Partnering with UNICEF's Education Office in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Consultants Nancy Clair, Ed.D., and Kate McCleary, M.Ed. conducted a three-day workshop on the five dimensions* of Child-Friendly Schools (CFS) and setting CFS standards and indicators. For the past five years Turkmenistan has been piloting the CFS program in twenty-six schools throughout the velayats (regions) of the country. Twenty-eight participants from across the country gathered in Ashgabat October 20-22, 2011 to partake in the workshop. Representatives from the Ministry of Education, National Institute of Education, regional representatives, and school directors all discussed the important next steps in setting CFS standards and indicators for the country.
Over the course of the three days participants deepened their knowledge of the CFS dimensions, and broadened the scope of how to write standards and indicators for evaluation and assessment of their CFS pilot schools. At the conclusion of the workshop, Ministry of Education Officials and other key participants put into place an action plan that will have a rough draft of their standards and indicators completed by November 2011, a validation and feedback process to do from February-March 2012, a revised draft by May 2012, and a completed draft of standards and indicators relating to the five dimensions of Child-Friendly Schools by August 2012. This ambitious plan is indicative of the hard work and dedication of Turkmenistan's education specialist and practitioners. Clair and McCleary feel honored to have worked with such great teams of people within UNICEF's Education Office and Turkmenistan's Ministry of Education and National Institute of Education.
*The five dimensions of Child-Friendly Schools include: Inclusiveness, Democratic Participation, Teaching and Learning Effectiveness, Health and Safety, and Gender Responsiveness.
Over the course of the three days participants deepened their knowledge of the CFS dimensions, and broadened the scope of how to write standards and indicators for evaluation and assessment of their CFS pilot schools. At the conclusion of the workshop, Ministry of Education Officials and other key participants put into place an action plan that will have a rough draft of their standards and indicators completed by November 2011, a validation and feedback process to do from February-March 2012, a revised draft by May 2012, and a completed draft of standards and indicators relating to the five dimensions of Child-Friendly Schools by August 2012. This ambitious plan is indicative of the hard work and dedication of Turkmenistan's education specialist and practitioners. Clair and McCleary feel honored to have worked with such great teams of people within UNICEF's Education Office and Turkmenistan's Ministry of Education and National Institute of Education.*The five dimensions of Child-Friendly Schools include: Inclusiveness, Democratic Participation, Teaching and Learning Effectiveness, Health and Safety, and Gender Responsiveness.
