Life Skills and Citizenship Education Initiative Middle East and North Africa Reimagining Life Skills and Citizenship Education in the Middle East and North Africa A Four-Dimensional and Systems Approach to 21st Century Skills Conceptual and Programmatic Framework The following organizations contributed to the development of the Conceptual and Programmatic Framework: © 2017 UNICEF MENA Regional Office United Nations Children’s Fund Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa P.O. Box 1551 Amman 11821 - Jordan Email: [email protected] Website: www.lsce-mena.org Reimagining Life Skills and Citizenship Education in the Middle East and North Africa A Four-Dimensional and Systems Approach to 21st Century Skills Conceptual and Programmatic Framework The following organizations contributed to the development of the Conceptual and Programmatic Framework: CONTENTS LIST OF BOXES, TABLES AND FIGURES iv ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS vi PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS viii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 1. A TRANSFORMATIVE VISION OF EDUCATION FOR THE 21ST CENTURY 15 1.1. Education in MENA 16 1.2. Towards a conceptual understanding of life skills and citizenship education 20 1.3. Proposing a LSCE Conceptual and Programmatic Framework (CPF) 27 2. THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 31 2.1. The four Dimensions of Learning: A holistic vision 31 2.2. The four Dimensions of Learning and their life skills clusters 35 2.3. Twelve core life skills for MENA 40 2.4. The twelve core life skills and subject areas 66 3. THE PROGRAMMATIC FRAMEWORK 71 3.1. Teaching and learning approaches 71 3.2. Multiple pathways approach 88 3.3. Key components of a systems approach 102 3.4. Monitoring and evaluation 106 4. TRAVELLING THE ROAD 113 ANNEX 1: THE TWELVE CORE LIFE SKILLS FOR MENA 115 ANNEX 2: COUNTRY PROPOSALS FOR MAINSTREAMING LSCE AT NATIONAL LEVEL 163 REFERENCES 167 LIST OF BOXES, TABLES AND FIGURES Boxes Box 1: The scope of the four Dimensions of Learning 33 Box 2: Three-step process for the identification of the twelve core life skills for MENA 35 Box 3: Principles of learner-centred education 74 Box 4: Benefits of small group work for life skills teaching and learning 74 Box 5: Some selected SEL teaching practices 76 Box 6: Life skills education and gender equality in school 81 Box 7: Teaching the core life skills: Learning objectives 82 Box 8: Ground rules for group work activities 83 Box 9: The RULER approach 84 Box 10: Main educational pathways for operationalising life skills 90 Box 11: TVET and the multiple pathways approach 92 Box 12: Passport to Success® (PTS) and Build Your Business® (BYB) 94 Box 13: Importance of the multiple pathways approach for improved civic engagement 95 Box 14: Life skills and psychosocial support 97 Box 15: Mainstreaming life skills and citizenship education through the curricular modality: 99 Lessons from the Tunisia curriculum reform Box 16: Learning Object Bank: An innovative approach integrating life skills in co-curricular disciplines 100 Box 17: Life skills and citizenship education within the national education reform process in Tunisia 103 Box 18: The case of the Morocco TVET reform 104 Tables Table 1: Life skills cluster of the Cognitive Dimension 36 Table 2: Life skills cluster of the Instrumental Dimension 38 Table 3: Life skills cluster of the Individual Dimension 39 Table 4: Life skills cluster of the Social Dimension 40 Table 5: Relevance of creativity by Dimensions of Learning 43 Table 6: Relevance of critical thinking by Dimensions of Learning 45 Table 7: Relevance of problem-solving by Dimensions of Learning 47 Table 8: Relevance of cooperation by Dimensions of Learning 49 iv Life Skills and Citizenship Education in the Middle East and North Africa Table 9: Relevance of negotiation by Dimensions of Learning 51 Table 10: Relevance of decision-making by Dimensions of Learning 53 Table 11: Relevance of self-management by Dimensions of Learning 55 Table 12: Relevance of resilience by Dimensions of Learning 57 Table 13: Relevance of communication by Dimensions of Learning 59 Table 14: Relevance of respect for diversity by Dimensions of Learning 61 Table 15: Relevance of empathy by Dimensions of Learning 63 Table 16: Relevance of participation by Dimensions of Learning 65 Table 17: Monitoring and evaluation framework at impact and outcome level 109 Table 18: Proposed monitoring and evaluation framework for the multiple pathways and 110 systems approach Figures Figure 1: Life Skills and Citizenship Education Conceptual and Programmatic Framework 30 Figure 2: The twelve core life skills 41 Figure 3: Teaching and learning principles 79 Figure 4: Examples of teaching and learning activities 85 Figure 5: The twelve core life skills as cross-cutting higher-order skills in the Tunisia curriculum reform 98 CONCEPTUAL AND PROGRAMMATIC FRAMEWORK v ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS AfDB African Development Bank AIDS acquired immunodeficiency syndrome BYB Build Your Business (IYF) C4D Communication for Development CASEL Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning CBO community-based organization CCCI2 Civic Competence Composite Indicators 2 CFS Child Friendly Schools (UNICEF) CPF Conceptual and Programmatic Framework CVE countering violent extremism DDR disaster risk reduction ECE early childhood education EFA Education for All EMIS Education Management Information System FRESH Focusing Resources on Effective School Health partnership (UNESCO) GCE Global Citizenship Education GDP gross domestic product HIV human immunodeficiency virus IASC-MHPSS Inter-Agency Standing Committee on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support ICCS International Civic and Citizenship Education Study ICT information and communication technology IFC International Finance Corporation ILO International Labour Organization ISIS Islamic State in Iraq and Syria IT information technology IYF International Youth Foundation LMS Learning Management System LSCE Life Skills and Citizenship Education MENA Middle East and North Africa MHPSS mental health and psychosocial support MOE Ministry of Education MOH Ministry of Health MOL Ministry of Labour NEET not in education, employment or training vi Life Skills and Citizenship Education in the Middle East and North Africa NESP national education sector plans NGO non-governmental organization OCEAN Openness to experiences; Conscientiousness; Extraversion; Agreeableness; and Neuroticism OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OFPPT Office of Vocational Training and Labour Promotion (Morocco) PIAAC Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (OECD) PISA Programme for International Student Assessment (OECD) PTA parent teacher association PTS Passport to Success (IYF) PVE preventing violent extremism RORE rates of return to education SABER Systems Approach for Better Education Results (World Bank) SDG Sustainable Development Goal SEL social and emotional learning SHN school health and nutrition SMC school management committee SME small and medium-sized enterprise STEM science, technology, engineering and mathematics STEP Skills towards Employability and Productivity (World Bank) TIMSS Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training UAE United Arab Emirates UN United Nations UNAIDS Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNGASS United Nations General Assembly Special Session UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNWRA United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East USAID United States Agency for Development VTC Vocational and Training Corporation WEF World Economic Forum WHO World Health Organization Y4F Youth for the Future (IYF) CONCEPTUAL AND PROGRAMMATIC FRAMEWORK vii PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The situation of learning in the Middle East and North Africa calls for a holistic, lifelong and rights-based vision of education that maximizes the potential of all children and youth in the region and better equips them to create meaning out of knowledge and to face the transitions from childhood to adulthood, from education to work, and from unreflective development to responsible and active citizenship. This is what drives the MENA Life Skills and Citizenship Education (LSCE) Initiative, kicked off in 2015 with the aim of supporting the countries of the region – conceptually, programmatically and technically – to improve learning and to better invest such learning in individual, social and economic development. Within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and with the acquisition of skills defined as a key objective of the 2030 Education Agenda, this Conceptual and Programmatic Framework (CPF) is meant to reimagine the work around life skills and citizenship education – while addressing both the conceptual and programmatic gaps – with a view of achieving scale, sustainability and long-term change towards quality learning in MENA. It is addressed to policy makers, practitioners and experts and it is meant to serve as a basis for guiding policies, strategies and programs through a systems approach and in the context of national education reforms. The LSCE CPF constitutes also a roadmap for the mobilization of a large network of partners through multiple pathways and modalities in education, in the social sphere, in the workplace and on the road to the workplace, with a view of reaching all children