The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine received more than 250 online applications from those willing to participate in the process of unloading and modernizing educational programs for primary schools.
Today, the acceptance of online forms should end, but the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology continues the possibility of submitting online applications until June 1, 2016. You can fill out the online form here.
Based on the submitted applications, working groups will be formed and moderators will be appointed for educational subjects. All members of the working groups will receive instructions on further joint work to the e-mail specified in the online form. The work will take place on a public basis.
On June 6, 2016, all primary school curricula with the Ukrainian language of instruction will be posted on the EdEra online social platform. All participants of virtual working groups and those willing will have the opportunity to comment and provide their suggestions for each section of the selected curriculum. Moderators of working groups (1-2 people, depending on the scope of the program) will summarize the submitted proposals and prepare comparative tables.
Please note an important thing: the Ministry of Education, on the initiative of the minister, has started work on the preparation of the Concept of a new Ukrainian school. It will include new standards, programs, textbooks, updated teacher training. This Concept will be implemented from 2018 - after thorough preparation and testing in an experimental mode.
But the children are studying now and can't wait for 2018. Therefore, the current joint project of the Ministry of Education and EdEra, which we are proposing, is not a radical change of programs, and we should all be aware of this. This is an attempt and a conscious need to unload existing programs from burdensome information and outdated approaches. This is an aspiration to involve interested educators and experts in the process of updating the content of education. This is an attempt to give already now, within the limits of the current State standard, examples of the competence approach and the dissemination of the best teaching practices. This is an attempt to make the programs clearer and closer to the age characteristics of children and modern life.
The change in standards and approaches to education in all developed countries (Canada, Finland, Singapore, Poland) that successfully reformed school education lasted at least 10 years. The process of offloading programs for elementary school is only one of the first steps in this direction. A major reform is ahead, but we consider it necessary to rally around this work caring educators, experts and activists who are ready to share their experience for the sake of improving the education of Ukrainian children.
