UNICEF encourages an encompassing vision of peace education that addresses cognitiveand affective advances in children, but especially emphasizes the development of valuesthat lead to behavioral change.

A review of UNICEF survey responses indicated that:

• The majority of reporting countries (48, or 81 per cent) implement some form ofpeace education.

• Most reporting countries integrate peace education into other subjects; only threecountries designate it as a discrete class subject. Peace education is frequently taught inthe context of life skills; the two topics share behaviors and skills that UNICEF hopeslearners achieve for peace and health. Other subjects into which peace studies areintegrated include: civics, democracy issues, and social studies (21 countries, or 36 percent); language, reading, and writing (11, or 19 per cent); and values, religious, and moraleducation (18, or 31 per cent).

• Countries reported teaching peace education through a variety of differentapproaches. Most frequently taught are problem solving and conflict resolution ormanagement (16 countries, or 27 per cent); tolerance, respect, prejudice reduction, andnondiscrimination (13, or 22 per cent); and rights and responsibilities (12, or 20 per cent).

• Among exemplary countries that seem to model best practices are Sri Lanka andBurundi. The goals of Sri Lanka’s program, Education for Conflict Resolution, are tocreate attitudes of tolerance as well as understanding and methods of nonviolent conflictresolution. In Burundi, more than half of primary school teachers are trained to carry outpeace education activities.

• Some survey responses also demonstrated the difficulties of implementing peaceeducation and the need for in-service training to broaden teachers’ and administrators’knowledge of content and methodologies for peace education.

Gender Equity

The 59 countries reported improved gender inclusiveness in national curricula.Improvements have followed reform initiatives continually informed by discussions ofchallenges and an ability to recognize aims achieved. Findings underscore a significantneed for cross-country sharing of successes and failures on interventions undertaken.

Specifically:

• Over half (38 countries, or 70 per cent) reported interventions across curriculum,another fourth (15, or 28 per cent) reported lack of interventions, and the remainder (1, or2 per cent) reported no gender bias. Subjects targeted for interventions indicated anattempt at addressing gender both within the curriculum and as realities in broaderstudent experiences outside school.

• Textbooks were seen as part of both pedagogical arrangements and the learningenvironment. Almost half (28 countries, or 47 per cent) reported interventions and several(10, or 17 per cent) reported lack of interventions. Although obstacles to implementationswere discussed, the development of novel interventions to counter them was alsohighlighted.

• Teachers, students, and community members received training on gender bias andexclusion and on appropriate interventions. Over half of the countries reporting (16countries, or 70 per cent) discussed interventions, a few (3, or 13 per cent) reported need,and the remainder (4, or 17 per cent) reported lack of interventions. Much remains to bedone in this area.

• On access to schooling, pedagogical strategies, and classroom organization, over halfof the countries reporting (17 countries, or 60 per cent) discussed interventions, nearly afourth (7, or 23 per cent) stated need, and the remainder (2, or 7 per cent) reported thatinterventions were under development.

Learning Outcomes

Developing student understanding, rather than simple factual knowledge, represents thefoundation of real school reform efforts in this new century.

• Students build understanding not by memorizing texts and solutions, but by workingthrough material and integrating it into existing knowledge structures. Because learningoutcomes are complex and multidimensional, assessment must be performance-based, atleast in part, so that students can demonstrate what they know and are able to do. This

survey found that:

Nearly half of the respondents (28 countries) defined learning outcomes as what studentsknow and are able to do. About 25 per cent (15) continue to equate the term withtraditional achievement measures, however, such as performance on a test. Another 25per cent (16) did not respond or their definition was not clear.

• Just over 20 per cent of all respondents said that links between learning outcomes andcurricula exist (12 countries). About 28 per cent (16) said such links are not present.Almost 30 per cent (17) said links exist, but defined learning outcomes in the traditionalmodel of content coverage. The remainder (13, or 22 per cent) did not provideinformation.

• Only three countries, or 5 per cent of respondents, indicated that performanceassessment represents a major assessment vehicle. About 19 per cent (11) said thatcontinuous assessment plays an important role. Nearly 40 per cent (23) stated thattraditional, paper-and-pencil tests of factual knowledge dominate.

• Several respondents emphasized the critical role the teacher plays in linking learningoutcomes to curricula. The data point to the need for improved teacher education andprofessional development to help teachers implement new forms of teaching andassessment.

Reading and Writing

An overview of the progress report for initiatives to improve competency in reading andwriting programs showed the following trends:

• A majority of the programs are geared toward “passive knowledge” which has verylittle functional use for the student. This poses a problem when student evaluations assessoutcomes more closely linked to practical knowledge.

• Teachers often fail to reflect on their educational content or methods. What results isoften didactic pedagogy and rote memorization – two strategies that are often blamed forpoor student performance. Teachers’ indifference or lack of training may lead toinsufficient understanding of the activities/methods to be employed in achievingcompetency goals.

• Traditional language programs tend to concentrate on developing mastery of basiclanguage skills before providing opportunities to write. Such programs exemplified “apotential excess of teacher control, more limited range of functions [...] and mostimportant, an overemphasis on academic versus social language development” (Janus,1999).

• Successful programs incorporated environment and students’ daily life situations intoactivities that fostered the acquisition of reading and writing skills. This was especiallytrue for multilingual programs. Student performance reflected integrated instructionalactivities that challenged cognitive and critical thinking skills.

The reduction of reading and writing into compartmentalized activities such asvocabulary, comprehension, etc., seems not to be effective. There is an indication,however, that these skills are a transaction between the teacher, student, words, andenvironment, during which meaning is constructed (Zemelman, Daniels, & Hyde, 1993).

For further information or a list of references, contact Gwen Willems, College ofEducation and Human Development, University of Minnesota. E-mail:wille002@tc.umn.edu; Tel: (1 612) 624 3409 or (1 651) 646 8854.

Bhutan and Curriculum: Insights

By Marion Young, Consultant, UNICEF Bhutan

Modern education in Bhutan is not yet 40 years old. Until the early 1960s, monasticschooling constituted the only system of formal education in the Kingdom. Whenprimary education was first introduced in the country, government officials had to enticeparents to send their children to school. The children were needed at home to assist withthe farming work and the benefits of education were then not fully appreciated. For manyfamilies the distance between home and the closest school was a major limiting factor.Over the past four decades parents have begun to understand the social and financialbenefits of education and there has been a rapid expansion in the provision of, anddemand for primary education. As a consequence we now see a teacher shortage, acontinuing shortage in school facilities and resource materials, and an emerging problemof unemployed, educated youth.

New approach to primary education

A new primary curriculum was developed from the mid-1980s to replace the subjectbased curriculum and rote-learning methodology. The New Approach to PrimaryEducation (NAPE) is a child-centred, activity-based teaching and learning methodologywith learning materials and curricula that reflect the unique Bhutanese traditions andculture. The NAPE approach was declared as the nationally prescribed curriculum in allprimary schools by the mid-1990s having been piloted and phased into schools since thelate 1980s.

Bhutanese children are taught in English from their first day at school, aged six years old.English and Mathematics are taught in English. Environmental Studies and the nationallanguage are taught in Dzongkha. The Bhutanese curriculum also includes valueeducation or wholesome education for the overall development of the child.

Training for teachers and the provision of materials appropriate for Bhutanese childrenhave enabled the new curriculum to be fully implemented in primary schools across thecountry.

A comprehensive programme of in-service workshops has been organised at the school,district and national levels to introduce teachers to the new curriculum and teachingmethodology. The national level workshops are held during the long winter vacation forapproximately 1000 teachers each year. A Distance Education programme has beenintroduced through the National Institute for Education to provide in-service learningopportunities for teachers to upgrade their qualifications towards a BEd degree.

Curriculum materials, reading book for primary classses, teachers manuals and radioeducation broadcasts are examples of the materials that reflect the NAPE approach aswell as life in Bhutan.

Non-Formal Education

A programme of Non-Formal Education (NFE) is part of the country’s basic educationprovision. Conducted in the national language, Dzongkha, NFE was initiated in the 1980sto provide rural girls and women in particular with basic numeracy, literacy and lifeskills. Villages who demonstrate need and demand received support for a Basic Literacyprogramme that covers basic reading, writing and numeracy and includes topics onhealth, hygiene, family planning, agriculture, environment and cultural traditions.Additional issues are addressed in post-literacy materials.

A recent evaluation of NFE is an indication of the programme’s effectiveness. Comparedto non-students, students who had participated in NFE correctly answered 80 per cent ofliteracy problems, 90 per cent in simple maths calculations, and twice as high infunctional knowledge areas. Three-quarters (74 per cent) of NFE graduates reportedhaving kitchen gardens compared to 41 per cent of non-students. Improved hygiene andsanitation practices were also twice as high among former NFE students compared tonon-students. (See the Full-Scale Evaluation of Non-Formal Education in Bhutan, RGoBand UNICEF, 1999).

As Bhutan moves towards achieving its goal of education for all, Early ChildhoodDevelopment and Special Education for children who are physically and/or mentallychallenged will become new priority areas.

Curriculum Change in Zimbabwe

By Simon Mphisa, Education Project Officer, UNICEF Zimbabwe

The search for better quality and relevance through curriculum change has been adynamic force in education in Zimbabwe since the mid-eighties. In the past five years,key issues have been structural and organisational. To promote relevant and‘homegrown’ curriculum, O Level examinations have been localised from the CambridgeExamination Syndicate, and A Level examinations will be localised next. Downsizingand decentralisation in the Ministry of Education has affected progress in the short term,with Curriculum Development Unit staff reduced from 56 to 12 professional officers andthe recent tabling of a national report on education.

Some curriculum changes have been driven by forces outside of education, as in the caseof the HIV/AIDS Life Skills programme. The aim is to protect primary and secondaryschool children from the pandemic. Teacher training (both pre-service and in-serviceusing the cascade model) and materials production (for pupils and teachers) have beenmajor activities since 1994. The Ministry of Education has established HIV/AIDS LifeSkills as a mandatory subject.

Gender equity has become topical in the curriculum following the involvement ofwomen in the war of liberation. Workshops and mass media initiatives have targetedteachers, school heads, policy makers and parents (via School DevelopmentAssociations). The goal is to eliminate gender disparities that exist in education withregard to attendance, completion, participation and achievement of schoolchildren. To doso, the focus is on changing attitudes and approaches in education and ensuring thatteaching and learning materials are free from gender stereotyping. Special programmesare emerging for subject areas such as mathematics and science. The gender dimension ofthe HIV/AIDS pandemic has prompted the establishment of strong linkages with LifeSkills programmes.

Inclusive education is being spearheaded by the School Psychological Services throughtwo strategies: capacity-building for teachers and parents and materials production.Existing materials are being transformed, transcribed and adapted for use by childrenwith special learning abilities. In the future, special education schools are likely to beintroduced for the extreme cases where integration would not be effective. All teachereducation colleges plan to eventually offer an inclusive education component in thecurriculum, while in-service courses will be mounted for practising teachers. Parents arekey actors, as early identification of a special condition is critical to effective remediationor choice of approaches to adopt. Training for parents and local-language materials foruse at home are also being considered.

To incorporate human rights concepts in the curriculum, a programme entitled Educationfor Human Rights and Democracy has been introduced on a pilot basis. The overallaim is to enhance democratic processes and values by instilling attitudes of tolerance andan understanding of the rights and responsibilities of all individuals.

Peace education has also been introduced on a pilot basis. Closely linked to the humanrights programme, it emphasizes the removal of barriers associated with race, tribe orreligion. A ‘peace pack’ has been prepared for testing with a few selected schools.

Although some worry about ‘curriculum overload’, strong arguments for integration andmainstreaming have so far prevailed. Environment, conservation, health, hygiene,computers and efforts to address massive youth unemployment are among the next topicsin line for mainstreaming, or inclusion in some form.

African Girls' Education Initiative:Gender issues in curriculum

By Vigdis Cristofoli, Assistant Programme Officer, UNICEF New York

The African Girls’ Education Initiative (AGEI) encompasses programmes in 40 countriesthat utilize the approaches set forth in UNICEF Girls’ Education: A Framework forAction, which globally supports programmes in an additional 20 countries.

In terms of curriculum, the Framework identifies several strategies to address the specialneeds of girls. Areas for action include (1) improving the quality and relevance ofcurricula and (2) removing gender bias from all aspects of the curriculum and processesin the education system, including gender-biased stereotyping in textbooks and classinteractions. These strategies are often carried out through activities related to advocacy;gender sensitisation and training of politicians and curriculum developers at national,regional and local levels; support and assistance to development of textbooks andeducational material; training of teachers in new pedagogical methods such asimplementing child-friendly schools, life skills and gender issues.

Three AGEI initiatives are highlighted below in examples from Ethiopia, Guinea andZambia.

Decentralised curriculum development in Ethiopia

The Girls’ Education Programme in Ethiopia aims to improve the quality of education bymaking the curriculum more child-friendly in general, and more gender sensitive inparticular. Teachers are trained and new curricula have been developed at local levels.

In-service training is taking place at the level of regional school clusters. The focus is onimproving teaching-learning processes and introducing child-centered and participatorylearning approaches in primary school. A core teacher from each community (woreda)attends the training, and then returns to the community to train other teachers.Improvements are already indicated by teachers’ behavioural change and changes inteaching methods that reflect greater gender sensitivity. More than 1,350 core teachershave participated in training, and they in turn have trained 7,000 teachers. Theprogramme also facilitated the design and development of gender sensitive textbooks andeducational materials in several local languages to reflect life in communities andregions.

Non-formal approach to curriculum development in Guinea

Locally customized curricula are offered in Nafa Centers as part of the girls’ educationprogramme in Guinea. (“Nafa” means “benefit” in three local languages: Jula, Malanqueand Soussou.) This community-supported, non-formal alternative to primary educationprovides a ‘second chance’ for girls aged 10 to 16 and all children who never had a

chance to go to school or had dropped out. In communities with Nafa Centers, thedemands of domestic chores have been a major obstacle to girls' education. Textbooks,materials and activities ensure more gender-sensitive and relevant content.

The Nafa curriculum is a condensed formal educational content that, within three years,aspires to prepare girls to enter intermediate primary education level. Subjects related toincome-generating activities are included to ensure that girls who discontinue theireducation after attending a Nafa Center have received relevant education. Flexibleschedules and convenient locations help more girls attend: currently, 95 per cent ofstudents enrolled in Nafa Centers are girls. Of these, 10 per cent go on to formaleducation.

Girl-friendly schools in Zambia

The Programme for the Advancement of Girls’ Education (PAGE) supports a gender-sensitive curriculum as well as pre-service and in-service teacher training programmes. Itis conducted under the auspices of the Zambia Declaration on the Education of the GirlChild, introduced by the Government in 1995.

The pre-service training programme, Gender Across the Curriculum, was introduced intwo teacher training colleges as a way to increase gender sensitivity among lecturers andteacher trainees. The in-service teacher training programme, The Girl Friendly School–Module 7, offers activities for teachers intended to increase gender sensitivity, heightenunderstanding of the special needs of girl children, and achieving gender-neutralteaching.

In order to strengthen the concept about the girl friendly school and finding ways toimplementing girl friendly strategies in schools, a number of criteria for creating a girlfriendly school were identified and presented to the National Symposium on Girls’Education. The school-based programme provides teachers with training in gender and anunderstanding of how they can become agents for change.

Six criteria for a girl friendly school in PAGE:§ A girl friendly school should have about 50-50 girl/boy enrolment§ At least 80 % of the children enrolled in any grade should complete that grade§ At least 85 % should proceed to next grade§ At least 40 % percent of the teachers must be of each gender§ The school head and deputy heads should be of opposite sex§ A girl friendly school should have a catchment area not exceeding five kilometres

For a list of references, contact Vigdis Cristofoli via E-mail at vcristofoli@unicef.org.

Ten-Year Initiative on Girls’ Education

By Maida Pasic, Assistant, Education Section, UNICEF Programme Division

Today two-thirds of children who are denied their rights to education are female. At thesame time it has been extensively documented that apart from the economic, social, andcultural benefits, girls’ education represents an essential element of sustainable humandevelopment.

As a part of the global effort to meet the challenges of development and eradicatingpoverty, the UN system agreed to launch a 10-year Girls’ Education Initiative. It is basedin UNDG with UNICEF serving as the lead agency.

The goal of this Initiative is to mount a sustained campaign to improve the quality andlevel of girls’ education through a collaborative partnership of entities within and outsidethe UN system. The Initiative, supportive of the goals of EFA and other worldconferences, thus brings the entire UN system into the EFA movement.

The major strategy of the Initiative is to bring together existing resources at the countrylevel and use them more efficiently and effectively through UN coordinationmechanisms. This will facilitate a consolidated effort of approaches that are consistentlyapplied, and of learning from experience of others in a given country. Through thisInitiative, the UN system will ensure coherence, collaboration and consolidated effort inmeeting challenges of gender discrimination in education. The Initiative will be open toall agencies and organisations, including NGOs that are functional in and contributing togirls’ education. Participation in the Initiative will be based on willingness and ability tocontribute to and/or build on existing activities.

The overall goal and strategy are translated into five strategic objectives:(1) Building political commitments;(2) Ending the gender gap in education, where the gender gaps are large or growing;(3) Addressing the systemic bias within education systems;(4) Girls’ education in special development (conflict and post-conflict) situations; and(5) Eliminating ingrained gender bias in societies that discourages the demand for

girls’ education.

The Girls’ Education Initiative has been endorsed by the UN Secretary-General, who isexpected to announce the Initiative at the World Education Forum in Dakar and launch itat the Millennium Assembly.

For more information please contact: Mary Joy Pigozzi, UNICEF New York. Tel: (1 212)824 6618; Fax: (1 212) 824 6481; E-mail: mjpigozzi@unicef.org.

Active Learning in Bosnia-Herzegovina

By Esperenza Vives, Education Project Officer, UNICEF Sarajevo

Since 1995, UNICEF has worked closely with education counterparts from theFederation of Bosnia-Herzegovina to support child-centred learning environmentsthrough active learning in primary schools. In 1999, the Republika Srpska became partof the program.

In war and post-war environments, creating child-centered learning environments throughactive learning, which nurture cooperative learning skills and academic achievement andwhich provide secure settings where children can express their feelings and experiences,becomes a school’s critical function, a teacher’s primary responsibility, and education’sprimary goal.

Program goals to support active learning in primary schools:

• Creating child-centered learning environments through active learning. Provideopportunities for teachers, teacher educators, advisors, children and parents to work inpartnership. Shift from training seminars necessary during the war to school-based effortsfor short-term response and long-term change.

• Supporting primary schools to help children regain their self-confidence,positive social skills, communication skills, tolerance and respect for self and others.Provide opportunities in schools for children to work collaboratively with teachers andother children through class work, and school and community-based projects.

• Rebuilding a sense of community in schools by having the administration,teachers, parents, and children work in partnership on school and classroomdevelopment. Support efforts in schools (school-based management) to create a“learning community” where relevant stakeholders participate in supporting children’slearning, development, growth and recovery.

• Helping reestablish professional networks and partnerships among schooldirectors, teachers, advisors, teacher educators, and policy makers. Provideopportunities for educators to share experiences, information, and the best practices inhelping children and families affected by war and conflict.

• Creating relevant and easily replicated educational materials based ondocumentation of teachers’ experience working with children in the classrooms andschools. Support teachers and other educators to create and disseminate relevanteducational materials based on documented classroom experiences and school-basedmanagement.

The active learning program emerged from discussions with Bosnian educators andparents, who expressed concern that conventional instructional practices were notmeeting children’s academic or developmental needs during the war. To support schools,teachers and children, UNICEF and its partners organized introductory active learningseminars for groups of primary school teachers. Activities expanded as hostilitiessubsided.

Meeting post-war challenges

In 1998, a UNICEF-supported initiative known as Creating Active Schools (CAS)responded to emerging and acute needs in a post-war context. The impact of war onchildren may be expressed in learning difficulties, behavioral problems, physicaldifficulties, and/or substance abuse. Add to this the poor learning conditions in manyschools and lack of materials and other resources. CAS entails the following:

• Designating select primary schools as active learning demonstration sites. Theseschools would serve as focal points for training seminars, practical classroom application,documentation of learning outcomes, parental involvement in schools, and educationalmaterials development

• Integrating school-based management training seminars and team-basedplanning and implementation in CAS schools. Practical application of democraticmanagement was developed in each school, as they became models of effectivecommunication, school-based planning, teamwork and partnerships with relevantstakeholders including parents, teachers, children and administrative staff.

• Working from a “child rights” perspective. Reliance and integration on theConvention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) as the guiding framework for school-basedaction and for increased participation of children in schools and in decisions related totheir learning and development.

Through CAS, training seminars have developed into intensive and ongoing school-basedwork, applying active learning directly in the classroom, and documenting its relationshipto learning achievements, recovery, social development and psychological health. Smallgroup seminars and teacher support groups ensure sustainability.

Today, the curriculum debate in Bosnia-Herzegovina is largely in the hands ofpoliticians, making reform an extremely delicate process and highlighting the need forthe discussion to include the voices and experiences of educators, parents and students.

Leading Change in Professional LearningCommunitiesSource: Willis, Scott, "Leading Change in Professional Learning Communities." EducationUpdate, Volume 41, Number 8, December 1999, 1 and 4 (excerpts). Reprinted with permissionfrom Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) USA. Fax: 1 (703)5755403.

For those feeling overwhelmed by all the confusing changes in standards, frameworks,assessments, practices, beliefs, materials, and behaviors, Michael Fullan, dean of theOntario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, offersencouragement and constructive ways to deal with “the change mess” of today’seducation.

Schools that manage change best, asserts Fullan, are those with a collaborative workculture. How do those schools get that way? They develop a collaborative work cultureas they become professional learning communities, go ‘wider’ by connecting with theexternal environment, and go ‘deeper’ by taking time to explore the fundamental valuesand purposes of education.

Professional learning communities flourish in a culture of sharing, trust, and support,observes Fullan. One way to nurture that culture, he says, is through assessment literacy,which he defined as (1) the capacity to examine student data and make sense of it, (2) theability to make changes in teaching and schools based on that data, and (3) a commitmentto engaging in assessment discussions. When teachers and administrators shareresponsibility for assessment literacy, teacher isolation is reduced and collaborative workincreases, he notes.

Going wider

Connecting with the external environment-requires educators to embrace five areas,Fullan says, insisting that “you need the outside to get things done”. He listed theseconnections as being critical for success:

• Parents and community: Involve community agencies as well as volunteers and adultaides;• Technology: The more powerful technology becomes, the more indispensable goodteachers are;• Corporate connections: The way to get resources is to form partnerships. And themore a school has its act together, the more attractive it is to outside sponsors;• Government: Professional learning communities become critical consumers ofgovernment policy. They use data for improvement, not embarrassment;• Professional development: This helps establish a common, clear vision of whatconstitutes good teaching.

Going Deeper

To go ‘deeper’ means to become a moral change agent, says Fullan. Every person is achange agent. Being a moral change agent means hard thinking and soul searching aboutmaking a difference in young people’s lives. The capacity to improve education forchildren derives from motivation for reform, skills in working for reform, and resourcesfor reform.

Capacity building is not just the creation of and participation in new structures; above allit is the creation and development of new cultures. “How do you reculture an entireschool district? It’s relationships. Everything is relationships.”

The Czechoslovakian leader Vaclav Havel, wrote in 1986: “Hope is definitely not thesame thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but thecertainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. It is hope, above all,that gives us strength to live and to continually try new things, even in conditions thatseem hopeless. ”

School Report Cards: Australia and Somalia

How is the curriculum packaged in your country? What changes have been made toaccommodate new curriculum issues such as Life Skills approaches and newtechnologies? How much has the curriculum changed in the country where you work?How does the school report card reflect these changes?

The more things change ...Source: Reprinted with permission from EQ Australia, Issue Four, Summer 1999, CurriculumCorporation, level 5, 2 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000. Fax: 61 3 9639 1616.

School report forms provide a snapshot of how the curriculum has been parcelled orpackaged at different points in our history. Two report forms from Australia, one fromthe end of the nineteenth century, the other from the mid-twentieth, reveal howcurriculum traditions survive and change.

The 1893 half-yearly report is from Wesley College. Since the one report form wasprobably used over a number of year levels, the subjects listed would not all have beenstudied in the one year.

The 1960 report comes from the Victorian Education Department’s standard issue reportbook current at the time. There was a double page for each of the six year levels of thesecondary school. In third year (year 9), a high school student would usually have studiedabout nine subjects from this list.

1893Half-yearly reportWesley College

ScriptureWritingBookkeepingShorthandHistoryGeographyEnglishLatin orCommercial workGreek orGermanFrench orCommercial workArithmeticAlgebra

GeometryTrigonometryPhysiologyChemistryNatural Philosophy

ExtrasDrawingMusicGymnastics

1960Education DepartmentReport Book Third Year

EnglishAlgebraGeometryArithmeticGeographyGeneral ScienceFrenchGermanLatinHistorySocial StudiesMusical AppreciationArtCommercial Principlesand PracticeTypewritingShorthandCookeryHome ManagementNeedleworkCraftsWoodworkMetalworkBlacksmithingMechanical DrawingPhysical Education

Curriculum in SomaliaThanks to Geeta Verma, Education Project Officer, UNICEF Somalia

In Somalia, the Ministry of Education’s Academic Record gives a clear indication of theways in which the curriculum is currently packaged. How does your country's report cardreflect changes in curriculum emphases?

NATIIJADA WAXBARASHADA (Academic Record)

Fasalka(Grade) _____________19__________________Dhibco Samnadeed (Annual Score)

Maadooyinka (Subject)

Soomaali (Somali)Diin (Islamic Studies)Carabi (Arabic)Ingiriisi (English)Xisaab (Mathematics)Saynis (Science)Cilmiga Bulshada (Social Studies)Celceliska Dhibcaha Sannadka(Annual Total Score)

Hawlaha Manhajka Weheliya(Extra-curricula Activities)Cayaaraha/Isboortiga (Sports)Miyuusik (Music)Farshaxan (Art)Akhlaaq (Conduct)

RESOURCES

Schools, Education and Social ExclusionJo Sparkes, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, London School of Economics,CASE Paper 29, November 1999Reviewed by Elaine Furniss

Social exclusion is sustained by low levels of educational attainment, according to thisreview of research in the United Kingdom. It finds, for example, that adults with lowbasic skills are five times as likely to be unemployed as those with average skills and alsothat the gap between top and bottom achievers in overall education achievement haswidened.

In better news, whereas previous research suggested that schools were relativelypowerless against basic forces creating social disadvantage, current research shows thatschool can raise attainment significantly. All forms of pre-school attendance have apositive impact on tests taken at seven and on later school attendance. Attempts toimprove family literacy, parents and children together, have been favourable evaluated.Higher per pupil spending, smaller class sizes and teacher quality in schools all seem tomake a difference and some have most impact on disadvantaged pupils. Competitionbetween schools may raise school performance but may allow high demand schools toexclude the least advantaged.

‘Soft skills’ are seen as important, such as those clustered around (1) interaction:friendliness, teamwork, ability to fit in, spoken communication skills, and (2) motivation:enthusiasm, positive work attitude, dependability and willingness to learn. Contact:CASE, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UnitedKingdom. Tel: (41 171) 955 6679.

EQ Australia

This quarterly magazine is published by the Curriculum Corporation, an independenteducation support organisation owned by all Australian state, territory and federalMinisters of Education. The purpose of the corporation is to facilitate collaborativecurriculum development among school systems. Contact: Curriculum Corporation, level5, Two Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000. Fax: 61 3 9639 1616.

TeachingJere Brophy, International Academy of Education / International Bureau of Education,1999

Download this short and well-written booklet directly from the Internet. See the Web siteat http://www.ibe.unesco.org. The booklet introduces the generic aspects of effectiveteaching. Jere Brophy, the author, was one of the developers of process/ product research,which examines relationships between teaching practices and student outcomes.

The short chapters in this booklet cover the following topics: A supportive classroomclimate; Opportunity to learn; Curricular alignment; Establishing learning orientations;Coherent content; Thoughtful discourse; Practice and application activities; Scaffoldingstudent learning; Strategy teaching; Co-operative learning; Goal-oriented assessment;Achievement expectations.

Global Education: Making Basic Learning a Child-Friendly ExperienceGraham Pike and David Selby, edited by Terri Lore, UNICEF MENARO in conjunctionwith the International Institute for Global Education, Ontario for studies in Education,University of TorontoReviewed by Aster Haregot, Programme Officer

The theory and practice of Global Education is examined through the presentation ofclassroom activities and case studies of changing process in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.The book contends that Global Education provides a mechanism for realizing theexpanded vision of basic education envisioned at Jomtien in 1990.

It suggests that the basic knowledge and skills (the cornerstones of a sound education) arebeing acquired and refined through the implementation of the global educationframework. This is done through infusion or integration of relevant global educationknowledge, skills and attitudes to the existing curriculum, thus making the curriculummore relevant to the lives of students.

The book provides evidences from countries that the effects of the global educationinitiative have gone beyond updating the curriculum. It has made profound changes onhow students, teachers and parents view learning and teaching. It has introduced intoschooling new waves of energy and enthusiasm and has opened up new avenues forlearning that have yet to be fully explored. Copies may be obtained by contacting theUNICEF Regional Office for MENA.

Curriculum Report CardWorking Paper, UNICEF New York

Children have a right to a quality education. Quality education in schools is deliveredthrough a curriculum that is based on learning outcomes and mediated by skilful, well-prepared teachers. UNICEF curriculum priorities are for all children to learn to read andwrite, to develop numeracy skills, to develop behaviours through peace education and lifeskills that promote the development of well-rounded human beings, especially those indifficult situations, and to learn all these things and more through a gender inclusivecurriculum.

For this study, UNICEF Education Program Officers from 59 countries answeredquestions about life skills, peace education, gender, learning outcomes, and reading andwriting skills. The working paper draws from their responses in order to (1) present a

baseline of information on curriculum in countries where UNICEF works, and (2)describe the curriculum development and implementation process (3) so that EducationProgramme Officers in countries where UNICEF supports education programmes cancontinue to engage in advocacy and programme development in these areas. TheWorking Paper lists 17 principles for working with curriculum.

Seven Complex Lessons in Education for the FutureFormulated for UNESCO by Edgar Morin in participation with International Programmeof Reflection on Education for a sustainable futureAster Haregot, Programme Officer

The purpose of this text is to examine fundamental problems that are overlooked orneglected in education. These problems are presented as seven complex lessons thatshould be covered in an education of the future in all societies in every culture accordingto means and rules appropriate to these societies.

Detecting error and illusionKnowledge cannot be handled like a ready-made tool that can be used without studyingits nature. Knowing about knowledge should figure as a primary requirement to preparethe mind to confront the constant threat of error and illusion that parasitize the humanmind. It is a question of arming minds in the vital combat for lucidity. Another way ofsaying this would be to promote critical literacy.

Principles of pertinent knowledgeThe predominance of fragmented learning divided up into disciplines often makes usunable to connect parts and wholes; it should be replaced by learning that can graspsubjects within their context, their complex, their totality.

Teaching the human conditionThe human condition should be an essential subject of all education – we are all part of it.

Earth identityThe future of the human genre is now situated on a planetary scale. Knowledge ofcurrent planetary developments that will undoubtedly accelerate in the 21st century, andrecognition of our earth citizenship, will be indispensable for all of us.

Confronting uncertaintiesWe have acquired many certainties through science but 20th century science has alsorevealed many areas of uncertainty. Education should include the study of uncertaintiesthat have emerged in the physical sciences (microphysics, thermodynamics, cosmology),the sciences of biological evolution and, the historical sciences.

Understanding each otherMutual understanding among human beings, whether near or far, is henceforth a vitalnecessity to carry human relations past the barbarian stage of misunderstanding.

Ethics for the human genreEthics cannot be taught by moral lessons. It must take shape in people’s minds throughawareness that a human being is at one and the same time an individual, a member of asociety, a member of a species. Every individual carries this triple reality within himself.All truly human development must include joint development of individual autonomy,community participation, and awareness of belonging to the human species.

This publication promotes and stimulates discussion on how education/ curriculumdevelopment should promote an intersectoral/ transdisciplinary perspective to meet thegreat challenges of sustainable development. It may be obtained by contacting UNESCO,7, place de Fontenoy – 75352 Paris 07 SP France.

Education: Digitally

Texas Education Networkhttp://www.tenet.edu/curriculum/main.html

Texas Education Network provides classroom resources and curricula that rangefrom cross curricular support materials to online guides to assist in integrating Internetresources into the classroom.

The Academy Curriculum Exchangehttp://ofcn.org/cyber.serv/academy/ace

At the Curriculum Exchange teachers can find a variety of lesson plans. The originalgroup of 700 lesson plans came from the Columbia University's Education Center'sSummer Workshops. These lessons were done by a consortium of teachers from 14 statesin the USA dedicated to improving the quality of education in the rural, western, UnitedStates, particularly the quality of math and science education

Curriculum Corporation http://www.curriculum.edu.au/download/lesspln/lesson.htm

Free lesson plans are available. The curriculum materials on this Web site cover the fullrange of learning areas and levels of schooling. There are materials to match the interestsof any teacher.

The Library in the Skyhttp://www.nwrel.org/sky/teacher.html

Containing over 15,000 links to some of the best educational resources on the Internet,the Library in the Sky's teacher resources guide teachers on their journeys throughcyberspace. The multicultural resources provide a global links and links to a wide varietyof periodicals which quite useful.

African Digital Libraryhttp://www.AfricaEducation.org/adl/

A digital library for the benefit of users throughout Africa went online 3 November 1999.In response to the need for library books in Africa, Technikon SA (TSA) has provided aninitial sponsorship. The library is being established by TSA and the Association ofAfrican Universities in collaboration with netLibrary, a private American company. Itwill provide Internet access to African users throughout the continent to a library of full-text books at no cost to the user.

More than 60 publishers will provide full-text books. Encryption will ensure that onlyone user will access a book at any one time, and loan periods will be a few hours as userswork with the books. Sponsorships by public and private sector institutions will be on a

per-book basis, and sponsors will be able to advertise by means of banners per booksponsored.

Persons in any Africa country with a server having an African domain will be able toaccess the library via http://www.AfricaEducation.org/adl/. For further information,contact: Paul West, Director CLL, Technikon SA. E-mail:LibraryAdmin@AfricaEducation.org.

The Association of Supervision and Curriculum Developmenthttp://www.ascd.org

ASCD is one of the main publishers of educational research in the United States ofAmerica. Especially helpful are the selections from the ASCD’s Educational Leadershipmagazine.

Mid-continent Research for Education and Learninghttps://www.mcrel.org

One of the regional education laboratories, McREL is a nexus for outcome-basedlearning standards and the Dimensions of Learning approach to curriculum design. Findclear descriptions for measuring student achievement or learn more about supportinghigher order thinking.

Blue Web'nhttp://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn

Blue Web'n offers a collection of Blue Ribbon Web sites targeted for use by educators.Sorted by content area and format type, the Blue Web'n matrix enables users to quicklysee the best Web sites available in their curriculum area.

The WebQuest Pagehttp://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/webquest.html

WebQuests are Web-based constructivist learning activities that have become integral toeducators' use of the Web. As the primary creator of the model, Professor Bernie Dodgelinks to collections, a matrix of exemplary samples, and many pages dedicated to helpingeducators create their own WebQuests.

Event:World Education Forum

At the World Conference on Education for All (Jomtien, 1990) 155 countries pledged toprovide basic education for all and reduce illiteracy. The World Education Forum inDakar, Senegal, April 26-28, 2000, will examine how close the international communityis to achieving its goals of Education for All. It will discuss the findings of the EFA 2000Assessment, an unprecedented exercise conducted in more than 180 countries, and forgeplans to meet the basic learning need of all in the new century.

The World Education Forum will bring together some 900 national leaders, UnitedNations agency heads, education policy-makers, NGOs, business leaders, donors,grassroots workers and journalists. These delegates representing more than 200 nationswill have the exceptional opportunity to influence the future of education in their owncountries and internationally.

They will endorse a new Framework for Action subtitled "Meeting Our CollectiveCommitments".

UNICEF will be involved in the Dakar conference in several ways:

a) Carol Bellamy will make a plenary presentation on UNICEF's vision and beliefs inregard to basic education and a shorter presentation as part of a panel of conveningagency heads (from UNESCO, UNFPA, The World Bank, and UNDP) on UNICEF'sfuture commitments in regard to basic education. With the other agency heads, she willalso hold a press conference and host a reception for conference delegates.

b) UNICEF is organising four strategy round-tables for the Dakar meeting – on earlychildhood education, education for excluded children, girls' education, and, withUNAIDS, the impact of HIV/AIDS on education.

c) UNICEF staff will participate in other round-tables on emergencies, learningassessment, school health, and teaching.

d) UNICEF is sponsoring an exhibit of UNICEF activities within the EFA partnershipwhich will feature its core messages and its activities focusing on girls' education, youthparticipation (Voices of Youth website) the professional development of teachers(Teachers Talking About Learning website), and educational data collection and analysis(ChildInfo).

e) UNICEF will be a member of the Framework Drafting Committee, which will writethe final version of the Framework for Forum endorsement, and the Futures Group,

which will discuss and perhaps recommend a follow-up mechanism after the Forummeeting.

Look for information about the World Education Forum, Dakar 2000 at www.unicef.org and forfollow-up in the next Education Update which will be on Education for All.