Developing Standards for Quality Basic Education in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States Prepared for UNICEF CEE/CIS Regional Office December 6, 2010 Miske Witt & Associates Inc. St. Paul, Minnesota USA By Nancy Clair, Ed.D. and Shirley Miske, Ph.D., with Deepa Patel, M.P.P. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Developing Standards of Quality Basic Education in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States was commissioned by the UNICEF Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. It is the result of collaboration between many individuals, and appreciation is extended to each of them. Nancy Clair designed the study and was the lead author of the report. Shirley Miske collaborated with Clair in the overall process, design, and writing. Deepa Patel conducted the initial literature review and contributed significantly to the writing. Country reviews were conducted by Anne Katz, Nils Kauffman, Jane Schubert, Shirley Miske and Nancy Clair. Jane Schubert also contributed to the final report. Sarah Koehler and Nancy Pellowski Wiger of Miske Witt and Associates Inc. provided administrative support to the authors and researchers. Philippe Testot-Ferry was responsible for the overall development and coordination of the project. Petronilla Murithi provided administrative assistance. Education specialists and their assistants from UNICEF country offices organized the field visits and provided valuable insights into quality basic education initiatives. Special thanks are extended to Alvard Poghosyan (Armenia), Kenan Mammadli (Azerbaijan), Sanja Kabil (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Kozeta Imami and Aferdita Spahiu (Kosovo), Liudmila Lefter (Moldova), Fatma Uluc (Turkey), and Yulia Narolskaya (Uzbekistan). Nora Sabani (Macedonia) also offered helpful insights. Developing Standards for Child-Friendly Schools in CEE/CIS 2 ACRONYMS AL Active Learning ALSL Active Learning and School Leadership APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation BiH Bosnia and Herzegovina CARK Central Asian Republics and Kazakhstan CEE/CIS Central and Eastern Europe/Commonwealth of Independent States CEI Center for Educational Initiatives CFS/QBE Child-Friendly Schools/Quality Basic Education CO Country Office (UNICEF) CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child EAPR East Asia and the Pacific Region EFA Education for All ELDS Early Learning and Development Standards EMIS Education Management Information System ERP Education Reform Program EU European Union GE Global Education ISSA International Step by Step Association KMK Kultusministerkonferenz MEST Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (Kosovo) MOE Ministry of Education MoES Ministry of Education and Science (Armenia) MoNE Ministry of National Education (Turkey) MOPE Ministry of Public Education (Uzbekistan) MWAI Miske Witt and Associates Inc. NCTM National Council of Teachers of Mathematics NES National Education Standards NGO Non-governmental Organization Developing Standards for Child-Friendly Schools in CEE/CIS 3 OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OMC Open Method of Communication PEDC Primary Education for Disadvantaged Children PEIS Primary Education Institution Standards PIRLS Progress in International Reading Literacy Study PISA Program for International Student Assessment PTA Parent Teacher Association REA Regional Education Advisor (UNICEF) RfP Request for Proposals RO Regional Office (UNICEF) SbS Step by Step Association SMIS Standards Management Information System TIMSS Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization WASH Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene WHO World Health Organization Developing Standards for Child-Friendly Schools in CEE/CIS 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. 2 ACRONYMS .............................................................................................................................. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................. 5 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 8 PART 1. BACKGROUND .........................................................................................................10 1. Background and Objectives ........................................................................................10 1.1 CEE/CIS Perspective ............................................................................................. 10 1.2 Child-Friendly Schools ............................................................................................ 10 1.3 Project Objectives .................................................................................................. 10 2. Methodology and Process ..........................................................................................11 2.1 Literature Review ................................................................................................... 11 2.2 Field Visits and Country Reports ............................................................................ 12 2.3 Conceptual Framework and Road Map .................................................................. 14 2.4 Methodological Constraints .................................................................................... 14 PART 2. REVIEW OF CFS AND EXISTING STANDARDS ......................................................16 1. The Literature Review.................................................................................................16 1.1 A Global Perspective of Child-Friendly Schools ...................................................... 17 1.1.1 Origins of the Child-Friendly Schools Approach .............................................. 17 1.1.2 Intention of the Child-Friendly Schools Approach ............................................ 19 1.1.3 Child-Friendly School Evaluations ................................................................... 20 1.2 A Global Perspective of Standards Development ................................................... 23 1.2.1 Standards and Their Use ................................................................................. 23 1.2.2 The Development of Standards for Quality Education ..................................... 24 1.2.3 International Step by Step Association: Quality Pedagogy .............................. 25 1.2.4 Creating Standards: Lessons from Early Learning and Development Standards ...................................................................................................................... 26 1.2.5 Academic Content Standards .......................................................................... 27 1.3 A Regional Perspective of Child-Friendly Schools and Standards Development .... 28 1.3.1 Background: Child-Friendly Schools in CEE/CIS ............................................. 28 1.3.2 Development of CFS/QBE System-wide Standards ........................................ 30 Developing Standards for Child-Friendly Schools in CEE/CIS 5 1.3.3 CFS/QBE in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia .............................. 31 1.3.4 Impact of the Lisbon Objectives on CFS/QBE in CEE/CIS .............................. 32 1.3.5 The Promise and Critique of Standards-Based Reform ................................... 34 2. Overview of Standards Development in Seven Countries ...........................................35 2.1 Field Visit Country Context ..................................................................................... 35 2.1.1 Armenia ........................................................................................................... 35 2.1.2 Azerbaijan ....................................................................................................... 37 2.1.3 Bosnia and Herzegovina ................................................................................. 38 2.1.4 Kosovo ............................................................................................................ 40 2.1.5 Moldova .......................................................................................................... 41 2.1.6 Turkey ............................................................................................................. 43 2.1.7 Uzbekistan ...................................................................................................... 45 2.2 Field Visit Findings ................................................................................................. 46 2.2.1 Definitions and Understandings of CFS/QBE .................................................. 46 2.2.2 Definitions and Understandings of CFS/QBE Standards ................................. 47 2.2.3 Process of Development and Use of CFS/QBE Standards .............................. 48 2.2.4 Monitoring Progress Towards CFS/QBE Standards ........................................ 49 2.2.5 Opportunities for Integrating CFS/QBE Principles into National Standards ...... 50 PART 3. A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE REGION ..............................................52 1. Background and Purpose of the Conceptual Framework ............................................52 2. Definition of Terms .....................................................................................................52