DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 480 172 SO 035 250

AUTHOR Rozemeijer, Saskia, Ed.

TITLE Drafting New Curricula in South-East Europe. Final Report ofthe Regional Seminar (Bohinj, Slovenia, April 26-28, 2002).

INSTITUTION International Bureau of Education, Geneva (Switzerland).PUB DATE 2003-00-00NOTE 62p.

AVAILABLE FROM UNESCO International Bureau of Education, P.O., Box 199, 1211Geneva 20, Switzerland. Web site: www.unesco.ibe.org.

PUB TYPE Collected Works Proceedings (021) Reports Descriptive(141)

EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Case Studies; *Curriculum Development; *Educational Change;

Elementary Secondary Education; Foreign Countries;*Geographic Regions; Seminars

IDENTIFIERS Albania; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Croatia; *Europe(Southeast); Kosovo; Lebanon; Macedonia; Moldova; Montenegro;Romania; Serbia

ABSTRACT

The aim of the regional seminar on curriculum renewal, heldin Bohinj, Slovenia in April 2002 was to contribute to human resourcedevelopment and.capacity-building in the field of curriculum development. Itis currently widely recognized that curriculum renewal is an importantcomponent in the reform and in improving the quality of education. Theexchange of information at the seminar and sharing of experiences on nationalprocesses of curriculum review and reform in participating countries wasframed against an analysis of contemporary trends in curriculum developmentbased on regional and international case studies and examples of goodpractice. This report is divided into six parts: (1) "The Situation ofEducation in South-East Europe" (Pavel Zgaga); (2) "South-East EuropeanEducational Cooperation Network" (Igor Repac); (3) "Summary Seminar Report";(4) Plenary Sessions (Decade of Change (Slavko Gaber); Implementation ofCurricula and Evaluation: Experiences from Educational Reforms in Norway(Arild Thorbjornsen); Role of Education for Social Cohesion in a DividedSociety: The Case of Lebanon (Nemer Frayha)); (5) "WorkshopReports" (Designing and Approving New Curricula; Curriculum, Quality, andEvaluation; Social Studies; Mathematics; Literacy and Language Policies;Teacher Education; Minorities and the Curriculum; Early Childhood); and (6)"National Plans and Follow-Up Activities" (Albania; Bosnia and Herzegovina;Bulgaria; Croatia; Kosovo; FYR Macedonia; Moldova; Montenegro; Romania;Serbia); and three annexes, including: Background Readings; Agenda; and Listof Participants. (BT)

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DRAFTINGNEW CURRICULA

IN SOUTH-EAST EUROPE

FINAL REPORT OF THE REGIONAL SEMINARHELD IN BOHINJ, SLOVENIA, 26-28 AVRIL 2002

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Edited by Saskia Rozemeijer

INTERNATIONAL BUREAU OF EDUCATIONCEPSCENTRE FOR EDUCATIONAL POLICY STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF LJUBLJANA

SOUTH-EAST EUROPEAN EDUCATIONAL CO-OPERATION NETWORK

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ContentsForeword

I. The situation of education in South-East Europe, by Pavel Zgaga, page 5

II. South-East European Educational Co-operation Network, by Igor Repac, page 13

III. Summary seminar report, page 19

IV. Plenary sessions

1. The decade of change, by Slavko Gaber, page 252. The implementation of curricula and evaluation: experiences from educational reforms in Norway,

by Arild Thorbjornsen, page 263. The role of education for social cohesion in a divided society: the case of Lebanon, by Nemer

Frayha, page 27

V. Workshop reports

1. Designing and approving new curricula, Moderators: Andreja Bade and Peter Rado,page 29

2. Curriculum, quality and evaluation, Moderators: Arild Thorbjornsen and Helmut Bachmann,page 30

3. Social studies, Moderators: Nemer Frayha and Janez Krek, page 324. Mathematics, Moderators: Brian Hudson and Zlatan Magajna, page 335. Literacy and language policies, Moderators: Piet Van de Craen and Igor Saksida, page 346. Teacher education, Moderators: Laurence Walker and Pavel Zgaga, page 367. Minorities and the curriculum, Moderators: Maria Andruszkiewicz and Peter Rado, page 378. Early childhood, Moderators: Marcela Bastistk Zorec and Arjana Miljak, page 39

VI. National plans and follow-up activities

1. Albania, page 412. Bosnia and Herzegovina, page 423. Bulgaria, page 434. Croatia, page 445. Kosovo, page 456. FYR Macedonia, page 467. Moldova, page 478. Montenegro, page 509. Romania, page 50

10. Serbia, page 52

ANNEXES

1. Background readings, page 552. Agenda, page 583. List of participants, page 60

© 2003. UNESCO International Bureau of Education, P.O. Box 199, 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland. www.unesco.ibe.org

Foreword

It is now widely recognized that curriculum renewal isan important component in the reform and in improvingthe quality of education. Indeed, the thematic reviews ofeducation conducted by the Organisation for EconomicCo-operation and Development (2000-2001) in thecountries of South-East Europe, within the frameworkof the Stability Pact Task Force on Education and Youth,highlight the importance of curricular change in educa-tional reforms that have been planned or are underway.Addressing issues of curricular review and reform, how-ever, have been delayed in countries affected by armedconflict over the past decade. As a result, lack of expert-ise in this area now constitutes an important obstacle toeducational reform in many countries of the region. Insuch a context, developing a common understanding ofeducational reform through dialogue and sharing ofexperiencebased on both regional processes ofreform, as well as on examples drawn from otherregions of the worldis an important contribution tobuilding or reinforcing the regional capacity for curricu-lum change.

The aim of the regional seminar on curriculumrenewal, held in Bohinj, Slovenia, from 26 to 28 April2002, was to contribute to human resource developmentand capacity-building in the field of curriculum develop-ment in South-East European (SEE) countries throughthe exchange of information and know-how on the basisof case studies in curricular review and reform. Theworkshop thus aimed to strengthen the South-EastEuropean Education Co-operation Network by reinforc-

ing co-operation among experts from SEE and othercountries. Participants came from Albania, Bosnia andHerzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia,Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, andSlovenia. The exchange of information and sharing ofexperiences on national processes of curriculum reviewand reform in participating countries was framed againstan analysis of contemporary trends in curriculum devel-opment based on regional and international case studiesand examples of good practice. In this way, the regionalseminar was able to identify specific needs of SEE coun-tries in the area of curriculum renewal and to establishcontacts between experts for the SEE region and beyondwith a view to initiating further sustainable co-operation.Recommendations resulting from the workshop relate toco-operation in the field of curriculum design and devel-opment, the exchange of information on practices andexperiences in the region, regional capacity-buildingactivities and the need for a continuing regional net-working.

The International Bureau of Education(IBE:UNESCO) would like to thank the Centre forEducational Policy Studies (CEPS) at the University ofLjubljana, which organized the regional seminar throughthe South-East European Educational Co-operationNetwork (SEE-ECN). Our thanks go particularly toPavel Zgaga, Director of CEPS, who was largely respon-sible for co-ordinating the meeting. We would alsolike to thank the Open Society EducationProgrammesSoutheast Europe for the additional sup-port they provided.

CECILIA BRASLAVSKY

DirectorInternational Bureau of Education

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I. The situation of educationin South-East Europe'

Pavel Zgaga

I. INTRODUCTION

In the autumn of 2000 and in 2001, the Centre forEducational Policy Studies (CEPS, University ofLjubljana) was involved in the project 'Support forOECD Thematic Reviews of Educational Policy inSouth-Eastern Europe', on the basis of an agreementwith the European Training Foundation and as part ofOECD's Thematic Review of Educational Policy. Thestudy (containing reports from eleven countries) wasproduced jointly by the researchers from CEPS andexperts2 from all the countries involved: Kosovo, Bosnia& Herzegovina (two reports: Federation BiH and theSrpska Republic), Albania, FYR of Macedonia,Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, and later also Romania,Serbia and Moldova.

Since the first thematic reviews were already inprogress, there was only a limited time available forextensive methodological preparations. Bearing in mindcontexts specific to the region, a questionnaire wasdesigned (and improved during the first two months ofwork) and sent to country experts. The work was carriedout mostly by means of virtual communication, and theresearch group at CEPS was in permanent contact withthe country experts. As each report was finished, it wasimmediately forwarded to the OECD thematic reviewteams (in principle, before the team visited that country).CEPS also provided additional support to review teamsduring their site visits and subsequently during the draft-ing of reports, mostly by searching for additional dataand information or rechecking them. As each countryreport was finished, they were included on the South-East European Education Co-operation Network web-page (www.see-educoop.net). At the end of the work,reports were checked once again for accuracy.

The research group encountered several difficulties inthe process of obtaining data and in subsequentlyanalysing them. Many data were not available for variousreasons; most often being due to the transitional natureof societies. In some countries of the region, particularlyin those affected by wars, the ruined institutional frame-works or absence of such networks were the main obsta-cles. Changes in population structure and huge migra-tions, combined with destroyed archives, sometimesmade aspects of the research impossible to carry out. For

the purposes of studying political and social changes,long-scale comparability of data (e.g. 2000 versus 1991)is at least questionable in some cases. The former politi-cal and/or ideological barriers to monitoring should alsobe taken into account when considering the context ofsuch a monitoring study.

In general, throughout the region human resources inthis field are scarce and unsatisfactory and, in mostcases, no appropriate training has been provided for aconsiderable period of time. Methodology and terminol-ogy also caused several problems; e.g. criteria havechanged a great deal since 1990 and today there is anobvious need for harmonization in this field. EuropeanTraining Foundation National Observatories are helpfulin most countries from this point of view. However, theydo not cover all parts of the educational pyramid (e.g.early childhood, general education, partly higher educa-tion). Considering the experience gained in the frame-work of this study, we strongly recommend a supportprogramme for developing the monitoring capacity in allcountries of the region. Such a support programmewould be more effective if it is linked with governmentalinstitutions (e.g. offices of statistics) or with those NGOsthat have already launched important national projects inthis direction.

II. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

In general, at the end of the 1980s the educational levelin most countries of the region had been quite advanced.Therefore, problems that appeared during the turbulenttransitional period should be considered from this partic-ular perspectiveas a regression. The fact that a rela-tively efficient education system existed also defines anapproach to today's problems. These are by no meanscountries without educational structures and expertise;nevertheless, they are faced with serious problems andhuge challenges in the present transitional period andtherefore need support.

There is another characteristic that should be takenvery seriously into consideration when approaching theregion and its problems (not only educational ones)diversity. This applies not only to languages, religion,and ethnicity; it has been, moreover, present throughouthistory. Already a long time ago, this region witnessed

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the split between the Eastern and the Western RomanEmpire; this has always been an area where differentempires met, e.g. the Austro-Hungarian and theOttoman. It has been a region of divisions and unifica-tions. Yet, it has always been very diverse. The percep-tion of the region during the second half of the twentiethcentury as a homogenous unit, in a political or ideologi-cal sense, can hardly be anything else but a misunder-standing based on ignorance. During the last half of thetwentieth century, all the main global divisions reap-peared in the former Balkans again. The formerYugoslavia, as a 'neither an eastern nor a western' coun-try, was highly decentralized and diverse in itself. Atleast since the mid-1960s it was has been more connect-ed with the West (with 1 million workers migratingthere) than with the East. Albania, to the south-west ofthe peninsula, was a totally isolated area until the late1980s, while Bulgaria and Romania belonged to the'Eastern bloc' and Moldova was an integral part of theformer USSR. To the south of the Balkans, Greece wasalso a frontier to the West in the political sense of theword. It would not be easy to find similar diversity any-where else on Earth in such a limited area.

Thereforeand particularly if we wish to defineclear future orientations and feasible tasksit is neces-sary to start with recognizing the fact that there are par-ticular situations in every individual country of theregion. It is not possible to achieve simple common solu-tions, at least not when we discuss details rather thangeneral philosophical issues. Even if experts or politi-cians agree on certain general features or principles, it isstill necessary to understand and implement them in theparticular context of a particular country. Ignorance ofthis fact has been at the origin of many problems in theregion, including economic disasters and wars. However,its recognition can provide a solid ground not only fornational recovery, but also for renewed regional co-oper-ation and progress in the countries of the region.

After the Second World War, drastic changes in edu-cation systems were introduced in all countries of theregion. The most common features were the eliminationof illiteracy and reforms moving from four to eight yearsof basic education. It is an undeniable fact that these sys-tems were highly ideological in nature, of which at leastthree distinctive types could be observed: the Albanian,the Soviet and the Yugoslavian. The education systemsdeveloped in parallel to oscillations in political and eco-nomic power. There was a rapid development of four-year technical schools, while vocational education andtraining was linked to the socialist industrial complexorganized in a different way in each 'bloc'.

In the former Yugoslavia, the 1980s were marked byan educational reform of a specific type, traces of whichare still visible today. The so-called 'career oriented edu-cation' from the turn of the 1970s into the 1980s faced adouble task: to answer the political challenges made byliberal and civil society movements (like the students'movements) of the 1970s, and at the same time to adjust

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education to the 'needs of society' (that is, moderniza-tion). This modernization was understood in the contextof socialism 'with a human face' and within the frame-work of specific terminology: pluralism of interests, self-government, socialist market economy, etc. However,this discussion continued beyond the inherent tensionsand conflicts that characterized all of the post-war peri-od. As the ideological dimension was also part of thereformas an answer to intellectual opposition at uni-versities and in civil societyit was only a question oftime before open criticisms would erupt. It happenedduring the process of drafting a new common core cur-riculum. In a multi-ethnic society, the centralist powersdemanded stronger 'harmonization' of mother-tongue,literature, history, etc., across the entire federation; ademand that provoked fierce opposition. At least inSlovenia, this was an important catalyst for the revival ofcivil society and gradual democratization leadingtowards the independence of that country.

Reform in the early 1980s introduced a system ofeight-year basic education followed by 'career-orientededucation': a vertical stream composed of a variety ofprogrammes leading up to higher education. Higher edu-cation was not regulated as a special sub-system anymore; universities were broken down into numeroushighly independent faculties. The basic idea of thereform was `to link a school and a factory', to adjust edu-cation to self-governmental interests and to a socialistmarket economy. It was also based on the belief that fur-ther development of the economy and society could bepredicted with certainty and that enrolment into uppersecondary and tertiary education could be rationallyplanned. In fact, school networks and the development ofcurricula were conditioned by political power games andthe wishes of predominantly local authorities. As aresult, this educational reform led to the supply of inad-equate human resources and even a stagnation of theeducational structure of the population. General educa-tion was disregarded, the traditional gimnazija (grammarschool) was abolished and university autonomy declined.

The turn from the 1980s to the 1990s should havebeen a time of 're-reforming' in the former Yugoslavia,considering that no profound political changes or con-flicts had been anticipated. Unfortunately, they did occur.In some places they occurred in the most terrible ways,which brought a stop to any form of educationalimprovement for a long time. Problems arising in theeducation system today can sometimes be attributed tothe fact that it had not been possible to reform the systemat an earlier time.

III. MAIN FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

The data gathered for each country report were struc-tured into seven clusters, as follows: general data; partic-ipation in education; enrolment patterns and the numbersof institutions; curriculum; administration in primary andsecondary education; facilities and equipment; and,

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finally, costs and financing. Accordingly, the main find-ings of the study are presented below following thatsame structure.

1. General data

Data from all countries show changes in population.Particularly, there were huge migrations during the1990s. In general, they were due to economic reasons.However, in some countries they were the tragic result ofwars and ethnic conflicts. Flows of refugees during theperiods of conflict established parallel or temporarymostly improvisedschool networks. Yet, many chil-dren also went through a certain period of time withoutany systematic education. Migrations in the region some-times reached such huge proportions that the traditionalschool networks could no longer cope with basic educa-tional needs. It still remains a task for national statisticaloffices to throw light on these movements and to makepopulation trends and structures more transparent andreliable.

Another common feature is a prevailing mixed ethniccomposition in the countries of the region. Ethnicminorities are also an important issue in education. Theethnic composition of populations varies from country tocountry: the actual majority of the main ethnic group inindividual countries also varies, e.g. from Montenegrowith 62%, to Moldova with 64%, to Albania with nearly98%. It is obvious that each of the countries has to dealwith ethnic issues. However, it is not easy to get a clearstatistical picture today. In Bulgaria, the new StatisticalLaw does not allow the gathering of data according toethnic origin. Moreover, in the Republic of Srpska, it wasnot possible to gather this data at all. It should not be for-gotten that this issue is still a very sensitive one. Evenfrom a technical point of view, the methodology of datacollection should be improved. Therefore, the data pre-sented in the study should be treated with reserve.

As in other parts of the world, these countries areexperiencing a declining birth rate. Actually, in thisaspect there are huge differences in the region. WhileCroatia, for example, encounters one of the lowest birthrates (9.9 births per 1,000 women in 1999), Kosovo (21.3in 1995), and Albania (17.2 in 1989), are amongst coun-tries with the highest birth rates in Europe.

The data also exhibit a predominantly low level ofeducational attainment for the (active) population, par-ticularly among the middle and older generations. Insome parts that were affected by conflicts during the lastdecade this could also concern young people. In thisregard, some social groups have been particularly mar-ginalized: mostly women, some ethnic groups (e.g.Roma), and older people. Unfortunately, with someexceptions, effective counter-measures applied to thelabour market are either inadequate or absent. At thesame time, the unemployment rate is increasing. This isoccurring particularly among young people and amongthose with incomplete education or only with primary

education, and also affecting some with secondary edu-cation (inappropriate qualifications). The structure ofemployment by economic sectors has changed a greatdeal in the last ten years and will change further in thefuture. This will most likely provoke further instability inthe unemployment rate, particularly if educational struc-tures do not change. Therefore, all these trends should becarefully considered in future processes to develop edu-cational policies.

2. Participation in education

In most countries, the structures of today'seducation systems have been more or less inherited fromthe past. During the 1990s, there were systemic changes,for example in Romania, but most countries have beenplanning broader and more carefully considered reformsin only the last year or two. The existing education sys-tems and patterns obstruct further access to educationand improved participation in education at various levels.Today, only Romania and Moldova have nine years ofcompulsory schooling; all the other countries remainwith the traditional eight yearsalthough they havechanges planned. The average number of years ofschooling is low (usually not exceeding eight years; it isbelow average in Bulgaria and Moldova; some countrieseven reported that these data could not be gathered).

Participation in pre-school education is low and isparticularly alarming in the Western Balkans (Romaniaand Bulgaria come up with better results). In the WesternBalkans, Croatia and Albania with approximately 35% ofchildren included in pre-school education report the bestparticipation, while Kosovo, with (an estimated) 3%,reports the worst situation in the region. It seems that thepredominant form of pre-school education is a tradition-al one. During the transitional period, the costs of pre-school education fell progressively on parents; this prob-ably explains the decrease in participation.

At the level of basic education, all countries reporthigh participation (but they mention some problems ofmethodology in data collection). It should be borne inmind that participation in basic education has tradition-ally been high in these countries and it seems that,despite the conflicts and huge migrations in some partsof the region, all countries succeeded in preserving thebasic obligatory educational network. It is difficult toreach conclusions on the basis of the collected data, butproblems may arise in participation in rural areas (Romachildren, girls). In general, countries do not report alarm-ing levels of dropout from basic education. However, thequality of education could be questionable (particularlyin remote regions) since no appropriate mechanisms ofquality assessment have been implemented. Assessmentcould be a problem in general; some figures give resultsthat are simply too good. In absolute figures, participa-tion in basic education is decreasing as a consequence ofpopulation decrease (with the exception of Albania andKosovo). This trend is important for school network

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planning and particularly for the adoption of teacher-training measures.

Countries report increasing participation in uppersecondary education. However, particularly in theWestern Balkans, the situation is not comparable withother countries in a period of transition. Considerableparts of the population finishing eight years of basic edu-cation do not continue in upper secondary education.Serbia reports the highest proportion of an age cohortcontinuing with upper secondary education (78.3%; overthree times more in vocational education than in generaleducationa consequence of 'career oriented education'during the 1980s?), followed by Romania (69.4%),Bulgaria (67%), FYR Macedonia (65%), and Croatia(63%). There are no such data available for Montenegro,but estimations put it in this same category. Bosnia andHerzegovina reports that more than one-half of the agecohort is enrolled in upper secondary education(56.67%). There are no data for the Republic of Srpska,but the proportion could well be lower. Data are notavailable for Kosovo either; however, according to arough estimation, its proportion would be close to that ofBosnia and Herzegovina. Albania (41%), and Moldova(39%; almost all in general education, only 9% in voca-tional!), are at the bottom of this scale. When examiningschool leavers (graduates), no extensive changes wereintroduced during the last decade. Between 1991 and1999 (2000) at the level of ISCED- 3,3 an increase ofone-fifth is the highest (Serbia, 120%; Croatia, 113%;Montenegro, 108%), while some countries registered adecline in school leavers (FYR Macedonia, 97%;Bulgaria, 88%).

It is typical of most countries that the proportion ofstudents in general education is low, but higher in voca-tional education and training (Moldova, which was oncepart of the former Soviet education system is an excep-tion). It is necessary to point out once again that in coun-tries of the former Yugoslavia that have not so farchanged their education systems, this should be consid-ered within the context of the so-called 'career orientededucation' of the 1980s. Upper secondary general educa-tion (gimnazija) was abolished at the beginning of the1980s (all upper secondary education then became'vocationally oriented') and it was partly reconstructedonly at the beginning of the 1990s. Meanwhile vocation-al education and training still consists mostly of studyprogrammes rooted in the 1980s.

In general, the proportion offemale students to malestudents is quite balanced. There are no data on partici-pation by gender available for Kosovo, but the number offemale students is probably lower there than in othercountries. The Kosovo report only refers to a greaternumber of the female students dropping out of secondaryeducation. Overall drop-out rates seems to be a seriousproblem. All country experts reported that a systematicmeasurement of dropouts from basic and upper second-ary education was in most cases non-existent. Therefore,the methodology of calculating dropout was simply

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based on the number of students who did not completethe school year in relation to the total number of stu-dents. There has also been no systematic resistance toprevent dropout; in this respect the traditional attitudethat 'it's normal to drop out' or 'she/he is not smartenough' is probably very much in evidence. On the otherhand, some official figures, as we have already men-tioned, show very good results (average grades), particu-larly in basic education. It is clear that assessment shouldrepresent an important issue in the process of reformingeducation systems.

There are similar trends in tertiary education. Allcountries report rapidly increasing participation in thisarea as well. At the turn of millennium, 35% of the agecohort (age 19-24) were students in Bulgaria; 31.3%(age 20-24) in Croatia; 29% (age 19-22) in Moldova;28% (age 19-23) in Romania; 22.6% (age 18-24) inSerbia; 21.6% (age 19-25) in Bosnia and Herzegovina;21.5% (age 19-23) in FYR Macedonia; and 15% (age18-23) in Albania. For some countries the correspondingdata are not available. When the number of graduates isexamined, there were no evident positive changes duringthe last decade. Between 1991 and 1999 (2000) at thelevel of ISCED-5, the highest growth was registered inRomania, followed by Croatia. Croatia also registeredthe highest proportion of graduates in relation to gradu-ates at ISCED-3 level, while Bulgaria registered a smalldecrease in the number of graduates:

Romania, 213% (24% of graduates at ISCED-3);Montenegro, 170% (but only 9% of graduates atISCED-3; in absolute figure: 649 graduates);Croatia, 143% (26% of graduates at ISCED-3);Macedonia, 110% (18% of graduates at ISCED-3);Serbia, 103% (19% of graduates at ISCED-3);Bulgaria, 91% (43% of graduates at ISCED- 3).

3. Enrolment patterns and the number of institutions

The third chapter of the questionnaire dealt with moredetailed issues of enrolment and institutions, which wehave briefly introduced above. They draw attention tosome details of the school network and similar issueslinked with the ones already described.

School network; number of institutions. Traditionally,school networks have been well developed in the coun-tries of the region. There is no evidence of any radicalclosing of institutions, although some countries obvious-ly encounter severe problems with extremely low enrol-ment in rural areas and in some types of institutions. Thesize of institutions differs greatly: there are many institu-tions with fifty pupils or less, while at the otherextremeparticularly in urban centreshuge institu-tions are still encountered. An average pupil/teacher ratioin most cases does not seem to be very problematic: inkindergartens it differs from 7.76:1 (the Republic ofSrpska) to 20.73 (Montenegro); in primary schools from

12 (Bulgaria) to 21 (Bosnia and Herzegovina); in gener-al secondary schools from 11.0/11.8 (Bosnia andHerzegovina, Croatia) to 19 (Kosovo; Serbian schoolsexcluded); in vocational education and training schoolsfrom 6.5 (Moldova) to 21 (Bosnia and Herzegovina); atuniversities from 10 (Bulgaria) to 20 (Kosovo) and innon-university higher education institutions from 8.0/8.8(Bulgaria, Moldova) to 68.0/32.18 (Romania, Serbia).However, this is an average situation only. In some casesinstitutions encounter difficult problems at bothextremes. Vocational education and training schools andnon-university institutions display the highest extremeswithin the region. The situation calls for the reconsider-ation of both public as well as private school networks.

In most countries the sub-system of private kinder-gartens and schools is not well developed. In some coun-tries, there are no such institutions in pre-school andbasic education (Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro); inother countries, there are only a few (Bosnia andHerzegovina, the Republic of Srpska, Kosovo). If thereare private institutions, then by law they are not support-ed by the national budget. The category of private insti-tutions mainly consists of private kindergartens (124 inCroatia, 70 in Romania, 41 in Moldova, 28 in Albania,18 in Bulgaria), but also primary schools (28 in Albania,25 in Bulgaria, 24 in Moldova, 6 in Croatia), and schoolsof general upper secondary education (56 in Bulgaria, 30in Romania, 26 in Croatia, 21 in Moldova, 18 inAlbania). Institutions of higher education are alsoinvolved. Private initiatives in vocational education andtraining are almost totally absent in the Western Balkans(there are 35 such schools in Bulgaria, 22 in Romania, 3in Moldova). It is difficult to answer what really initiatesschemes for the establishment of private institutions.These institutions could to a certain extent be an alterna-tive to existing public education (due to its problems andlimitations), partly they could also be an answer to insuf-ficient public financing of education. In some countriesprivate kindergartens and schools (not in vocational edu-cation and training) are primarily confessional.

Adult education remains unrecognized in all coun-tries of the region! The former system of adult educationhas mainly collapsed and, in most cases, no new devel-opment is foreseen. This part of the education system isovershadowed by familiar problems occurring within thefield of the education of young people; nonetheless, itshould be placed on the agenda and should by no meansbe forgotten. Since there is no relevant monitoring of thissub-system, there is a desperate lack of data, whichmakes a detailed and correct diagnosis presently impos-sible. Countries usually report some weak structures orpublic institutions. Private institutions have been estab-lished in most countries. Yet, in general they are neithera part of the public system of education, nor are they wellregulated or supported from the budget either. As theeducational structure of populations aged over 30 is poorand numerous employment problems are experienced,adult education should be recognized everywhere among

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the main national priorities. Special attention should bepaid to programmes of (re)training and to the philosophyof promoting lifelong learning.

4. The curriculum

In only a few countriesby law since the late 1990shave new curricula been approved and implemented inbasic education, general secondary education, and, for atleast some professions, in vocational education and train-ing (Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania). Parallel to this,teachers have received new training, but in most casestheir training seems to have been insufficient, sometimeslacking appropriate new instructional materials. In othercountries, there were only slight changes in the curricu-lum during the last decade.

For the countries of the Western Balkans, a compre-hensive curricular reform should be a top priority.

5. Administration in primary and secondary education

From the point of view of human resource development,school administration is disregarded. There is almost nosystematic training for school principals. In general,teacher training remains a traditional, under-esteemedactivity. Due to circumstances, teachers regressed in aprofessional sense during the recent crises and they needmore support today. In-service teacher training is mostlyinsufficient (almost absent in some countries), while pre-service training needs modernization. A particularlymodernized institutional basis is required that could pro-vide graduates with better pedagogical competences.This is particularly important for (future) teachers invocational education and training.

Qualifications of educators and teachers. In mostcases there are no data available on the qualifications ofteachers and educators. Taking into account the absenceof these data, it seems that regulations on teacher quali-fications are vagueneither comparable nor very reli-able. In those countries in which data reports are avail-able (one half of the countries!), under- or unqualifiedteachers and educators can be found mostly in pre-schooleducation (30% in Macedonia, 21% in Romania andCroatia) and basic education (19% in Romania andBosnia and Herzegovina, 13.5% in Kosovo). The ratio ofunder- or unqualified teachers is surprisingly high invocational education and training schools in Moldova(46%) and Romania (13%), as well as in non-universityhigher education institutions in Romania (33%). Onceagain, these data are not very reliable. It is necessary toreconsider the system of teachers' and educators' quali-fications.

6. Facilities and equipment

Taking into account the economic and political circum-stances of the 1990s, it is not surprising that all countriesreport severe problems with facilities and equipment. The

situation is most severe in the countries affected by wars,particularly in Kosovo. The restoration of the education-al facilities is an extremely difficult project for thesecountries, which could be launched only with the help ofinternational organizations. Country reports show that inmost countries there is a lack of data on facilities andequipment. Therefore, endeavours to get a clear and fairpresentation of the most necessary interventions shouldbe supported. Severe problems in restoration of the edu-cational facilities and modernization of the equipmentshould be linked with the development of a comprehen-sive educational policy (particularly concerning schoolnetworks).

7. Costs and financing

This was the most difficult part of the study. Data on edu-cational costs and financing are largely absent and theresearch team had to pay particular attention to collect-ing data and analysing them. In almost every country itwas necessary to resort to different methodologies. Thereare several technical reasons for the lack of data, mostlyattributable to the transitional nature of societies: fre-quent changes of legislation; inflation; absence of moni-toring, etc. In Kosovo, so far no country budget hasexisted, thus education has been financed from the so-called 'consolidated budget', which mainly originatedfrom international sources. Pre-school education is self-financed in most cases.

In general, public financing of education is ratherpoor: on average it forms 3 to 4% of gross domesticproduct, sometimes even below 3%. Foreign aid is rarelysufficiently organized, nor properly co-ordinated, and itis not always aimed at sustainability. In the overall budg-et, nearly all the resources available are allocated tosalaries (almost all in pre-university education inRomania, 90% or more in Croatia, Montenegro and theFederation of Bosnia and Herzegovina). Funds forschool equipment (2% or even less in Croatia, Moldova,Montenegro and Romania) and investments (3% or evenless in Montenegro, Macedonia, the Republic of Srpska,Romania and Serbia) are very weak. There are no realis-tic possibilities for educational development in theframework of a national budget of this type; internation-al support should be considered in this connection. Onceagain, it was impossible to get comparable data from allthe countries. In some countries, a slightly better struc-ture of the budget (lower share for salaries, higher sharefor investments and equipment) is observable in highereducation (Romania, Montenegro and Croatia).

IV. SOME RECOMMENDATIONSAND CONCLUSIONS

As can be seen from this studyas well as from reviewsand reports collected in the framework of the South-EastEurope Educational Co-operation Networkthere aremore or less clear findings on future orientations and the

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immediate goals for improving particular parts of theeducational pyramid. I will presently only try to summa-rize some of the most evident findings and recommenda-tions.

In general, countries of the region have encountereda decrease or, at the very least, a stagnation of the pro-portion of children included in pre-primary education.The economic situation is to be viewed as the main rea-son for the present situation. Yet, the cultural aspectshould also be considered. Even if an improvement couldbe expected in parallel with economic growth, this state-ment could still not be a reasonable position for educa-tional policy in the present circumstances. Pre-primaryeducation should have a greater place in educational pol-icy today. Merely waiting for an economic boom wouldonly result in inactivity for a further period of time.Moreover, pre-primary education is closely linked withsome other policy areas, for example, demography,social and gender issues, family, etc., that do not allowfor apathy.

Elementary education is probably that part of theeducational pyramid to which most attention is beingpaid on a national level, but, it is also the area that has tocope with the most severe problems. The problems areimmense: the majority of public funds are allocated toelementary education, yet the lack of sufficient fundingusually affects this part of the system most. We shouldleave out (but not forget!) serious problems of structuresand equipment in order to stress the renewal of curriculaand the implementation of new teaching and learningmethods that also seem to be closely linked to futureregional co-operation in education. All countries of theregion have reached a level where compulsory elemen-tary education is no longer the priority issue, but qualityelementary education for all is the real task that everycountry must aim for. Differentiation at school, individu-alization of compulsory pedagogical educational stan-dards, improvement of monitoring and assessment,optional subjects, decentralization of curricula, etc.allthese issues together with particular aspects of the edu-cation of marginal groups, minorities and children withspecial needs, etc., should receive more systemic supportin the future. More developmental projects should belaunched in this area and their better implementationshould be sought. On the content level, a need to contin-ue with well-rooted projects in developing civic educa-tion, improving history teaching, language learning, etc.,(not only in basic education) is still prevalent and needssolid follow-up.

Most of what has just been said holds true also in thecase of upper secondary education. However, generalupper secondary education today seems to occupy a bet-ter position than vocational education and training inmost countries of the region. The reasons can once againbe attributed to the economic situation and transitionprocesses in society. However, as in the case of pre-pri-mary education mentioned above, passive waiting for aneconomic boom would not make a firm base for educa-

tional policy. Ten (or even more) consecutive age cohortswithout the possibility of systematic vocational educa-tion and training are not only problematic and expensivefrom the point of view of the national economy and thelabour market; they are also very problematicandexpensivefrom the point of view of the expected con-solidated structure of upper secondary education.General secondary education schools (gymnasiums,lyceums, etc.) have to deal with a situation that is quitedifferent from that of some other countries: they not onlyoffer general education, but in many cases they also sub-stitute for the lack of vocational schools. This problem isreflected in questions of access, equity, etc., but also inthe transfer to tertiary education.

In some countries of the region the term tertiary edu-cation calls for earnest discussion. A traditional model ofuniversity education is still predominantly in force andthe existing universitiesconfronted with many prob-lems that cannot be discussed in detail herehave tocope with situations similar to that of some gymnasiumsor lyceums. However, they must do so at a 'higher level'because they have to resist the pressure of young unem-ployed people. Unfortunately, this leads to questions ofaccess, equity, quality, etc., being overlooked. In order toprovide greater access, to ensure the quality of universi-ty study, to strengthen links with industry and promoteemploymentbut also to influence processes at lowereducational levelsattempts to develop diversified sys-tems of tertiary education, which are in progress in somecountries, could indicate effective steps forward. Thesesteps could also be strengthened by means of regionaland international co-operation.

Finally, let us not forget that adult education is aproblem per se. In a situation where the key effort ofnational education policy is to introduce endeavours tostop negative processes and to guarantee quality educa-tion for all young people who will sooner or later have tocope with economic and political reality, the education ofadults seems to be marginalized. The problem is particu-larly dramatic: during the last decade the acceleratingrate of unemployment was a main characteristic of theregion, while the structure of industry today is totally dif-ferent from the past, and new skills are demanded by thelabour market. The age cohort between 35 and 50 yearsis probably most affected by the lack of educational andtraining opportunities. In addition, public funds havemostly been abolished from this area of education, whilemost of the new (re)privatized companies have not so fardeveloped any interest in financial support for this formof education and training. Endeavours that aim at pro-moting lifelong learning strategies usually meet insur-mountable obstacles at this precise point. However, thiscould again be an important point on the agenda forregional co-operation and international assistance.

Because of the internal limitations of this report andfollowing the above comments about different parts ofthe educational pyramid, we may make only a few addi-tional remarks about teachers' education and training: it

needs radical modernization in both its pre-service aswell as its in-service forms. The entire region needs mod-ern institutions in this area, not only: (1) as a place ofquality teachers' education and training; but also (2) as aplace of substantive educational research, particularly inpolicy studies, as well as in pedagogical methods anddidactics that should abandon their traditional and out-moded forms; and (3) as a place of support for furthereducational renewal and curricular development in eachcountry. Since teacher education and training is tradi-tionally understood as primarily concerning basic educa-tion or general education, the importance of the peda-gogical competences of teachers in vocational educationand training schools and adult learning should be empha-sized. Neither should this issue be neglected in pre-pri-mary education.

Following this point can help us draw a conclusion.Countries of the regionfacing so many serious chal-lenges to their education systemshave received signif-icant expert help from the international community overrecent years. They achieved evident successes, but theirneeds are still immense. Efficiently meeting these needsby all available means demands sustainable resourcesand expertise.

As various forms of help from the international com-munity have been extremely valuable and most timelyfor countries of the region, an intrinsic imbalance hasoften been present within those countries. Sometimesthis was due to the lack of understanding of particular sit-uations in each country of the region. It has also been theresult of separate bilateral co-operation schemes withindividual countries without any appropriate internation-al co-ordination. What does this mean? There were cer-tain projects aimed at helping all countries in imple-menting educational innovations (e.g. 'Step by Step'),and taking into account the particular situation of a par-ticular country. There were also bilateral (or even unilat-eral) projectsno doubt a sincere expression of solidar-itythat sometimes produced structures that only deep-ened the existing disparities within the region. We shouldnot forget that accession to Europe means also compati-bility within the region. First of all, it is the region that ispredominant.

Today it is widely accepted that a region, any region,needs a certain internal compatibility, certain similarstructures of its system in order to strengthen mutual co-operation, to enhance exchanges, etc. The troubles justmentioned mostly result from decreasing or hinderedregional co-operation in the past (for reasons we cannotelaborate on here) and an increasing bilateral co-opera-tion with sometimes 'very distant' countries. These trou-bles can be avoided and the added value of bilateral co-operation can be strengthened if reasonable co-operationand co-ordination is promoted inside the region andstrengthened within the frame of greater international co-operation.

Last but not least; in order to strengthen national edu-cational reforms, it is necessary to improve the image of

412 BESTCOPY AVAILABLE

education in societies of the region. It was obvious fromthis study that the overall position of education in soci-eties of the region is still weak. The share of GDP spenton education is lower everywhere sometimes critical-ly lowerthan is recommended by international organi-zations. As a consequence, the social status of teachers israther weak, their working conditions are poor, and theirreadiness to engage in educational renewal is under-mined. Of course, in such a situation, a Minister's firstpriority is to guarantee that the system works smoothly;for her or him it is extremely difficult to launch renewalprojects. In such conditions, international expert co-operation is helpful and worthy, but one should not for-get that national budgetary problems have still to beovercome.

An important point that can help strengthen the gen-eral position of education in society is presented throughpublic values and public opinion. Renewal of (national)education is always linked with a change of public val-ues and public opinion. Democratic and open societiesare based upon individuals, who should be able toaddress their everyday problems and to co-operate withothers on the basis of equal rights, solidarity, and similarvalues. To live in a democratic society, to play an indi-vidual part in the economy and political life, to make anindividual contribution to the values of an open socie-tyall these aims are based on quality education for all.These aims can be seriously obstructed if public opinionassociates education with ruined schools lacking basicequipment, low paid and poorly trained teachers, andoutmoded curricula. However, these aims can also befostered if the key national priority is given (also) to edu-cation and if certain school improvements are quicklyapproved by society. It is obvious that this is the verypoint in which a country could easily fall into circulus

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vitiosusa vicious circle. The worst thing is when pub-lic opinion loses any trust and turns away from educationas an opportunity for an individual (carpe diem!) andsubstitutes it with day-to-day survival. This is the mostexpensive scenario from the point of view of the countryas a whole, not only in terms of its (educational) budget.

Therefore, at the end of this report a plea should bemade for a national, regional and international campaignintended to improve the position and the esteem of edu-cation in societies of the region. Various activities couldbe launched: public appearancesregionally and inter-nationallyby distinguished personalities, which woulddraw attention to education as a tool of individual pro-motion and national prosperity, and also draw attentionto successful economicor culturalactivities based onnew knowledge and skills, etc.

The foreseen peer reviews in the countries of theregion seem to recognize some important potential inthis direction too.

NOTES

1. Based on the final content report on the project: Support forOECD thematics review of educational policy in South-Eastern Europe, OECD, 2002. (Ref.CCNM/DEELSA/ED(200 1)1).

2. The researchers in these countries were: Dr. DukagjinPupovci (Kosovo); Suada Numié (BiHFederation ofBosnia & Herzegovina); Aleksandra Gakovie (BiHtheRepublic of Srpska); Pavli Kisi (Albania); BlagicaNovkovska (FYR of Macedonia); Iskra Petrova (Bulgaria);Mag. Senka Bosner (Croatia); Nataga Zivkovid(Montenegro); Liliana Preoteasa (Romania); GordanaZindovieVukadinovie (Serbia) ; and Dr. Anatol Gremalschi(Moldova). See: http://ceps.pef.uni-lj.si/ for details.

3. The International Standard Classification of Education(ISCED): http://www.unesco.org/education/information/nfsunesco/doc/isced_l 997.htm

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II. The South-East European EducationalCo-operation Network1

Igor Repac

I. BACKGROUND

While countries and education systems in the region varygreatly, they share the common challenge of having torespond quickly and in a flexible manner to fundamentaldemocratic, economic and social transition processes with-in difficult financial and political constraints. Changinglabour markets, emerging civil society, and reconciliationprocesses require new skills, competencies, knowledgeand values in a lifelong learning perspective. At the sametime, the management of change in education and trainingsystems faces severe challenges. These challenges includea deteriorating 'material base' (infrastructure, decreasingreal incomes of teachers and administrators); demograph-ic changes (migration from rural to urban areas, internaldisplacement, refugees/returnees, brain drain); unsteadylegal and political frameworks; weak institutional capacityto support decentralization and the introduction of newmanagement; outmoded teaching and learning styles; etc.

Over the last decade of transition, the countries in theregion have developed a variety of approaches to tacklethese problems. The potential to learn from good prac-tices within the region, as well as from mistakes made,would enhance ongoing and future reform processes andoptimize the use of investments made so far. Regionalco-operation is the necessary tool to use this pool ofaccumulated expertise. It was acknowledged that, apartfrom the international community and the national gov-ernments, civil society actors (e.g. NG0s) are also play-ing an increasingly important role.

After a decade of upheavalscrises and wars in theBalkansthe idea of the network grew out of a concernthat more remains to be rebuilt in the region than its phys-ical infrastructure. The need to ensure the establishmentof good neighbourly relations, the readiness of differentethnic groups to live together, and the ability of all to copewith profound changes were all considered more impor-tant. It was believed that education would contribute sub-stantially to the creation of a stable and prosperous civilsociety and to sustainable economic development.

II. CREATING THE NETWORK

One of the first initiatives in the direction of a regionalco-operation effort was the creation of a virtual platform

of communication: a South-East Europe (SEE) websitewas set up by KulturKontakt Austria, an organizationsupported by and acting on behalf of the Austrian FederalMinistry of Education, Science and Culture. It offerednews and background information on the Enhanced GrazProcess, a data base comprising more than 400 educa-tional projects, a newsletter with information on forth-coming conferences and meetings, ongoing programmesand other news from the world of education. It is in thisperspective that a feasibility study for a 'SoutheastEuropean Educational Co-operation Centre' was carriedout by the European Commission. The Centre was to bea focal point for information exchange, co-ordination andnetworking between existing regional initiatives andother European partners, as well as for inter-institutionaleducational co-operation. It was determined that innova-tive pilot projects should give quick and flexible impuls-es and provide experience for systemic reform.

The South-East European Educational Co-operationNetwork (SEE-ECN) was developed as a part of theEnhanced Graz Process, initiated by Austria, in order topromote democratic and peaceful development in theregion by supporting and co-ordinating educational co-operation projects.

In February 2001, in co-operation with the Centre forEducational Policy Studies (CEPS) of the University ofLjubljana, the SEE website was incorporated into theSouth-East European Educational Co-operationNetwork. CEPS was chosen to implement the project, asit was already working with a network that facilitatedaccess to information on education in the region andoperated in regional languages.

The SEE website thus became the SEE-ECN web siteand has been jointly managed by Kulturkontakt andCEPS ever since. Kulturkontakt has contributed to theproject by providing a co-operation platform (a web edi-tor and running costs) for the website; while CEPS hasprovided the necessary office space and training. Theframework of co-operation consists of a clear distribu-tion of tasks at the organizational and content levels.Kulturkontakt continues to manage part of the home-page, while CEPS introduces novelties.

The objectives of the new website were:to create a databank and information pool in order tofacilitate the flow of information on development of

education, and of educational systems in the region;to support and democratize the debate on expertiseand analyses;to increase local ownership and commitment;and to facilitate the dissemination of information.

III. VISIONS, OBJECTIVES, STRATEGIES

The long-term objective of the network is the incorpora-tion of South-Eastern Europe into a 'European Area ofEducation', based upon the willingness of all the partiesinvolved to pro-actively promote this process. Attainingthis objective requires long-term programmes as well asshort-term initiatives and bridging measures. The firststeps to be taken were identified as follows:

the creation of structures for a constant flow of infor-mation;the use of existing regional expertise in order toencourage regional ownership and initiative;networking and co-operation across all institutional,cultural and national borders.

From the very beginning, the SEE-ECN has been con-ceived as a project in progress. In its Phase /, the maingoal was to establish a virtual network in order to supportand enhance existing activities, to make relevant docu-ments accessible in regional languages free of charge,and to animate debate on educational reforms in theregion. In Phase //, the SEE-ECN was to work onstrengthening contacts among educational institutionsand experts through electronic communication.

With time, the network has been improved in order to:broaden public debate on reform goals and methods;increase the level of expert involvement in discussingthe findings of international reviews;bring together key contact points in the educationsystems of the Stability Pact countries on a regularbasis;operate in the local languages of the region.

Donors that enabled the establishment of the SEE-ECNand still support its efforts are:

Open Society Institute, Budapest.Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (BMAA).Austrian Ministry of Education, Science and Culture(BMBWK).University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Education.United States Embassy, Ljubljana.Tandar, Ljubljana.

IV. THE STRUCTURE OF THE NETWORK

The network is overseen by a Governing Board and aSteering Committee. The Governing Board was estab-lished by the Task Force Education and Youth (StabilityPact for South East Europe). Its mission is to oversee theimplementation of the SEE-ECN strategy, guidelines andfunds managed by CEPS, and to discuss the developmentof the network. The Steering Committee is responsiblefor the overall monitoring of the project implementation

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and for endorsing any changes to the framework outlinedby the project proposal. It consists of one representativeof each donor institution, the implementing partners(CEPS, KulturKontakt), and the Governing Board. TheGoverning Board and the Steering Committee informeach other on their activities, findings and proposals on aregular basis.

V. LAUNCHING THE NETWORK

When the Governing Board adopted the Initial Charter(November 2001), the Task Force on Education andYouth, CEPS and KulturKontakt informed internationalpartners of the aims of the network in a jointly signed let-ter and invited some institutions from SEE countries andinternational organizsations to join the network. The ini-tial members were:

SEE ministries responsible for education, labour,employment and social affairs.SEE leading public institutions responsible for edu-cational studies and research (educational institutesor institutes of employment, universities and particu-larly higher education institutions dealing with edu-cational policy and teacher education).Leading non-governmental organizations in educa-tion in the SEE region.International organizations (OECD, World Bank,UNESCO and its national commissions in the region,UNDP, the Council of Europe, the EuropeanCommission, EURYDICE, ETF and its nationalobservatories, regional OSI, etc.).

The network set up an interim structure by drawingtogether and building upon existing institutions thatwould foster information exchange, co-ordination andco-operation needs across the region on a permanentbasis. This structure was set up in a way that would allowan easy shift or transfer into a more permanent structure.

VI. SEE-ECN COUNTRY NODES

In order to strengthen the network and to decentralizeefforts, the Governing Board established 'SEE regionalnodes' in all countries. These nodes were to collect doc-uments in their respective countries, to assist in organiz-ing translations and to contribute to the general develop-ment of the network.

CEPS invited all SEE-ECN members to suggestpotential SEE country nodes among institutions (NG0s,governmental institutions, educational institutions, etc.)registered and operating in their respective countries. Onthe basis of the applications, the Governing Board madethe final decision and an operative plan was prepared. InJune 2001, a first agreement was reached with institu-tions in Albania, Croatia, Kosovo, Moldova,Montenegro, and Romania.

During its third session, in October 2001, theGoverning Board organized a round table with key localorganizations in order to promote the SEE-ECN and to

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increase visibility of the country nodes. By February2002, all SEE countries were represented and have sincethen contributed to the gathering of information and thetranslation of a large number of documents.

Currently the SEE-ECN country nodes are:Albania: Educational Democratic Centre.Bosnia and Herzegovina: Student Resource Center(SRCe).Bulgaria: National Institute of Education.Croatia: Institute for Social ResearchZagreb(ISR)/Centre for Educational Research andDevelopment (CERD).FYR of Macedonia: University St. Ciril and Metodij,Institute for Pedagogy.Romania: Institute for Educational Sciences.Montenegro: Ministry of Education and Science,School Inspectorate in Podgorica.Kosovo: Kosova Education Centre.Moldova: Institute for Public Policy.Serbia: Educational Forum.

A meeting of country nodes was organized by CEPS(February 2002), in co-operation with the Romaniannode (the Institute for Educational Sciences) and spon-sored by the Open Society Fund's 'East-East Program'.A country nodes meeting was held in Bucharest,Romania. It was an occasion for the participants to open-ly discuss recent co-operation and possibilities in thefuture of the project. The conclusions of the meeting reit-erated the responsibilities and tasks of the country nodes.They serve as guidance for current activities and are ofgreat use for the new activity plans that are establishedevery four months.

VII. EVENTS

During the implementation of the project, SEE-ECN hasactively participated in the preparation and organizationof numerous events. On one occasion, SEE-ECN coun-try nodes identified several educational experts for aworkshop held in Ljubljana (March 2002). Moreover,the SEE-ECN home page has a calendar of conferencesand other important meetings, workshops, summer uni-versities, etc., in which one can find over seventyannouncements of forthcoming events in the field ofeducation related to South-East Europe. More than 120announcements of past events are recorded in thearchive. The SEE-ECN played a particularly importantrole in the following two events:

1. Workshop on 'Drafting Education Legislation - Artor Craft?' (Bled, Slovenia, 27-29 September 2001)

The forty-two participants in this workshop were legalspecialists as well as experts in educational contents andsystems of South- East European Stability Pact coun-tries. The objective of the workshop was to exchangepractical information and know-how relevant for thepreparation of legislation in education and for human

resource development in South-East Europe. The work-shop thus contributed to capacity building of legal staffand personnel of Ministries and Parliamentary commis-sions who are currently preparing legislation.

The SEE-ECN was deeply involved in the prepara-tions of the workshop and of background materials oneducation legislation, which were gathered from SEEcountries as well as other parts of Europe. The materialshave been made accessible on the SEE-ECN website,either in the languages of the SEE region, or in English,French or German.

2. 'Drafting New Curricula' Workshop (Bohinj,Slovenia, 26-28 April 2002)

Details on the workshop can be found throughout thisreport. It is worth mentioning here that it has been thelargest event organized within the SEE-ECN so far.

3. Difficulties encountered

During the implementation of the SEE-ECN project,CEPS faced various problems particularly in establishingcontacts to animate the network, as well as in collectingdocuments and information. This resulted from:

Continued political instability and/or alternations inchanges of governments (elections) in more or less allcountries and consequently frequent modifications ofcontact persons.Insufficient levels of information technology: a lackof computers, or standards of IT (properly equippedand trained users, etc.) vary, which sometimes hin-ders communication, etc.Technical problems: hardware and software are obso-lete in most SEE countries, connections are slow andunstable; regular surface mail encounters obstacles,power-cuts occur, etc.Incomplete texts and other written materials are sentto CEPS; problems with copyrights.Lack of regular response from partners.Lack of good translators; high costs of translation insome countries.

VIII. THE SEE-ECN TODAY

Today, largely with the assistance of the country nodes, theSEE-ECN represents the most comprehensive educationalinformation network in South-East Europe. It collects andconstantly updates information on educational reformprocesses in South-East Europe and provides support toeducational researchers, policy analysts and decision mak-ers. Key documents (strategy papers, curricula, legislation,reports, etc.) are collected in a virtual library (more than1,300 documents, sorted into seven different clusters:basic information and database; national policy docu-ments; good practices; educational legislation; reviewsand reports; curriculum; expertise; and theory) and numer-ous educational documents from within and outside theregion are accessible in English as well as in regional Ian-

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guages (Albanian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian,Macedonian, Romanian, Serbian, Slovenian).

An expert database has been established to provideinformation on available expertise in various areascur-rently the network has more than 100 registered experts.The network counts more than 200 registered members(ministries, international organizations, universities,schools, institutes and NGOs) and the SEE-ECN webpage includes a calendar of events, which provides a reg-ular overview of activities in the region (workshops, con-ferences, meetings, etc.). The statistics, showing an aver-age 6,000 to 8,000 visitors to the site each month, are thebest proof of recent rapid development of the network.The SEE-ECN page has gained recognition in the regionand beyond, and has extended its role as an informationjunction point to connect and bring educational expertsfrom the region closer together.

CEPS has responded to numerous requests fromorganizations, institutions, and individuals from withinas well as outside the region, who have referred to thenetwork for different reasons. Some examples of thetypes of technical assistance CEPS provided are:

The SEE-ECN provided materials concerning theorganizational structures of several ministries to theAlbanian country node to assist in the reconstructionof the Ministry of Education in Albania.The SEE-ECN provided specific information on cur-ricula from Slovenia requested by the Ministry ofEducation, Science and Sport in Bosnia andHerzegovina.Participation of experts from the region and fromother European countries has been organized usinglists of experts in "Experts" database (e.g. confer-ence on curriculum development in Belgrade, work-shop on higher education in Moldova, etc.).CEPS and the SEE-ECN country nodes identifiedseveral educational experts from within the region fora workshop in Ljubljana (March 2002).CEPS assisted students from FYR Macedonia andCyprus who requested information concerning thecompletion of their studies in Slovenia.Information and consultation have been provided tonon-regional experts, post-graduate students (e.g.from Ottawa).

In the spring of 2001, CEPS was awarded a DemocracyCommission Grant for the SEE-ECN programme. Thisenabled the development of the Civic EducationCurriculum, a SEE-ECN sub-project, which is of par-ticular importance to the countries in the region.Additional means enabled the SEE-ECN to furtherimprove the selection of documents on civic education,so that by April 2002, thirty-seven original papers oncivic education (approximately 1,020 pages) were pub-lished on the web-site. In addition, the SEE-ECNaccomplished the translation of fifty-eight documents(approximately 1,560 pages of papers on civic educa-tion).

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IX. OBJECTIVES IN THE NEXT PHASE:FROM AN INFORMATION TOA CO-OPERATION NETWORK

The current SEE-ECN project is scheduled to end inOctober 2002. By then, it is expected that the networkwill have the most comprehensive collection of informa-tion on education systems and on past and ongoing edu-cation reforms in South-East Europe (including, forexample, the OECD Thematic Reviews of NationalEducational Policies of all countries/entities of SEE).

Where will we go from there? During the next phase,the network aims to increase and expand its existingactivities and information sources with a focus on theEuropean dimension (key documents, contacts, links), aswell as on participatory/inter-active features of the website (discussions, mailing list, on-line journal). Whilepreserving the SEE-ECN as a light, lean structure, exist-ing activities could be extended to cover new aspects.The network's profile will be determined by the recom-mendations of the feasibility study, the experience it hasgathered so far, its experience in networking and consul-tations with key actors. We believe that the network cancontinue to provide added value to already existingregional, inter-regional and national co-operation net-works. In maintaining its strong focus on virtual com-munication, it can provide a comprehensive, yet costeffective network.

Two main aspects that the network will focus on arethe role of the country nodes and the identification ofkey areas for training and networking activities. If thenetwork is to operate on a higher level, the role of theSEE-ECN country nodes will have to strengthen in orderfor them to become more active. They should stimulatethe development of the national networks and, even moreimportantly, ensure that a wide sector of national stake-holders has access to the network and is encouraged toactively participate in it.

Currently, CEPS is preparing the establishment of anonline discussion forum within the SEE-ECN site, whereeducational experts can openly discuss various issues inthe educational field. The extent to which the SEE edu-cational public will respond to this initiative is yet to beseen. We feel that the implementation of this task, whichwill require considerable time and effort, would repre-sent a significant improvement, even though we remainaware of the problems related to the use of the Internet inthe region. The insufficient level of information technol-ogy (small number of computers and properly skilledusers), together with technical problems (slow andunstable connections, even power-cuts), lead us tobelieve that the current number of average monthly visi-tors on our website is a success and that we might havereached the optimal number for the time being, given theregional infrastructure. The enlargement of influence ofthe SEE-ECN website will therefore have to be accom-panied by a general improvement of information tech-nology in the region.

i7

It is also clear that steps towards the expansion of thenetwork will in large part depend on key actors in thefield of education and training in South-East Europe. Thenext step will therefore be to identify key areas for train-ing and networking activities, to be carried out in con-sultation with regional nodes and other members. Thiswould allow interested members to "buy-in" trainingmodules/activities from experts and institutions in theregion. Regular assessments of the activities and targetareas would, on the other hand, allow immediate andflexible responses to educational reform needs both on

17

the level of policy development, system improvementand policy implementation.

Finally, the SEE-ECN could provide an annual pro-gramme of core activities and organize various events onbehalf of other institutions/organizations that are in linewith the overall philosophy of the SEE-ECN. In return,these activities, would successfully promote regional,and interregional participation in wider European co-operation networks.

NOTEI. See: http://www.see-educoop.net/

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III. Summary se ninar re or

I. BACKGROUND

A number of thematic reviews of education have beenconducted by the OECD (Autumn 2000Summer 2001)in countries of South-East Europe (SEE) within theframework of the Stability Pact Task Force onEducation and Youth. These reviews have provided sys-tematic insight into national systems of education andhave formulated a range of recommendations touchingupon curriculum, legislation, access, vocational educa-tion and training, and life long learning strategies,among other issues. Within this framework, theStability Pact Task Force on Education and Youth doc-ument 'Strategy 2001' has planned a series of seminarsfor 2001 and 2002 aimed at human resource develop-ment and capacity-building in South-East Europeancountries in the area of educational reform. The firstseminar was on educational legislation (Autumn 2001)and was organized by the Open Society EducationProgrammes in South-East Europe (OSEP-SEE) andthe Center Centre for Educational Policy Analysis(CEPS). The seminar on curriculum development thattook place in Bohinj in April 2002 was the second inthis series.

II. RATIONALE

It is now widely recognized that curriculum renewal isan important component of educational reform andquality improvement. Moreover, thematic reviews ofeducation conducted in the countries of South-EastEurope (SEE) highlight the importance of curricularchange in educational reforms that have been plannedor are underway. Addressing issues of curricula reviewand reform, however, has been delayed in countriesaffected by armed conflict over the past decade. As aresult, lack of expertise in this area now constitutes animportant obstacle to educational reform in many of thecountries of the region. In such a context, developing acommon understanding of educational reform throughdialogue and sharing of experiencebased on bothregional processes of reform, as well as on examplesfrom other regions of the worldis an important con-tribution to building or reinforcing regional capacity forcurricula change.

III. PURPOSE

The aim of the seminar was to contribute to humanresource development and capacity-building in the fieldof curriculum development in South-East European

countries through the exchange of information andknow-how on the basis of case studies in curriculareview and reform. The seminar thus aimed to strength-en the South-East European Education Co-operationNetwork, by reinforcing co-operation among expertsfrom the SEE and other countries.

IV. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

1 To exchange information and share experiences onnational processes of curriculum review and reform.

2 To analyse contemporary trends in curriculum devel-opment based on regional and international case stud-ies and examples of good practice.

3 To identify specific needs of SEE countries in thearea of curriculum renewal, in particular, by dis-cussing concrete situations and issues.

4 To establish contacts between experts for the SEEregion and beyond in view of initiating further sus-tainable co-operation.

The outcomes of the workshop will contribute tostrengthening the South-East European Co-operationNetwork (SEE-ECN, see: http://www.see-educoop.net/).

V. PARTICIPANTS

A total of seventy-nine participants took part in thisworkshop. Applications were invited from teams ofspecialists of countries belonging to the Stability Pactof South-East Europe. The participating countries, andtheir corresponding number of delegates were: Albania(4), Bosnia & Herzegovina (3), Bulgaria (4), Croatia(8), Kosovo (8), FYR Macedonia (4) Moldova (3),Montenegro (5) Romania (3), Serbia (8), and Slovenia(6). Each country team comprised two or three curricu-lum specialists from educational institutions, as well asone or two decision-makers in charge of educationalreform in their ministries. Participants were invitedjointly by the International Bureau of Education(UNESCO:IBE) and the Centre for Educational PolicyStudies (CEPS), through the South- East EuropeanEducational Co-operation Network (SEE-ECN) operat-ed by CEPS at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.Support was also provided by the Open SocietyEducation Programs South-East Europe.

Foreign and regional experts in curriculum develop-ment participated as keynote speakers, workshop mod-erators, and rapporteurs. Experts from Austria,Belgium, Canada, Hungary, Lebanon, Norway,Slovenia and the United Kingdom moderated the work-shop sessions.

19 19

VI. A COMPARATIVE APPROACH

Prior to the seminar, materials on curriculum develop-ment at the pre-school and primary levels were gatheredfrom SEE countries as well as from a selection of coun-tries outside the region. The materialsin the languagesof the SEE region or in English, French or Germanwere made available electronically through the SEE-ECN website (www.see-educoop.net) and in coursematerials for participants (see Annex I for a full list ofbackground materials). Critical assessments of recentprocesses of curricular change were presented throughcountry case studiesof a European Union-associatedcountry (Slovenia), of a EU-country (Norway), and of anon-European country (Lebanon).

VII. WORKING METHOD

The working languages of the workshop were Englishand 'South Slavic'. In order to minimize the need forlong presentations, participants were expected tofamiliarize themselves with course materials prior tothe workshop (via the Internet). Workshop sessionsfocused on frank exchange of experience and strategiesaround a selection of topics related to curriculumdevelopment (e.g. logistics of curricular renewal, sub-ject contents in curricula, curriculum for social cohe-sion and multiculturalism, curriculum and quality edu-cation for all). Participants discussed the processes ofdrafting, public debate, and adoption of new curricula,as well as the nature of the curricular products that theyresult in. In smaller groups, country teams had theopportunity to draw upon the experience of specialistsfrom other countries on specific issues they are facingin their national efforts. A significant portion of theseminar was organized in small working groups, whereparticipants concentrated on analysing concrete curric-ular issues, identifying specific needs of SEE coun-tries, and drafting proposals. These proposals wereintegrated into a short report on the current state ofcurriculum development that each participating coun-try submitted two weeks after the end of the seminar.Follow-up to the seminar is to be negotiated on thebasis of these national proposals and recommenda-tions.

VIII. NATIONAL PROPOSALS FOR REGIONALCO-OPERATION

Each country team was requested to focus their shortreport on their achievements so far, the main challengesfor the future, as well as on the formulation of proposalsfor further development of regional co-operation throughthe SEE-ECN.

The recommendations can be grouped into four broadcategories:

Co-operation in the field of curriculum design anddevelopment related to requests of common method-

20

ologies and approaches to curricula within theregion.li?formation exchanges on practices and experiencesin the region.Regional capacity-building activities, directedtowards face-to-face exchanges of expertise andinformation.The use of the virtual network emphasizing the needfor a continuing exchange as was initiated throughSEE-ECN. New features, as well as suggestedimprovements for the existing website, are being pro-posed.

1. Co-operation in the field of curriculum design anddevelopment

As part of a regional strategy, to create a draft modelof a curriculum comprising the main principles to berespected by countries in the region and to be adopt-ed by consensus (Albania).To implement a common methodology for curricu-lum assessment and knowledge assessment(Moldova).To develop guidelines for designing curricular mate-rials at the regional level (through seminars) on vari-ous issues such as:

- the history of the Balkans;literatures of the Balkans;civics and social studies;

- teacher training, etc. (Romania).To establish criteria for a possible agreement on aflexible curriculum for minorities (Albania).To harmonize national legislation in the field ofminority education (Moldova).

2. Information exchanges

To create a regional centre for curricular resourcesand comparative studies in the field of curriculumdevelopment (Moldova).To establish a mechanism for regular reporting onevents and changes in educational systems within theregion, as well as on transformations that countriesmay experience. This would involve practically allEuropean and many other countries. It would be par-ticularly useful if those reports would contain crucialinformation on evaluation methods, procedures andcriteria (Serbia).To continue to translate curricula into the languagesof the region (Serbia).To disseminate publications on curriculum issues inthe region (Albania).To provide access to information databases in target-ed areas (Moldova).To initiate dialogue in order to achieve consensusbetween educational professionals and policy makersregarding the needs and priorities in changing theeducational system (Croatia).

0

3. Regional capacity-building activities

To broaden the exchange of specialists (Albania).To promote the exchange of experiences and learningfrom each other (Kosovo).To provide seminars, workshops, round-tables andstudy visits through the SEE-ECN network (Kosovo).To share experiences in dealing with similar chal-lenges, for instance, on evaluating new curricula inthe diverse contexts within the region (Moldova).To organize co-operative activities (conferences,workshops, etc.) focused on the specific needs of par-ticipating countries (Moldova).To support policy-oriented research that assesses thecurrent status and needs (Croatia).To organize regular meetings, such as the one inBohinj, with a concrete and comprehensive agenda,in order to ensure continuous information exchangeand consultations in the broader region. These meet-ings contribute to qualified and informed decision-making, both on a strategic and practical level(Serbia).To conduct teacher-training activities in the followingfields:

- educating for tolerance in a multi-culturalenvironment;conflict management, prevention and resolution;post-conflict rehabilitation (Moldova).

To expand capacity in the field through in-serviceteacher education (Croatia).To carry out parallel upgrading of contents andmethodology of teaching/learning processes throughin-service teacher education (Croatia).

4. The use of the virtual network

To establish contacts through the website (Albania).To establish discussion groups on the website whereevery country could suggest 'topical' issues to be dis-cussed. The issues could be preceded by shortresearch reports on the topic in individual countries.This will give SEE-ECN an opportunity to become aregional discussion forum in the field of education(Bulgaria).To establish a new South-East European countriesjoint column on the website (Bulgaria).To present the harmonization of educational legisla-tion in individual countries with European legislationin a new joint column (Bulgaria).To ensure more content information in already exist-ing columns on the site (Bulgaria).To organize materials on the web by themes ratherthan by country. Possible themes include: mathemat-ics, languages, social studies, minorities, teachertraining, etc. (Romania).To set up online discussion groups for each of thethemes presented. Thus the network might become alive forum of debate for each of the issues consideredimportant for curriculum design (Romania).To establish an on-line consulting process, withtechnical assistance from well known internationaleducational experts acting as counsellors(Moldova).To improve the quality of the existing site, makingcontent more easily accessible in order to obtainresponses, suggestions and experiences in a moreefficient manner (Serbia).

Feedback and evaluation by the participants

Feedback and evaluation were collected at the close ofthe workshop through means of a questionnaire. Thefinal evaluation consisted of four 1-5 ratings and threeopen questions, assessing different aspects of the work-shop.

A. RATED QUESTIONS:

1. Overall, how would you evaluate the workshop?

2. The objective of the workshop was to provide foran exchange of practical information and expert-ise in the process of drafting new curricula. Towhat extent did the workshop fulfil this objective?

3. To what extent did the workshop meet your expec-tations?

7. Please rate the following:(a) Concept and design of the workshop.(b) Plenary session presentations and discussion.(c) Small group session.(d) Organizational arrangements prior to the work-shop.(e) Organizational arrangements at the workshop.(f) Workshop facilities.(g) Translation services.(h) Workshop materials.(i) Accommodation and meals.

For questions 1, 2, 3 and 7 (a-i), Figure 1 below depictsthe distribution of ratings.

21 2 .,11

FIGURE 1. Evaluation of the Bohinj seminar by the participants

40-7

35-

30- /

Rating20-V

15-7

10-/

5-7

2

B. OPEN QUESTIONS:

7a 7b 7c

Questions

7d

4. How do you intend to use the experience of thisworkshop back in your home country?

The sharing of information was one of the main pointsthat the participants identified. They gathered usefulexperiences and ideas from the workshop discussions,but also from the SEE- SCN website, and the contactsthey made while in Bohinj. They expressed their inten-tion to use this information in their respective countriesin order to share it with their colleagues and/or otherkey stakeholders (e.g. members of faculties or commis-sions for education, ministries, teachers, local commu-nity members and NG0s). This would be done throughthe organization of seminars and workshops on how todesign school curricula.

The participants appreciated the opportunity ofcomparing their curriculum reform process with that ofother countries. This gave them the opportunity tolearn from a variety of experiences and to gather infor-mation on best practices. Some of them expressed theneed for increased co-operation with educational fac-ulties, institutes and departments in order to involvethe key stakeholders because the reform process'depends on solutions in the whole system and becauseit is a long-term process'. Including teachers in theprocess and integrating the experiences into teachertraining was mentioned in the evaluation on severaloccasions.

7e 7i

5 (Excellent)

4 (Good)

0 3 (Average)

2 (Fair)

o 1 (Poor)

Furthermore, the participants will use the outcomesof the seminar to facilitate the implementation phase ofthe curriculum. Romania, which is including the lastyear of kindergarten in compulsory education, referredto the discussion on early childhood as a supportive ele-ment in this process. Other explicit references weremade towards elaborating a new policy in the field ofminority education; implementing some ideas withinthe development of a regional model for teacher educa-tion; and using the information on curriculum, qualityand education.

5. What was particularly relevant for you and yourcountry?

The participants highly appreciated learning about thedifferent approaches that other countries in the regionhave toward their curriculum renewal process. It pro-vided them with comparative materials that could helpthem to assess whether they are 'on the right track incurriculum renewal'. Many countries consider theprocess to be complex and found that they haveencountered very similar difficulties and challengesalong the way. The experiences of Norway andSlovenia were explicitly mentioned as examples ofgood practice.

The participants appreciated both the plenary ses-sions, as well as the workgroups on Minorities and cur-riculum, Designing and approving new curricula, Earlychildhood and Foreign-language teaching. They fur-

22 22

thermore emphasized the usefulness of the seminar forteacher training, and stated that it had provided 'solutionsfor some 'unresolved' problems in high-school educationand advice on how to address university professors'.

The attention of the participants was particularlyfocused on the importance of the quality of the curricu-lum and the constant upgrading of its framework andsubjects. They learned about mechanisms of approvingnew curricula, as well as about the formulation ofnational standards.

6. What was not relevant for you and your country?

One of the opinions expressed was that it does not suf-fice to exchange experiences of curriculum reform

processes with other countries in order to developeffective and appropriate solutions for difficult prob-lems. A seminar like this should provide participantswith directions and instructions to design and approvenew curricula. Also, moderators occasionally did notintervene effectively during the discussions and thisoccasionally resulted in unfocused sessions.

The seminar was considered, by some, to lackfocus. For others, the scope was too broad and the top-ics too numerous. Because the participating countriesare undergoing different phases of educational reform,the emphasis they place on the topics discussed varies.As a result, some specific issues that were relevant fora particular context were not applicable to another. Inthese instances, narrower, more specific workshopswould have been more useful.

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IV. Plenary sessions

1. The decade of change

Slav ko Gaber

I. EDUCATION AND CHANGE

Education, like other social subsystems, is dialecticallyrelated to change in that it has the potential to take onboth reproductive and transformative roles. Therefore,educational changes may reflect the wider process ofsocietal changes, as well as contributing to provokethem. However, regardless of the direction of the rela-tionship between education and social change, it isimportant to distinguish, as does the author, betweeneducational change and reform. As the author says: 'Notall changes, superficial or more radical, transient orlonger lasting, are worthy of the name reforms'.

The period spanning the 1980s up to the early 1990shas been a decade of educational reforms in countries ofthe European Union. In the case of South-East Europe, theissue of education and change is less an issue of determin-ing whether there is a need for educational change, as wellas whether the process of educational change is externallyor internally driven. Rather, it is argued that the more cru-cial questions are those pertaining to the timeliness ofundertaking educational change, as well as defining thedirection of that change. This is true for Slovenia.

II. POLITICAL TRANSITION AND EDUCATIONALCHANGE IN SLOVENIA

The article argues that educational reforms in Sloveniawere initiated in a context of social demand for change.Education was an important element in the structure ofthe nation's expectations, both in the pre-, and even moreso, in the post-independence period. Indeed, educationalchange in Slovenia began prior to the political transition.This is reflected in the range of innovative local projects;for example, including the re-establishment of the gym-nasium/grammar schools, the re-introduction of theschool-leaving Matura examination, and the substitutionof civics teaching according to the curriculum of theYugoslav Republic (`Self-management and Marxism')by sociology and civic culture. Consequently, the basicassumption that informed the process of implementingeducational reform in Slovenia was that changes werealready taking place and that they were going in the rightdirection. It was therefore thought most appropriate toadopt a step-by-step approach to educational change,

25

despite the scale of political change taking place in par-allel. This measured approach was capable of building onprocesses of change already underway. The progressiveapproach also allowed for sufficient time to shape thedirection of change and to define the modalities forimplementation based on a review of comparativeresearch findings.

III. PROCESS OF CONSULTATION ONCURRICULUM POLICY CHANGE

This step-by-step approach was reflected in the richprocess of broad national debate on the nature and direc-tion of education change. However, broad-based consul-tations did not always result in consensus due to what theauthor calls two 'illusions': (1) the euphoria followingdemocratic transition created the illusion that it would bepossible to formulate a concept for reform directly fromacademic debate; and (2) the illusion on the part of deci-sion-makers 'on how far open discussion can go'. Aftera two-year period of national consultation, a group ofexperts was appointed by the Ministry of Education towork on a basic strategy paper that resulted in the 1995White Paper (Education in the Republic of Slovenia).

IV. THE PROCESS OF CURRICULUMDEVELOPMENT

The White Paper served to draft new educational legisla-tion in 1996 and was followed by the formation of theNational Curriculum Council (NCC), a body of expertsfrom different fields relating to education. The NCCcarefully studied international experiences and strategiesof educational reform and curricula change, and used thelessons learned to inform the drafting of the Guidelinesto curricular reform. These guidelines represented theframework for further works projects to be undertakenby the NCC and its associated bodies. These included thefive field curricular commissions for pre-school educa-tion, compulsory education, grammar schools, technicaland vocational education, and adult education. The NCCanalysed the existing programme at the time, comparedit to foreign programmes, and prepared a proposal for anew subject curricula at the various levels of the educa-tion system.

BESTCOPYAVAILABLE

2. The implementation of curricula and evaluation:experiences from educational reforms in Norway

Arild Thorbjornsen

I. BACKGROUND TO 'REFORM '94'

One of the main reforms of the 1990s in Norway hasbeen 'Reform '94' for upper secondary education,which gave all students between the age of 16 and 19 thestatutory right to three years of secondary education.This reform was introduced in order to reinforce voca-tional training and to foster streamlining entry into terti-ary education. Specialization was considered too exten-sive and electives too numerous, resulting in difficult oreven wrong choices by students. Progress from one levelof education to another was poor, as was the linkbetween schools and training in industry. Furthermore,there were too few positions for apprentices and insuffi-cient opportunities to complete vocational educationand training.

One of 'Reform '94's' key initiatives was the estab-lishment of a follow-up service for school dropouts inorder to re-integrate early leavers within the period oftheir statutory right. Another change was the merging ofgeneral and vocational education. A new model for voca-tional education was introduced, consisting of two yearsat upper secondary school and two years of apprentice-ship. As streamlining into tertiary education was consid-ered to be a weakness, the 115 existing foundation cours-es were reduced to thirteen areas of study. Three of theseareas qualify students for college or university studies,and ten of them lead to a trade or journeyman's certifi-cate.

II. DESIGNING AND IMPLEMENTING A CORECURRICULUM

This article explores the implementation and evaluationof 'Reform '94', as well as on the structure and changesin the Norwegian National Curriculum. The generalprocess of change in modem society revealed the needfor a policy document defining aims, principles and basicvalues that all education should be based on. A core cur-riculum was therefore defined in 1993 for primary, lowersecondary, upper secondary and adult education. Thiscore curriculum also provides guidelines for the devel-opment of new study programmes. The greatest chal-lenge has been to integrate the core skills into the differ-ent subject or course curricula.

The new curriculum is very much focused on par-ticipation and motivation of all stakeholders.Assistance is provided to students and teachers in order

26

for them to deal with the changes and reforms in thesystem. An innovative 'guide' was developed, present-ing the contents of the core curriculum, and key issues,such as the need for motivation, planning and responsi-bility in relation to the learning process. Furthermore,a new regulation on psychological and social-pedagog-ical counselling was drafted, which and gave students astatutory right to counselling and career guidancerequired. To help teachers adapt to their new role andnew teaching methods, methodological guides andother educational resources have been developed and anew programme for the education of vocational teach-ers is scheduled to be launched between 2000 and2006. In terms of assessment, a regulation was issuedin 1995, stipulating the students' right to individual,non-graded assessment. Research has shown that byproviding students with continuous feedback on theirwork, non-graded assessment is indeed effective inmotivating students for further and possibly lifelonglearning.

III. EVALUATION FINDINGS

A major research programme was initiated in order toevaluate the implementation of 'Reform '94'. Resultsindicate that, overall, teachers and students are satisfiedwith the first five years of the reform.

The major successes identified were:a decline in youth un-employment as a result of thestatutory right;an improvement in the thought-flow into tertiary edu-cation, so that more young people obtain a nationalqualification;better co-operation between schools and workinglife;increased engagement of social partners in curricu-lum development.

Some of the weaknesses were:great variations between schools;the lack of the reduction in the number of courses;limited changes in traditional student/teacher rela-tionships;higher expectation in the degree of participation ofstudents in the planning process;a decline in adult education caused by the statutoryright attributed to young people.

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3. The role of education for social cohesionin a divided society: the case of Lebanon

Nemer Frayha

The case of Lebanon illustrates how the future of a coun-try is attributable to the way in which schools fostersocial cohesion with students from various religiouscommunities and then shape these students to be futurecitizens.

I. CONTROVERSY ABOUT LEBANON'S IDENTITY

Divisions of various natures characterize the history ofLebanon and have shaped the face of its society today.Geo-political and religious cleavages are mainlyresponsible for different views concerning the coun-try's identification, especially when the notion of themodern State started to affect thinking in the nineteenthand twentieth centuries. Part of the population, mainlyMuslims, considered Lebanon as part of the Arabworld, while the other part, mostly Christians, saw it aspart of the Mediterranean region. This controversy wasintensified during the last few years of the French man-date. The National Pact of 1943, declared that Lebanonwould be a sovereign state with an Arab face. This wasto serve as a compromise and to eliminate many of thedifferences between Christian and Muslim groups.

II. THE ROLE OF EDUCATION DURING THEMANDATE (1920-43)

When the French protectorate succeeded Ottomandominance in 1920, divisions in society and nationalidentity took a new course. Throughout the mandatetime, private schools, which were established by mis-sionaries and nationals, dominated the education sys-tem. Meanwhile, public schools were limited in num-ber and influence. Because the French were in chargeof the administration of education, schools, curricula,textbooks and examinations; they were also in a posi-tion to determine the educational orientation of stu-dents. When the 1925 curriculum was developed, theFrench were well aware of the existing tensions andthe dangers of Taifiyah (sectarian conflict) and theycalled upon teachers and students for unity and toler-ance.

III. EDUCATION AFTER INDEPENDENCE (1943)

After independence, the Lebanese government faced theurgent task of creating a sense of social unity andnationhood among the Lebanese people. This task was

to be based on common principles and values, ratherthan on the historically divisive issue of religious affili-ation. Education was to be the means of achieving thisgoal. In particular, it would emphasize citizenship edu-cation, orientation towards freedom, independence andnational pride, enhancing the Arabic language andteaching Lebanese history and geography. TheLebanese government platform in 1944 declared:'school is the best soil to cultivate virtues and toter-ance'. Muslim and Christian private schools welcomedthe new policy. However, the government continued topush its efforts towards centralization by enacting laws,developing curricula and supervising textbook use. Inresponse, the private schools perceived this as an indi-rect accusation against them for perpetuating social,religious and political division among Lebanese youth.Hence, by making the 1946 curriculum compulsory forboth public and private schools, the governmentbelieved that it would unify students' social and politi-cal orientation.

However, the government was not always consistentin its policy regarding the role of education in a dividedsociety. Educational institutions that violated laws andregulation were not systematically punished. As a result,religious communities once again supported manyschools. The overall situation in the region, along withthe creation of the State of Israel in 1948, turned the gov-ernments' attention away from education. Furthermore,the crisis of 1950 showed that the expected role of edu-cation had failed. Lebanese society became more divid-ed along religious lines, and this lead to a civil war,which lasted until 1958.

In 1968, during a time of great division over manyissues (such as the emergence of the PLO, Abd al-Nasser's Pan-Arabism, the aftermath of the 1967 War,etc.) and an inequitable modernization process, a newcurriculum was introduced. Compared to the 1946 cur-riculum, it clearly regressed with regard to its emphasison nationalism and social solidarity. Curriculum devel-opers assumed that, as a result, society would becomehomogeneous with minimal willingness and effort.

In terms of methodology the new curriculum focuswas on information absorption rather than on analysis,evaluation or critical thinking. Students were thus notgiven the opportunity to discuss, analyse or diagnosetheir society and its differences. A community involve-ment approach was not included, and assessment tech-niques were concentrated on examination scores only.

272 6

Meanwhile, textbook contents did not deal with socialissues in a way that would contribute to tackling socialand national problems. Civics textbooks of the 1980sdescribed the election process, but did not encourage stu-dents to participate by voting. Textbooks mentioned reli-gious tolerance in an idealistic way without taking intoaccount the reality of the Lebanese society, which was asintolerant regarding religious or political affiliation.Therefore, the education system clearly did not respondto the existing pre-occupations of the country. Theschool and its textbooks portrayed the society as func-tioning harmoniously, and students were shocked whenthey realized how deep and destructive the religiousissues of their daily lives really were.

IV. THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE CIVIL WAR

After the Civil War, which started in 1975 and ended in1989 with the al-Taef Agreement, the curriculum was yetagain modified. In fact, the agreement included guide-lines for educational reform in the country. It requiredthe development of new curricula, as well as the unitingof history and civics textbooks, which were to be pub-lished by the Educational Centre for Research andDevelopment (ECRD). This led to the 1994 'Plan forEducational Reform', which included objectives such as:strengthening national affiliation and social coalitionamong students; providing the new generation with basicknowledge, skills and expertise; as well as an emphasison national upbringing and authentic Lebanese values.'These objectives were repeated and elaborated in the1997 Curriculum, which was implemented in 1998. Thesocial studies curriculum includes many detailed objec-tives concerning Lebanon's identity as an Arab state,respect and acceptance of others, tolerance, values ofpersonal freedom and human rights.

28

V. INTRODUCING TEACHERS

As a result of these changes, in terms of the content ofeducation, a lot has been accomplished in promotingsocial unity and civic consciousness. The next step willnow be to implement these practices throughout the coun-try. The role of teachers is crucial here, as they are con-sidered to be a key element in the success or failure of anyeducational plan. Teachers thus need to be informed ofthe importance of social cohesion and national unity inthe construction of the future Lebanese society.

Some projects have been developed in this direction:ECRD and UNESCO-TPRA sponsored a field study onLebanese children's' attitudes towards other religions. Ateacher's guide: 'Education for Human Rights, Peace andDemocracy' was developed to promote peace and demo-cratic behaviour among students. The guide is now con-sidered to be a prototype for dealing with religious prob-lems in a heterogeneous society. Together with theCanadian Bureau for International Education, ECRD alsoimplemented a project on conflict resolution. They did soby using daily problems in the school and solving them inthe classroom through dialogue, negotiation and tolerance.

VI. CONCLUSION

Curriculum development entails more than constructinga text and an educational plan. Many stakeholders andelements are involved and influence the outcomes of theimplementation of policies. Nevertheless, the schoolremains a real source of hope for overcoming most of theproblems stemming from religious differences.

' See the Lebanese Government Platform, no. 2, 1944.Lebanon, Ministry of Education; ECRD, 1994, A plan

for educational reform in Lebanon, Beirut: ECRD, p. 8.

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V: WORKSHOP REPORTS1. Designing and approving new curricula

Moderators: Andreja Bar le and Peter Rado

I. PRESENTATION BY THE MODERATORS

In order to stimulate reflection and discussion, the work-shop was introduced by the distribution of a series ofquestions. The reactions of the participants were as fol-lows:

1. What does a curriculum determine?The educational authorities intend to influence differ-ent aspects of education by setting objectives: thestructure of the programme; the organization ofteaching and learning; different types of classroominteractions; and the teaching process.Designing new curricula is about finding the bestway to exert this influence and to find the adequatebalance between the different educational objec-tives. The emphasis is often put on the structure(number of hours per subject) rather than on peda-gogical practices in the classroom. The hidden cur-riculum also plays a crucial role in curriculumdesign.

2. Who determines the content of what is learned inschools?Curriculum is not only the property of curriculumdesigners, it is a public service that supports thegrowth of the labour market and feeds the overallsocio-economic development of a country. Therefore,the involvement and implication of all stakeholders isnecessary, through a balanced process of negotiation.It is also important to note how the content of a cur-riculum is determined: What should be done withsubjects that are traditionally part of the curriculum?Which subjects will be part of the core curriculum?The role of teachers is of particular importance in thedesign of curriculum content. They have a certainfreedom to develop the curriculum within the class-room, so over time they tend to become the writersand the designers of the curriculum. This issue hasraised questions on teacher autonomy: Howautonomous are teachers and do they aspire to thisautonomy?

3. How can a curriculum be implemented?The curriculum should remain an object of continu-ous professional reflection, no matter who imple-ments it or approves it. It is a living document thatrequires regular revision.Implementations should be subjected to local inter-pretation and conception.

A new curriculum should overrule and be incorporat-ed into all other regulations in the education system.Teacher training, for example, should reinforce themessage of the new curriculum.In terms of timing, implementation should be slowand regular.The curriculum should be regarded as a mandate forteachers to follow and implement.

II. ISSUES RAISED DURING THE DISCUSSION

1. Terminology: 'What is curriculum?'Confusion still exists with regard to the use of certain ter-minology such as programme, plan, module or curricu-lum. The terms 'plan' and 'programme' continue to beused in most countries, mainly as a heritage of formerSoviet influence. The introduction of a new terminologyled to confusion throughout the education system, but isparticularly articulated at the school level. Many teachersignore the meaning of and differences between theseconcepts. Furthermore, the definition of curriculum hasevolved. This has made comparison on a regional orinternational level difficult, and has caused confusionwhen terms are translated.

2. The purpose of the curriculumIt was agreed upon that curriculum is more than a plan ora programme. It is part of a process that involves oppor-tunities of learning. Rightfully, it should reflect the rela-tionship between the school, the community, textbooksand evaluation. Romania raised the need for a 'life cur-riculum' as being complementary to the official docu-ments. The purpose of this life curriculum would be toreflect what actually takes place in schools.

3. The purpose of educationWhat is modern education for? What do we want ourchildren to know and what do we want them to knowhow to do? These are crucial questions that have to beasked when designing a new curriculum. This is due tothe highly political and ideological content of the cur-riculum. Moreover, as the focus nowadays is on thedevelopment of analytical and critical skills, it hasbecome more complex to analyse and categorize thecontent of education, as well as the capacities and skillsthat children have learned. When developing the NewCurriculum Framework for Kosovo, the group ofexperts started with the question: Why should childrengo to school? Once the purpose had been established asto: Why learn? Then they discussed the content: What

to learn? Finally, they discussed the issue: How tolearn?

4. Rationales for changeHow does one know that a curriculum needs to bereformed? In South-East Europe, the rapid political,social, economic, and technical changes have empha-sized the need for change. In former Yugoslavia, the cur-riculum, which was maintained for over a decade, wasoverloaded in terms of subjects and time. Most countriesof the region have started or are completing a revisionbased on eliminating certain subjects and introducingnew ones. Bosnia and Herzegovina, for example, haveintroduced education for democracy and civic liberty,religion and the environment.

5. The role of teachersThe role of teachers is crucial in the process of curricu-lum development and change. Teacher education leads to

more creativity, which in turn stimulates student motiva-tion. A better understanding of the curriculum by teach-ers will lead to a better use of time, material, content ofcurricula, as well as less resistance. Well-trained teacherscan make important decisions with wide implications inthe classroom, whether it is in terms of the content or themethods used in teaching. Innovations and changes, suchas the introduction of integrated subjects, have a betterchance of successful integration if teachers are familiarwith the aims and objectives of the curriculum. Thus,curriculum developers need to define the kind of teach-ers they would want to actually deal with. Teachersapproach the curriculum in different ways and shouldtherefore be assumed to teach in different ways. Ratherthan forcing a singular approach to teaching and learn-ing, curriculum developers should determine the compo-nents of the curriculum and then leave the teachers witha certain freedom in their teaching methods.

2. Curriculum, quality and evaluation

Moderators: Arild Thorbjornsen and Helmut Bachmann

I. INTRODUCTION

/. A broad concept of 'competence'

Developing competence and an 'integrated personality'for a changing society includes subject knowledge,learning competence, social competencies (such as co-operation and teamwork), and methodological compe-tencies (such as problem solving), see Figure 1.

2. Approaches to curriculaIdeas behind curricula (pedagogical, educational,political).Formal official curricula documents (officially pre-scribed curricula).Teachers' understanding of curricula.Operational curricula (actually implemented curricu-la).Curricula as experienced by pupils.Hidden curricula.

II. GUIDING QUESTIONS

1. What is 'quality'? How is quality developed?

2. How can quality be assessed and evaluated?Establish a set of principles to measure quality in:

Curriculum development.

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Curriculum implementation.Curriculum evaluation.

III. ISSUES

What are the existing systems of monitoring and qualityassurance? What are the obstacles to quality assurance?

Although the notion of competence-based curriculumappears to be growing in some countries, the general lackof monitoring systems in South-East Europe was identi-fied as an important impediment to quality assurance inthe region.

One obstacle to quality enhancement may be relatedto attitudes toward quality issues. The low ranking ofsome countries in TIMSS in mathematics and science,for example, came as a surprise to national educationalauthorities. Unfortunately, the test results were notalways used to question the overly theoretical teaching ofmathematics and science in the country. Open-minded-ness and a critical outlook are essential ingredients forquality improvement.

Although they are expensive, cross-national evalua-tions such as the TIMMS and the PISA studies, are impor-tant modalities of international co-operation. These evalu-ations help the building of national capacity in evaluation.

The moderators shared the experiences from Norwayand Austria in terms of the impact on quality of theinvolvement of parents in school life.

FIGURE 1. Developing competence and an integrated personality

COMPETENCES FOR A CHANGING SOCIETYI. Private life.2. Working life.3. Social life.

SUBJECT-WISE COMPETENCEKnowledge of certain subjects or topics.

LEARNING COMPETENCEAbility to build new knowledge learning ethics.

BROAD COMPETENCEKnow about alternatives and being able to explain them.Ability and will to act without consideration and responsi-bility for one's actions.Ability to act in accordance with one's intentions.

SOCIAL COMPETENCEAbility to co-operate, solve conflict, teamwork.

METHODOLOGICAL COMPETENCEAbility to analyse a situation or a problem and beable to solve new and unexpected tasks.Being creative and innovative.

THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTSubject-wise and social challenges. Active learning and problem solving, self-confidence and confidence in one's ability to succeed is a fundamental condition foreffective learning and the development of broad competences.

TOPICS AND PROBLEMSDifferent abilities of teaching and learning

Experiencefrom every-day

life SocietyExperiencefrom work Sub ects

Other areas ofexperienceart,

culture, ideas,philosophy

Attitudes, morals, ethics, values of the society

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3. Social studiesModerators: Nemer Frayha and Janez Krek

I. OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION BY THEMODERATORS

Mr. Frayha opened the session by stating that socialstudies is defined by educators as a part of social sci-ences. His presentation centred on the importance ofsocial studies in school curricula, its role in citizenshipeducation, and its time allocation in the school pro-gramme.

Formal education may be perceived as an 'institu-tional means for re-defining and re-structuring activitiesand identities' in view of integrating youth into society.Among the range of school subjects, social studies playa key role in this process of social integration. This is dueto its role in preparing students to be actively participat-ing citizens in their societies. However, the teaching andlearning of social studies carries with it a certain risk ofpoliticization, and in some cases possible manipulation.This tends to occur in societies that are divided by reli-gious conflict, ethnic discrimination or cultural differ-ences. In such cases, different communities may usesocial studies as a forum to assert their particular identi-ties at the expense of a collective sense of national citi-zenship.

In order to minimize the risk of instrumentalizationof social studies, and particularly history, it is possiblefor curriculum developers to draft general guidelines forthe design of social studies curricular materials. Thisshould primarily be based on a nationally agreed-uponset of principles for the definition and design of curricu-lar objectives and subject content. These may includecurricular objectives and subject content, which are:

related to students' age, concerns and abilities;deal with the real, social world, not an ideal one;demonstratewhen appropriatethe relationshipsbetween local and global aspects of social issues;include analysis and evaluation activities as neces-sary means to develop critical thinking;offer students opportunities to meet, discuss, studyand work with members of different ethnic, national,or religious groups;offer opportunities for participation in communityaffairs.

The main objective of social studies is to prepare youngpeople to be responsible, tolerant, and actively partici-pating citizens in their society's affairs, as well as in anincreasingly interdependent world. These objectivesshould be periodically reviewed in order to reflectevolving social expectations and students' interests andabilities.

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II. WHAT IS THE SUBJECT MATTER OF SOCIALSTUDIES?

This depends on the situation in each country, its specif-ic educational policies and the curricular paradigms thatstructure the learning content. The most common sub-jects are: history, civics and geography. Arguably, histo-ry and civics have a more explicit role in the formationof civics, social and political education than other sub-jects such as geography. 'History serves as a collectivememory of people that is passed on from one generationto the next'. As such, it is a key factor in creating a senseof identity among people. Learning content should notfocus on military and political issues only, but shouldalso reflect the everyday lives and social histories of peo-ple over time. That is, how people lived, worked, wor-shiped, dressed, travelled, traded, communicated and soforth. Civics usually deals with political, moral andsocial education. It is also increasingly integrated into amore comprehensive conception of citizenship educationthat includes knowledge, competencies and values. As aresult, these subjects demand a prominent place in offi-cially intended curriculum, vis-à-vis other subjects, andshould not be treated as secondary subjects in terms of:

weekly distribution of teaching hours;the level of qualifications of teachers responsible forsuch learning content;the relative weight given to them in the examinations.

SOCIO-CIVICS IN EASTERN EUROPE

According to Mr. Krek, Eastern Europe needs anincreased focus on socio-civics so that students canfamiliarize themselves with the principles of democracy.During the communist era, 'Ethics and society' was acompulsory course for all students. The transition periodthat followed saw civics loose its goal of developing stu-dents as future citizens. Finally, in the 1990s, somechanges occurred, especially in Slovenia, when researchhighlighted the fact that national identity was the mainconcern of young students.

After the reform, the subject area 'Citizenship educa-tion and ethics' included new teaching methods, and stu-dents contributed to the definition of its content. In someEastern European societies, citizenship education pro-grammes were not nationally developed, but 'imported'from outside and translated into teaching and learningmaterials for schools. This, Mr. Krek believes, does notseem to be the optimum way of forming citizens ordeveloping a good programme in the social sciences.

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IV. ISSUES RAISED DURING THE DISCUSSION

The participants discussed a variety of issues with regardto the following questions, which relate to the develop-ment of social sciences:

Why should we include 'history' in a social studiescurriculum?Who is eligible to write the history textbook?What is its content?Who should teach history in school?

After the discussion, the accepted outlines were that:History is an important subject area since its role is to

relate the past to the present and to stimulate a senseof nationalism among students. History textbookdevelopment should include historians, educators inthe field of social studies and schoolteachers. Its con-

4. Mathematics

Moderators: Brian Hudson and Zlatan Magajna

I. PRESENTATION BY THE MODERATORS

In this session, Mr. Hudson presented his paper'Comparative perspectives on curriculum renewal inmathematics education', in which he raised some keyquestions: What is mathematics? What do we mean by'curriculum'? What do we mean by teaching and learn-ing? To answer these questions, he began by exploringsome of the key issues that emerged from a study of theEuropean tradition of Didaktik, and contrasted them withaspects of the Anglo-American curriculum tradition. Hethen addressed the issue of the nature of mathematicswith an approach at aiming to integrate traditional ideasarising from Didaktic, along with a perspective empha-sizing mathematics as communication. Finally, hereferred to the outcomes of the PISA 2000 study(Programme for International Student Achievement,OECD), which provide valuable insights into factors thatcontribute to the development of knowledge and skills,as well as international comparisons of performances ofeducation systems.

Mr. Magajna presented the Slovenian experience ofchanging the mathematics curriculum. Although theteaching of mathematics is often viewed as static, it is infact a dynamic subject, which not only changes in content,but also in its idea of mathematical knowledge. Sloveniadecided to change its curriculum for four reasons: (1) thenecessity to change the structure of mathematical knowl-edge; (2) taking into account past and foreseen changes in

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tent should be related to reality, should not be biasedand should cover various historical periods with anemphasis on contemporary history. Only qualifiedand trained teachers who are specialized in history,should teach the subject because it is sensitive andimportant at the same time.

Regarding civics, the participants welcomed the idea ofsocio-civics, since it is very close to students' livesand societal development. Concerning geography, theparticipants agreed that it is necessary to modify thecontent of this subject from dealing mainly withnames and figures to dealing with more authenticissues related to a student's life. The opinions weredivided with regard to the issue of unifying civics,history, and geography into one subject at the ele-mentary level.

society; (3) the need to harmonize with other Europeancountries; and (4) the desire to correct the perceived weak-ness, inconsistencies and deficits of the current curricu-lum. Changes were plarmed in three directions: curriculumcontent (adding, changing, removing, simplifying); learn-ing approaches (aimed at understanding ideas throughimproved teaching and assessment practices); and changesat the school system level. In terms of implementation, acomprehensive approach was needed. This approach wasto take into consideration the major means, instrumentsand stakeholders. In the case of Slovenia, these were: leg-islation, cooperation with teachers, educating principals,in-service training of teachers and student-teachers, text-book and related materials, and syllabi. He concluded thatchanges in the mathematics curriculum are specific to acountry and are an integral part of a larger system ofchanges in education.

II. ISSUES RAISED DURING THE DISCUSSION

I. The nature of mathematics

The responses reflected a wide variation in terms ofthinking. For example, mathematics was conceived of asa natural science, a basic subject, a service subject, a dis-cipline for forming the mind, as an art, as difficult butnecessary, as being concerned with logical thinking, asbeing concerned with problem solving, and as beingconcerned with analytic thinking. Some participants

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highlighted the need for more active learning in mathe-matics and raised questions about how this might best beachieved. Questions were also raised in relation to howwe attract young people to the subject, and how we caninfluence increasing rates of participation beyond the ageof 16 in overall terms and also especially on the part ofgirls. The importance of initial and in-service education,especially of teachers was emphasized.

2. The PISA Study

In reflecting on the PISA study (OECD, 2001), it wouldseem that many aspects of the fallibilistie view of math-ematics are acknowledged. This occurs, at least in part,so that knowledge and skills in mathematics are foundedon a dynamic model of lifelong learning and continuousadaptation to a rapidly changing world. Such a broadconception of mathematics knowledge and skills is

encapsulated by the term mathematical literacy. Thereport also emphasizes that such assessment is informed'but not constrained' by national curricula.

3. Methodologies

Here, finally, in moving towards any 'Western style' sys-tem of curriculum planning, the reductionist methodol-

ogy associated with the Tyler-influenced Anglo-American tradition needs to be approached with caution.Given the onset of the RAPLEX rapidly changingand increasingly complex society, the need for a 'sys-tems thinking' approach has never been so evident. Suchan approach stresses the fundamental interconnection ofthe parts, which cannot be treated in isolation from oneanother. What needs to be recognized is that complexhuman activity systems cannot be managed by the use ofcrude performance targets, which distort the goals of thesystem and induce an instrumental approach on the partof those working within the system. Neither will reduc-tionist 'command and control' methods work, becauseof the many unintended consequences and the morale-sapping climate for those same people. Rather, such sys-tems need to be managed for the long term. This shouldbe done through incremental improvements via thelearning processes of the users and stakeholders them-selves, rather than by governments, as learning organi-zations within a wider culture of evaluation. The char-acteristics outlined earlier regarding the traditions ofDidaktik seem to offer much potential in terms of think-ing about such complexity, and also in terms of concep-tualising the relative professional autonomy of theteacher within a framework, which guides, but does notdirect their work.

5. Literacy and language policies

Moderators: Piet Van de Craen and Igor Saksida

I. PRESENTATION BY THE MODERATORS

As an introduction, Mr Van de Craen presented the recentactivities and objectives of the European LanguageCouncil (ELC). This organization of universities, otherinstitutes of higher education, and professional associa-tions, aims at quantitative and qualitative improvementof knowledge of the languages and culture within theEuropean Union and beyond.

A clear view on language policies is seen as germaneto the further development of the European idea. Sinceunity in diversity is the background philosophy, it is clearthat without a sound language policy, both unity anddiversity can be threatened. For years to come, variousEuropean (and non-European) languages will continue toplay a major role in the development of education inEurope. In this respect, it should be clear that theEnglish-only policy is certainly not the way to go.Instead, a well-balanced language policy at national,

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regional and institutional levels-which offers opportuni-ties for all languages involved and which matches theregion's and or country's traditions-should be consideredas the most promising venue.

Therefore, ELC currently focuses on:1. Language policy issues, stimulating higher education

institutes in providing wider opportunities in learninglanguage, creating environments for independent lan-guage learning and offering a wider range of pro-grammes and credits. Furthermore, universities andinstitutions are urged to develop and implement lan-guage policies at national, regional and institutionallevels and to look for collaboration in the wider fieldof language and education.

2. The Thematic Network Projects (TNP), in the area oflanguages is an initiative involving universities, high-er education institutes, and associations in developingproject proposals for the improvement and innovationof language programmes in higher education

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3. ELC and teacher education: as a result of the 1995White Paper on Teaching and Learning of theEuropean Commission, which recommends that allEuropean citizens should master two foreign lan-guages in addition to their mother tongue. Followingthis, the Advanced Level Programme in MultilingualEducation was developed by nine universities inorder to prepare teachers for multilingual education.

Mr. Saksida intervened on the level of literacy and gen-eral educational policies. He launched some questionsfor the participants to react to. These included: How hasthe new curriculum been designed, approved and intro-duced to teachers and to the public? Were contempo-rary, provocative ideas published to avoid later resist-ance? What was the basis for curriculum drafting?Should two distinct curricula co-exist, for literature andlanguage?

II. ISSUES RAISED DURING THE DISCUSSION

The organization of foreign language teaching differsfrom country to country. Participants agreed on theimportance of a good knowledge of languages for theintegration and development of nations, and its individu-als, on an economic, social and multicultural level. Theissues that countries are facing are the following:

1. English only

Participants felt that, at least for the time being, Englishis likely to remain the first foreign language studied inEastern Europe. However, it is felt that this may changeover time. The demand for English is enormous, espe-cially in Kosovo. It is also felt that other foreign lan-guages might disappear from the curricula unless specialmeasures are taken. In Croatia's experience, even ifEnglish is taught as a second foreign language, it is oftenbetter mastered than the first foreign language, becauseof the strong motivation to learn English.

2. Teacher education

Teacher education was a major preoccupation for thecountries of the region. Teacher education faces a num-ber of problems in many countries:

low social status of the teaching profession;lack of qualified teachers;

need for a curriculum in which the four languageskills, listening, speaking, reading and writing, areintegrated. The language portfolio as developed bythe Council of Europe could be helpful in this regard;need for language provision and recognition ofminority languages within the curriculum;difficulties in implementing attainment targets.Universities are autonomous and can have a conser-vative approach towards the delivery of teacher edu-cation. They are often not fully informed about thenew attainment targets, leading to a distortion interms of integration of these elements into the teachereducation curriculum.

3. Classical languages

Some participants fear that Latin and Greek will disap-pear from the curricula because of the pressure of mod-ern foreign languages. Teachers try to avoid this byshifting from a pure grammar based to a more culturalbased approach. Other participants felt that classicallanguages should be replaced by courses in 'culturalstudies', which would provide a different context fortheir subjects.

4. Language policy

Most participants were in favour of a modern languagepolicy embedded within the cultural traditions of theregion. Such policy should also include efforts toupgrade the teaching profession.

5. Language vs. literature

The distortion lies at the level of decision-making.Academics will be inclined to opt for a separationbetween the two subjects, while teachers prefer an inte-grated language and literacy curriculum. Although thecurrent approach is towards integration, some countries,such as Romania, are keeping language and literature asseparate subjects. Meanwhile, countries like Sloveniahave decided to go with the traditional approach of onesubject. In Albania, mother tongue teaching is separatedfrom reading, but research is now looking at how the twocan be combined within the new curriculum to form acomprehensive subject that includes reading, writing andunderstanding.

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6. Teacher educationModerators: Laurence Walker and Pavel Zgaga

I. PRESENTATION BY THE MODERATORS

To introduce the workshop on teacher education, themoderators presented a general overview of their visionon the issue, the pre-occupations that exist and the ques-tions that it raises.

Mr. Laurie Walker largely based his intervention onhis reading of the Green paper on teacher education.He highlighted two contextual conditions important forcurriculum decision-making. The first one is that pre-service education should be regarded as one part ofcontinuous professional development (CPD) that con-tinues after the process of selection, graduation andinduction of new teachers into the teaching profession.This concept of CPD removes the pressure from tradi-tional pre-service programmes to attempt to preparenew teachers for a whole lifetime of practice. The othercondition is that faculties of education require partner-ships with schools in order to carry out their work.These partnerships should be reciprocal, benefitingboth parties, as well as transparent in their roles anddivision of work.

The modern expectations of teacher candidates andpre-service professors are high. They should be able tocreate powerful learning environments in which studentscan develop active and constructive processes of acquir-ing knowledge and skills that stimulate students to settheir own goals and to take responsibility for their ownlearning activities and processes.

There are two models of the autonomous profession-al teacher, each of which would direct programmes ofpre-service teacher education in a different direction.Model 1, the autonomous professional, emphasizesresearch-based knowledge of teaching, studying, andlearning; a rich repertoire of empirically validated prac-tices, based on academic and professional training,which produce a teacher who is competent to make mul-tiple decisions in particular contexts in the interests ofclients (students), and in accordance with ethical values.Model 2 is the 'regulated autonomous professional',whose training is directed to teaching practices that aretightly controlled by government agencies' regulations,in programmes that are monitored for adherence todefined standards. This teacher carries out assigned tasks(content and methods) to a defined level of achievement,using craft skills.

Mr. Pavel Zgaga insisted on the interrelation of cur-riculum renewal and teacher education, requiring aclose co-operation between all government bodies andeducational institutes involved in the process of design-

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ing curricula. The reform of teacher education andtraining should therefore be harmonized with thereform of the overall system of education in the coun-try, and vice versa. As expectations of the benefits thateducation brings to a society grow, so do the expecta-tions on what teachers have to know and be able toachieve.

Slovenia has recently reformed its education system.The country needs to address the issue as to whethertheir new educational goals are feasible from the pointof view of the existing system of teacher training, whichhas had to contend with a range of discrepancies that itinherited. For one, different degrees and programmesare requested for different levels of education; someprogrammes concentrate more on pedagogical compe-tencies, others on subject matter expertise. Moreover,mobility is hindered between primary and secondarygeneral education and often there is no systemic orappropriate in-service education available. As a result,Slovenia is orienting its teacher education towards aflexible system of pre- and in-service education andtraining, as well as promoting the teaching profession asan academic profession.

II. ISSUES RAISED DURING THE DISCUSSION

I. Structure of the teaching profession

The renewal of teacher education and training institu-tions is closely linked with the care for teachers by teach-ers: how to rejuvenate their structure? In many countries,the occupation is not attractive to young people for vari-ous reasons. Some of these reasons are economic andsocial. If the influx of young specialist into teacher edu-cation and training institutions remains low, nationaleducation will soon encounter serious problems in thisfield. In some cases, younger teachers experience rejec-tion from their senior colleagues. Instead of forcingteachers to retire from the profession, incentives areneeded to make them want to change; such as promo-tions among completion of in-service training pro-grammes.

2. Standards

In all the countries of the region there is an obvious needfor national standards in teacher education and training,which should also be compatible with other Europeancountries. This would enhance the mobility of studentsinstead of hindering it, as is the case today. Pre-service

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education of teachers should be based on professionallyreconsidered principles. Common standards in teachereducation can assure quality and compatibility on anational scale.

3. Subject vs. pedagogical competency

While developing new curricula, teacher education andtraining institutions have to pay particular attention to arational equilibrium between pedagogic methodology(special didactics) and subject (content) study. Often theline between the two is not clear. Professional practicalwork should also find a proper place in new curricula.Last but not least, sociological and ethical issues shouldbe incorporated into the curricula as well.

4. In-service teacher training

Teacher education and training institutions also play animportant role in the development and provision ofINSET training. In the region, faced with major prob-lems and lack of resources, this field of human resourcedevelopment is of highest importance. A system of in-service education and training, which is well structuredand supported by the ministry, can decisively help inproviding a potential (critical mass) for the implanta-tion of educational reform. In addition, teachers withformer associate degrees (two-years) should be sup-ported to enrol into part time study to get a full univer-sity degree.

7. Minorities and the curriculum

5. Partnerships between schools and educational insti-tutions

Incentives should be developed both in schools and edu-cational institutes to encourage co-operation betweenschools and educational institutions, and to highlighttheir benefits for all parties. Schools are often not com-pensated for mentoring programmes of teacher candi-dates. In practice, the programme is often restricted tomere observation of classroom practices, instead of inte-gration into the school environment.

6. Postgraduate degrees for teachers

In many countries of the region, the path to post-gradu-ate studies in teacher education is lacking or hindered.Further development of national education largelydepends on the opening of such post-graduate studies.Also, in the South-East Europe region, discussions onthe so-called Bologna Process are going on; it is crucialto decide what will be the future place of teacher educa-tion in the overall systems of higher education.

7. Research and development

Research and development at teacher education institu-tions should be enhanced and improved. It is an impor-tant tool of improving quality at the institution. At thesame time, research and development projects at teachereducation and training institutions can be decisive for thesuccess of the reforms of national education.

Moderators: Maria Andruszkiewicz and Peter Rado

I. OVERVIEW OF REGIONAL APPROACHES II. ISSUES

1. Separation was the favoured approach in the past, butthis can lead to divisions, mutual distrust, ignoranceof the reality of others' lives and the creation andmaintenance of harmful stereotypes.

2. Assimilation has also been tried in some countries,but pretending that cultural and linguistic differencesdo not exist has led to children underachieving anddropping out of education.

3. Curriculum enrichment of different kinds is nowbeing attempted across the region. This presents sev-eral challenges, particularly with regard to historyand language teaching.

1. Economiclresource factors

Unavailability of sufficient State funding to deliverthe kind of provision that curriculum designersbelieve to be necessary.Some minorities, especially Roma families, aresocially and economically excluded and face difficul-ties in meeting their basic needs. This affects chil-dren's availability for school (many of them work),and performance at school (children are hungry, coldin bad weather so they find it hard to concentrate;they can't afford school materials).

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Employing para-professionals (for example schoolassistants to support teachers and pupils in integratedclassrooms) has been shown to be successful.However, there are unresolved issues as to how thesepara-professionals are to be paid and what their pro-fessional status will be.There is a lack of suitable texts and materials for usein diverse classrooms and there is also a lack ofawareness to generate critical discussion aboutdiversity and stereotypes among children and teach-ers.

2. The legacy of conflict in the region

The challenge of integrating refugees and re-integrat-ing returnees.Perceptions of and reactions to other groups seemirrevocably damaged by conflict. There is a residualmutual fear and distrust that has resulted in educa-tional separation of groups of children. There is fearfor future prospects of peaceful co-existence thatmight not be accomplished.°The region suffers from particular difficulties andsensitivities about teaching history and language

3. Other political factors

Political sensitivityfear of policy-makers that equalopportunity measures will be perceived as `favour-ing' minorities.Lack of widespread public awareness of the case forequal opportunities; or of the international legalframeworks and standards that place certain obliga-tions on governments.Therefore, `majorities' feel threatened and resentfulof attempts to create a 'level playing field' for minori-ties.These fears are manipulated by opportunistic politi-cians.

4. Factors relating to education systems

There is a great deal of newly developed good prac-tice, but this remains at the pilot or local level and isnot scaled up to achieve positive change for the sys-tem as a whole.Getting the balance right between providing mother-tongue instruction, and ensuring that children can usethe majority language well enough to access highereducation and work opportunities.Teacher training does not routinely prepare teachersto work in diverse classrooms.Traditionally, there is an expectation that childrenwill be able to do large amounts of home study. Thisleads to children in overcrowded housing, or thosewho work after school falling behind and unable torevise sufficiently for exams (many such children arefrom minority families).

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Traditional teaching practice relies on instruction andmemorizing, rather than active learning, leaving chil-dren who are not proficient in the language ofinstruction very disadvantaged.New teaching practices that have been shown to workwell in diverse classrooms (multipleintelligences/learning styles approaches), are almostunknown in the region and are not covered in routineteacher-training.Traditional approaches to defining 'a minority' arenot flexible enough to cope with population changesdue to migration or the complexity of many Europeanidentities today. Both Hungary and Moldova areinteresting examples.

III. TEACHER TRAINING

The group that discussed teacher training suggested thata first step would be to develop and test a core regionalteacher-training resource on 'the diverse classroom'.This could form the basis for an initiative to be funded bya regional agency, such as the European Union or theStability Pact for South-East Europe.

Training teachers in the skills they need to work on ina classroom and/or a community with children of differ-ent backgroundsthis idea should be a part of everyteacher's training.

Teachers' expectations can affect children's perform-ances in schools. Teachers need to be aware of their ownprejudices and how these can affect both their ownbehaviour and that of the children they teach.

IV. RECOMMENDATIONS FORTEACHER TRAINING

If all teachers embarked on their careers possessing theskills they need to work in an inclusive way with childrenfrom diverse backgrounds, the quality of provision forminority children in the region would be improved, Theworking group recommended that a core regional train-ing module should be developed and tested for initialteacher training on 'diversity and the diverse classroom'.This training module would contain the following ele-ments:

self-awareness, critical skills to identify stereotyping,awareness of diversity;challenges and opportunities presented in diverseclassrooms;content and delivery of anti-bias curricula;approaches and teaching methods for culturallydiverse and multilingual classrooms.

In addition to pre-service training in core modules, an in-service training pack needs to be developed and deliv-ered at regional seminars for teachers on 'teaching in adiverse classroom'. The seminars would have the dualaim of giving teachers opportunities to discuss diversityissues within a regional, a European and a national con-text; as well as providing essential training for teachers

who are teaching minorities now and preparing thosewho may do so in the future.

Experts from the South-East Europe region wouldhave the task of writing core materials for the teachertraining modules. Initially, some international expertiseshould also be called upon to ensure that best use is madeof what has already been developed and tested else-where. Materials have also been developed (but nottranslated) in some countries in the region that could beincorporated. The regional experts would adapt and buildon this to develop the regional core package. Materialsand delivery would then be tested in different countriesto ensure that they are applicable, with small modifica-tions, throughout the region.

To develop teachers' practical skills and capacity,'exchange and exposure programmes' in schools thathave developed successful practice for minority childrenwould be useful. This would be equally important forteachers who work in communities without minorities,who might otherwise have no opportunities to developteaching skills that they might need later in their careers.

V. LANGUAGE ISSUES

The group that discussed language issues also put for-ward practical recommendations for approaching thesewithin a regional and wider European context. The work-ing group proposed:

The possibility of co-operation between countries tolower the costs for individual countries to develop andproduce materials for numerically small minorities.Learning from the successful efforts of other countries.

In South-East Europe, the debate continues about which

languages should be used as mother tongue languages,and which as foreign-languages and in which countries?

In answer to the question 'how long should studentsstudy in their mother tongue?' the group could not comeup with a 'next step' proposal, but set out the broad prin-ciples that they believe should define language policy:

Language/s teaching/mother tongue provision shouldachieve a balance that ensures the following:

To see that the abilities of children who are not nativespeakers of the language used in school are acknowl-edged and recognized, especially if instruction intheir mother-tongue is not possible.If mother-tongue provision to children who are notnative speakers of the language used in school is notpossible, students are therefore provided with otherkinds of support so that they can understand what isgoing on in the classroom.Children who receive instruction in their mother-tongue are also taught the majority language to a levelthat ensures that they can access higher education,employment and other opportunities that require it.

Opportunities for regional learning exist and should betaken advantage of.

Issues and problems that emerged, but have beenresolved, or even just better understood, in othercountries offer ideas, signs of hope and inspiration.Every country's experience is unique, but we facesome common challenges, and other countries inEurope may have faced similar ones in the decadessince the idea of a 'kind of United States of Europe'was first proposed in 1946.

The working group was made of representatives from:Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro,Moldova, Romania and Slovenia.

8. Early childhood

Moderators: Marcela Batisticv Zorec and Arjana Miljak

I. PRESENTATION BY THE MODERATORS

Mrs. BatistiC Zorec presented the differences and simi-larities in early childhood national curricular documents.She explained how the historical development of pre-school institutions differs from Europe and NorthAmerica, and even more so in comparison with the for-mer socialist countries. Apart from the Nordic states,countries maintain the division between day care institu-tions and pre-school education, which is increasinglybeing questioned by experts. In the former socialiststates, high rates of employment among women led to

the establishment of a very large number of day care cen-tres, open to children of all ages, but which suffered fromhigh levels of centralization and thus lacked of competi-tion and heterogeneousness.

The fast development of pre-school education had ledcountries in Western Europe and North America to devel-op national pre-school curricular documents. Createdonly recently, these documents present some differencesand similarities. In terms of differences, it can be notedthat some countries are well advanced in the develop-ment and implementation of the new curriculum, whileothers are barely starting. The programmes have differ-

39

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ent juridical values and can take different forms (frame-work, guidelines, manuals). The main differencebetween the documents is the variety of subject areas,and the naming of these areas, although contents aremostly similar. The role of religion is tackled in variousways. Some curricula refer to basic democratic valuesbut never to religion; while in some countries religiousvalues are openly part of the document. National legisla-tion can in some cases restrict, oblige or prohibit reli-gious education.

As for the similarities, all documents include funda-mental (democratic) values and foster awareness of mul-ticulturalism due to the increasingly international aspectsof communities in many places. Other important valuesto be encountered in the documents are equal opportuni-ties, gender equality, environment and health.Programmes are overall flexible with little obligation interms of methods, themes and activities. Furthermore,the aims related to child development and learning rep-resent similarities. Learning is not formal, but based onactivities, learning to learn, experience and exploration.The typical pre-school curriculum integrates knowledgeand process covering several subjects.

Mrs. Miljak presented recent research she conductedin the field of early childhood education. Starting fromthe point of view that education of children is under con-stant development, (in which improvement and modifi-cation is a result of direct observation and reflection byresearchers and practitioners), she considers the curricu-lum to be dynamic by referring to it as a developmentalcurriculum. She argues that the key to reform lies intranslating theories into educational practices, an aspect

40

which she considers to have been omitted in contempo-rary research. She calls for a well-developed theory ofaction, to be based on the local context and culture ofeach individual institution. An effective translation ofinnovation into practice is unpredictable and indefinite.This is because one never knows if and how institutionswill accept it, and whether a true change in practice willtake place. Therefore, she started her research by explor-ing educational practices, in order to discover what theo-ries or implicit pedagogies are present and performed ininstitutions in Croatia. Some of the major findings werethe following;

The environment and organization of intuitions arearranged according to a model of adults, and thus inopposition with children's nature and rights. Achange is required in the environment, as well as inthe relationship of tutors towards children. This rela-tionship is to be based on trust, respect and co-oper-ation.A child learns by doing. The research showed that byabandoning the traditional relationship of superiorityand subordination, the development of a child is stim-ulated.Heterogeneous age groups are the most suitablegroup for living and learning in kindergartens. Theseinstitutions showed fewer problems related to adapt-ing, establishing confidence and learning rules of liv-ing in a group.The acceptance of children of ethnic or religiousminorities or with special needs depends largely onthe attitude of the tutor, whose behaviour and treat-ment will be followed by the children of the institu-tion.

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VI: NATIONAL PLANS ANDFOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES

1. Albania

The team representing Albania consisted of: Enina Bali li, Mimoza Cano, Ylli Gjangi and SotirRapo

The Ministry of Education and Science has undertakenstrategic steps in the reform of curricula in the followingareas:1. The design and drafting of new curricula.2. The design and piloting of content standards for each

subject in compulsory education.3. Teacher training in all regions of the country.4. The renewal of higher education curricula for pre-

service teacher training.5. Increasing the number of textbooks available for

teacher training.

I. THE NEED FOR CURRICULUM CHANGE

Today, Albanian society is open and there is an opportu-nity to reflect on the prospects in the field of education.

Certain subjects require scientific and methodologi-cal changes.Many subjects, such as artistic education, technicaleducation, Albanian language and literature, shouldbe reviewed.The socio-economic changes in society have createdthe need for a transformation of the existing curricu-lum.Certain subjects are overloaded and very academical-ly oriented, and thus do not allow students to developpractical skills.Due to its centralized character, some schools are notable to adapt the national curricula to local condi-tions.Issues related to health and environmental education,human rights and peace, the equality of the races,minorities and gender require more thorough reflec-tion within the real context.

These problems have been brought to the attention of theministry and some changes have been made. The cur-riculum framework will combine global educationalobjectives with the goals and objectives of specific sub-jects, and establish the right ratio between subjects.Some work has been done with regard to pilot-testing ofcontent standards for subjects such as languages, civiceducation, mathematics and physical education. Somecharacteristics of the expected primary school curricu-lum are:

Broader scope: cognitive, emotional, creative, physical.

More active learning.Lifelong learning supported by the government.Cohesion in collaboration (combining internal devel-opment and regional development).Subject integration.High professionalism, good equipment and fair treat-ment in schools.Decentralization of the education system.Quality education, in particular internationally com-parable standards and the guarantee of recognizingcertification and diplomas abroad.

Dilemmas still exist concerning the following issues:Teacher preparation in terms of quality and the abili-ty to respond to the new curricula.Finding models and adapting them in accordancewith the different areas of the curriculum.Assistance and professional support responding toour needs and demandsThe establishment of a consensus in the process ofredesigning curricula. This requires a close co-opera-tion between the Ministry of Education and Science,the Institute of Research and Pedagogical Studies, theNational Centre for Evaluation and examinations,schools, kindergartens, universities, etc.It is worth mentioning the phenomenon of 'braindrain' that exists in our country. A certain percentageof teachers, specialists and professors leave to workabroad, leading to difficulties in the education sys-tem, especially in terms of the quality of the teaching.

II. FIRST STEPS FOR CHANGE

In pre-primary and primary education, the draft of thecore-curriculum is being prepared. Some of the maingoals and characteristics of pre-school education are asfollows:

Educating an individual who is free and responsible.Developing cognitive and emotional capacities.Providing equality of opportunity for all children.Kindergarten is the first and the most important placewhere the process of social integration of the childbegins. It should be an environment that makes thechild the centre of attention in the educational process.The kindergarten years influence the general develop-ment of the child through well-planned activities.

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The new educational programme in our kindergartenactivities is classified under the following areas:1. Civic education. It teaches children to live and inter-

act together.2. Linguistic development and learning to write. The

issues are:Development of communication skills and speech.Development of skills to listen and understand a con-versation.Development of correct pronunciation skills.Development of descriptive skills.

3. Discovery of oneself and of the surrounding world.4. Artistic education.5. Space, dimensions and rules.

III. SOME PROPOSALS

This programme should be accompanied by other activi-ties:

As part of a regional strategy, to create a draft modelof a curriculum comprising main principles to berespected by countries in the region and to be adopt-ed by consensus.To broaden exchanges among specialists.To establish criteria for a possible agreement on aflexible curriculum to be employed by minorities.To establish contacts through the world-wide web.To disseminate publications on curriculum issues inthe region.

2. Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe team representing Bosnia and Herzegovina consisted of: Boris eekrhja, Melvida Pekmez andStanislav Pusic

I. CURRENT SITUATION

1. Organizational structure

Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of two entities: theFederation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; and the Republicof Srpska. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovinahas ten cantons, each of which has its proper cantonalMinistry of Education and educational institutions. Atthe federal level, the Republic of Srpska has a Ministryof Education, while the Federation of Bosnia andHerzegovina has its Ministry of Education, Science,Culture and Sports. The country does not have a nation-al Ministry of Education.

Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina follows threecurricula. In the Republic of Srpska, primary and sec-ondary education is uniform and all primary schools fol-low a common curriculum. The Federation of Bosnia andHerzegovina utilizes two curricula. Therefore, as a resultof the Dayton Agreement, according to which educationfalls under the jurisdiction of entities or cantons, both ofthe constitutive federations have their own curricula forprimary and secondary schools.

II. ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE EDUCATION

In 2001, with technical support provided under the aus-pices of EC-TAER (European CommissionTechnicalAssistance to Educational Reform) Project, the 'modern-ization of primary and general secondary education' wasinitiated in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Activities for themodernization of curricula and in-service teacher train-ing were carried out, as well as the measures to include

42

learners with special needs or learner-returnees, theimprovement of school management and the develop-ment of a legal framework. The general impression isthat the project has been carried out at a pace that couldand should be more rapid.

In the Republic of Srpska, for three years now, threeprimary schools have had the status of experimentalschools. They use a reduced curriculum with moderninteractive teaching methods. Starting from the nextschool year, all primary schools in the Republic ofSrpska will apply this new curriculum. The contents ofindividual subjects have been reduced by about 20%. In-service training (theoretical lectures as well as observa-tions in experimental schools) has been organized for allthe primary school-teachers to familiarize them with thenew interactive methods of teaching.

III. AGENCY FOR STANDARDS AND ASSESSMENT

The establishment of the Agency for Standards andAssessment was decided through a common accord bythe governments of the Federation of Bosnia andHerzegovina and the Republic of Srpska in 2000. Theagency is a component of a developmental educationproject in Bosnia and Herzegovina, supported by theWorld Bank and the European Commission. It is anindependent institution of the governments of Bosniaand Herzegovina and the Republic of Srpska that pro-vides specialized expertise and services to educators onvarious aspects of assessment. It acts as a counsellingbody for decision-makers in educational policy at sec-ondary levels and, furthermore, it represents publicinterest by monitoring the provision by which the gov-

4 1

ernments of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina(and cantons) and the Republic of Srpska implementquality education.

1. Tasks of the agency

The priority task of the agency is to define standards oflearning achievements in specific subjects at differentlevels of education and to assess their degree of achieve-ment. Among its other tasks are:

Collecting, processing and publishing data on learn-ing quantity and quality in primary and secondaryschools. This information is used for the decision-making process (this information is obtained throughtesting primary and secondary school pupils in cer-tain subjects at a specific level of education).Providing assistance to municipalities, cantons andentities in projects dealing with research and thedevelopment of assessment in education.Providing assistance in the field of research anddevelopment of assessment to education institutionsand to individuals in the field of assessment (teachersat schools and the staff of educational institutions)through seminars, courses, workshops and workinggroups.Harmonizing assessment practices (priority activityof the agency).

3. Bulgaria

2. Priority activities of the agency

Inspiring understanding and support of stakeholders(including political bodies, specialists in the field ofeducation and other fields, parents and the generalpublic), so that the objectives of the agency areachieved.Carrying out sample assessments in key subjects(mathematics and mother-tongue) at key levels ofeducation (the fourth and the eighth year of primaryschool). As well as setting the proficiency benchmarkof education systems and preparing the manner ofobtaining the general grade of learning achievements.Analysis of data and publication of reports for theministry, schools and the general public, as well asfor specialist in education and other fields.Utilization of existing experience in assessment andthe development of additional expertise among teach-ers in order to enable schools to better assess learningachievements in school subjects and other fields.

The agency will establish partner relationships with thestakeholders providing service and information for:

entity, cantonal and municipal bodies;universities and faculties;educational institutions;school heads;teaching staff councils at schools;commercial and industrial enterprises;organizations of parents and young people.

The team representing Bulgaria consisted of: Rumiana Mantcheva, Zvetelina Petrova, DeyanPilev and Zahari Zahariev

Like all countries in the region, Bulgaria is reforming itseducation system from pre-school to higher educationlevel. This reform is carried out through the 'moderniza-tion of education' project and is funded by the WorldBank. The reform has to deal with the demographic cri-sis that Bulgaria is currently facing. This crisis manifestsitself in a decrease in the total number of school-goingchildren and a change in the ethnic structure, specifical-ly through an increase of children from minority groups,mainly Roma and Turkish. Therefore, the reform is tak-ing place in the context of a radical socio-economic andpolitical transformation, and aims to integrate the coun-try into the European structure.

I. WHAT WE HAVE DONE SO FAR

A new curriculum has been adopted, consisting ofdifferent cultural/educational areas.The curriculum includes 'civic education'an inter-disciplinary subject taught from grades 1 to 12, andintroduces a separate subject called 'world and per-

43

sonality' in class 12.New State educational standards have been devel-oped for all school subjects, starting from grade 1.They describe the aims and the outcomes of theprocess of education.New study programmes for all subjects have beendeveloped.The end of the year 2001 saw the development of aschool-leaving examination in two obligatory sub-jects: Bulgarian language and literature, plus a sub-ject of choice.The curriculum regulates early foreign-languagelearning, starting from grade 2. It will support theintegration of minorities into the education system byteaching them Bulgarian language before they startschool and through assistance in teacher training forpeople from minority groups.A process of optimization of the school network hasstarted in accordance with the demographic changesin the country. A reform in the area of higher educa-tion is underway.

2

II. MAIN CHALLENGES OF THE EDUCATIONALREFORM

Achieving a high level of education by introducingthe new curriculum.Operationalization of the new curriculum standardsat the school and at the classroom level.Developing effective pedagogical practices forachieving standards.Creating new textbooks and additional educationalmaterials in accordance with the new curriculum.Teacher education and training.Motivating teachers for active participation in thereform.

Special emphasis has been placed on qualifying teachersin the following areas:

early foreign-language teaching;working with minority groups;civic education;working with children at risk;qualifying teachers for computer sciences and infor-mation technologies;working out a system of evaluation of student andteacher achievements, as well as for the educationsystem as a whole;involvement of young people who have dropped outof the education system;

4. Croatia

last but not leastensuring the financial support forthe reform.

In the process of solving these problems we are lookingfor partnership and assistance from different internation-al organizations, including CEPS. Finally we would liketo thank the organizers of this event who have provideda good opportunity for exchange of ideas and experi-ences between countries of the region, thus being a help-

ful and reliable partner.

HI. PROPOSALS FOR FURTHER ACTIVITIES

To establish discussion groups on the world-wideweb, where every country would suggest 'hot'themes to be discussed. The posed problems could bepreceded by short research on the topic in individualcountries. This will give SEE-ECN an opportunity tobecome a regional discussion forum in the field ofeducation.To establish a new South-East European Countriesjoint column on the website.To present ways of harmonizing educational legisla-tion in individual countries with European legislationin a new joint column on the website.To ensure more content information in already exist-ing columns on the website.

The team representing Croatia consisted of: Petar Bezinovic, Petra Hohlaj, Milwja Markovic, IrisMarusic, Milan Matijevic, Arjana Miljak, Vera Turkovic and Vlasta Vizek Vidovic

I. THE STATUS OF EDUCATIONAL REFORM

The need for educational reform in Croatia is widely rec-ognized by different stakeholders. The issues related tothe reform are the focus of public interest and are receiv-ing wide media coverage. Professional audiences areactively involved in the debate at various levels.

The general framework for educational reform is pre-sented in two strategic documents drafted by two inde-pendent expert groups. One of them is part of the gener-al strategy 'Croatia in the twenty-first Century', spon-sored by the Croatian government; the other documentwas designed by a group of experts appointed by theMinistry of Education and Sports. An interdisciplinaryteam of investigators from the Institute for SocialResearch in Zagreb has started research projects relatedto the key elements of the reform: such as the duration ofcompulsory education; curriculum reform; reform ofteacher training; and the establishment of a model forexternal and internal evaluation of schools. The results of

44

these projects are intended to serve as an empirical basisfor decisions related to educational policy.

Public discussion about the documents is underwayand is converging on key concepts. At the same time,hidden reforms are taking place at the school level. Manyteachers have actively participated in various types of in-service training, such as workshops and seminars relatedto new teaching methods. By attending these, the teach-ers enrich their daily work with new teaching practices.

II. CURRICULUM REFORM PROBLEMS

Curriculum reform is at an initial stage. An increasingawareness concerning the need for educational reformexists, but no document describing a national curriculumframework has been developed, neither has any officialbody been appointed for this purpose. The Institute forSchool Development has started a large campaign aimedat needs assessment in different subject areas, and theinstitute's professionals are working on downsizing the

4 3

overloaded school plans and programmes. The Centrefor Educational Research and Development (ISRZ) hasalso proposed a policy-oriented research on curriculumdevelopment that should be carried out in close co-oper-ation with the Institute for School Development.However, practical steps to launch curricular reform havenot been undertaken yet.

III. CURRICULAR REFORM NEEDS

The needs for curricular reform are mainly related toexpert input. As there are no educational professionalsspecialized in the area of curricular design, support isneeded in human resources development in the area ofcurriculum design. This should include both mentorshipto the educational specialists engaged in the work on cur-ricular reform in the country, as well as training andstudy visits to foreign institutions specialized in curricu-lum planning and evaluation of the education system.Also, both educational researchers and practitioners needexpert and advisory consultations in curriculum develop-ment. Furthermore, the lack of financial resources couldseriously endanger efforts aimed at large-scale curricularreform of the education system in Croatia.

IV. MAIN ISSUES IN CURRICULUMDEVELOPMENT

First of all, there is a need to design a work plan for thedevelopment of new curricula. The main educational goalsderived from the child-centred approach should be decid-ed upon. Furthermore, objectives should be determinedwith regard to learning outcomes. Key steps, including the

5. Kosovo

planning, designing, implementing and evaluating of newcurricula, should be defined.

V. PROPOSALS FOR THE FOLLOW-UPACTIVITIES

There are several areas of activity that could facilitate thelaunch of curricular reform in Croatia:

To open dialogue in order to achieve consensusbetween educational professionals and policy makersregarding the needs and priorities in changing theeducation system.To support policy-oriented research that assesses cur-rent status and needs.To build capacity in the field through in-serviceteacher education.To carry out parallel upgrading of contents andmethodology of teaching/learning processes throughin-service teacher education.

VI. VALUE OF SEE-ECN

The SEE-ECN network is a meeting place for variousapproaches and initiatives related to common problemsin educational reform in the countries of South-EastEurope. The network can offer foreign expertise and dif-ferent perspectives related to various difficulties of edu-cational reform. Furthermore, the SEE-ECN offers avaluable opportunity for the exchange of experiences inthe region. Also, there is an opportunity for in-depthproblem analysis in thematic sessions. The library ofdocuments is a particularly valuable resource of materi-als on key topics concerning curricular reform.

The team representing Kosovo consisted of: Ljuljeta Belegu Demjaha, Deme Hoti, Halim Hyseni,Ganimete Kulinxha, Ramush Lekaj, Besa Pupa, Remzi Salihu and Ramadan Zejnullahu

I. COUNTRY BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Kosovo area: 10,908 km'.Population in 1991: 2,105,000 inhabitants;Population under 15 years: 41%.Ethnic groups: Albanian over 90%, Serbians 7%,Bosnians, Turks and others 2%.Education (in five different languages: Albanian,Serbian, Bosnian, Turkish, Croatian).Total number of schools: 1,163.Total number of students: 410,485.37 preschools with 7,343 pupils.985 primary schools (grades 1-8) with 320,844 stu-dents.127 secondary schools with 90,507 students.

14 special schools with 503 students.1 university with 886 teachers and 20,155 students.Culture: 8 museums, 2 professional theatres, 5 ama-teur theatres.

The administration of education is based on the UNResolution 1244. The Ministry of Education, Scienceand Technology (MASHT) was established after centralelections had taken place and is responsible for theadministration of education at the central level.

H. THE CURRICULUM PROCESS

In order to develop a comprehensive educational reform,the Department of Education and Science(DoES/UNMIK) introduced its so-called 'leading

45 4 4

agency strategy' in 2000. Different organizations havebeen invited to support and deal with specific areas ofreform of the educational process:

UNICEF Kosovo (psycho-social development, earlychildhood, curriculum development);CIDA-KEDP (teacher training);GTZ (vocational education and training);World Bank-FTP (assessment and evaluation);Helsinki Group (special needs education).

At the end of 2000, UNICEF-Kosovo was invited to actas a leading agency for curriculum development, andcommitted itself to supporting three main activities of thecurriculum reform process:

The development of a new curriculum framework,determining the key orientations for a sustainablereform of the curriculum.Increasing quality and equality in the education sys-tem based on progressive learning, aims and objec-tives, contents, methodology of teaching and learn-ing, procedures of assessment and evaluation(November 2000September 2001).The development of new guidelines for pre-schooleducation and a new curriculum for primary education.

Based on UNICEF-Kosovo rules, the process of curricu-lum development is designed for citizens from Kosovo.The Core Curriculum Team (CCT) that was establishedwithin the DoES, gave priority to the development of aNew Kosovo Curriculum Framework (NKCF). UNICEF-Kosovo, as the leading agency, supported the process inboth professional and financial aspects. In December2000, UNESCO-IBE organized an intensive course ongeneral curriculum development for CCT, and in March2001 an international counsellor assisted CCT in finaliz-ing the NKCF. An international seminar on 'case studiesin curriculum development', jointly organized by DoES,UNICEF and IBE-UNESCO took place in Prishtina from

6. FYR Macedonia

2 to 5 May 2001. More than seventy people, representingteachers, students, headmasters, educational authorities,leading agencies and education NGOs, as well as expertsfrom IBE-UNESCO and six European countries(Estonia, Ireland, Lithuania, Norway, Romania,Spain/Catalonia) attended the seminar. A completereport of the seminar activities and outcomes can be con-sulted on the IBE-UNESCO website(www.ibe.unesco.org). A wide public discussion on thedifferent phases of development of the NKCF was alsoorganized.

In September 2001, a 'white paper' in Albanian,Serbian, Turkish and English was launched for discus-sions by the public. For six months, teachers, students,parents and other stakeholders in education were invitedto give their feedback in order to improve the document.(For more information in Albanian, Serbian or English:www.see-educop.net.) This document is currently (April2002) being approved by the Ministry of Education.

The second phase, i.e. the development of new guide-lines for pre-school education and a new curriculum forprimary education, scheduled for March-December2002, has been interrupted until the new ministry hasreceived feedback from the public discussions concern-ing the NKCF in order to finalize the document.

We hope that the curriculum development process ofKosovo presents a valuable experience not only toKosovars, but also to all countries of the Balkans region.The NKCF is a unique document, and is the first of itskind in the region. As the most important document ofcurriculum policy, it will be a base for the developmentof subject curricula, new orientations for assessment andevaluation, and for the renewal of teaching and learning.We hope it will influence organizational work at schoolsand improve relationships between the school and thecommuni ty.

The team representing FYR Macedonia consisted of: Natasha Angeloska Galevska, LenaDamovska, Jasmina Delceva Dizdarevic and Olga Samardzic

Educational reform in FYR Macedonia, which started inthe early 1990s, was aimed at designing a new curricu-lum that is flexible and more process-oriented than con-tent-oriented.

In pre-school education new curricular models, suchas step-by-step, active learning, and thematic planning,were introduced recently. During the last two years therehave been intensive activities for the development of anew national curriculum regulating the work of kinder-gartens. This new curriculum is characterized by:

An improved working methodology (integrated cur-riculum with emphasized developmental tasks for

46

children between six months and 7 years). It refers toall developmental aspects, particularly to children'srights.Abandoning cognitive and academic orientations inpre-school institutions, the so-called 'scholarization'.A developmental curriculum that is continuouslyrenewed.Increasing the number of children at pre-school insti-tutions, especially in the year before they enter pri-mary school (currently about 27% of the age cohortattend).Improvement of initial training for tutors.

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In 1995, the new Primary Education Act was adoptedand pilot projects for primary education advancementwere initiated. Among such projects was 'active learn-ing/teaching', based on the promotion of interactivelearning, which brought changes to the classroom itself,as well as to the methods and organization of teaching. In1996, the national reform of primary education started.This reform began at Form I (in 1996), and has beenimplemented in each succeeding form in subsequentyears. In 2001, it reached Form 6.

Apart from core subjects, for the first time the newcurriculum introduces electives and optional subjects.Optional subjects are foreign languages in the fourthform, and foreign languages and information and com-puter science in the seventh and eight forms. Electivesubjects in the first cycle (Forms 1-4) are: ecology, hand-icraft, and minority group languages, and in the secondcycle (Forms 5-8): art, music, sport, traffic and trans-portation.

The reform of secondary and higher education intro-duced a credit transfer system.

7. Moldova

New course books have also been produced, and theteachers, for the first time ever, have an option to selectthe course book they consider most appropriate for theirsyllabus. The course books, besides the selected content,also include didactic suggestions on how to teach certaintopics.

Together with the implementation of reform, aDepartment for Evaluation was established, which per-forms external evaluations on learning achievements intwo school subjects, mother tongue (FYR Macedonian,Albanian, Turkish) and mathematics.

Another aspect of the reform concerns teacher train-ing. Difficulties have been encountered in providing in-service training, because it lies within the competenciesof the Ministry of Education and the Bureau forEducational Development. In-service training thus faronly includes a few seminars and addresses a limitednumber of teachers.

The reformed curriculum can partially solve certainproblems, but as we all know, a reform is a process, notan act.

The team representing Moldova consisted of: Anatol Gremalschi, Viorica Postica and NadejdaVelisco

I. OVERVIEW

The Republic of Moldova is going through anunprecedented period of transition. Educational reformis part of the structural transformations characterizingthis process and what is happening is therefore differ-ent from what is typical of education systems in morestable societies. The re-organization of education inMoldova aims at, on the one hand, ensuring the organ-ization and functioning of the education systemaccording to social and cultural identity; and, on theother hand, solving the curricula dysfunction that hascome to light at this time. Conceptually, curricularreform is a central component and, at the same time,the guarantee of success for global reform of nationaleducation.

The goal of the reform is to mark the final separationof the education system from the uniform and rigidmodel of the past. Curricular reform is expected torespond adequately to the unprecedented changes andchallenges of this century. The most important regulato-ry acts of the reform that have been created during thelast couple of years are:

The concept of educational development in theRepublic of Moldova.

The law of education of the Republic of Moldova.The national programme for educational develop-ment of the Republic of Moldova (1995-2005).The review of all secondary school subjects.The concept of education (draft).The concept of assessment (draft).New documents: curricular descriptions, new text-books, the concept of teacher training, new assess-ment of students' outcomes, etc.

The elements of the national curricula are the following:The basic curricula (reference framework).A timetable for education in secondary school.Discipline curricula.Guides for the implementation of the new curricula.Textbooks and guides for the implementation of text-books for teachers.Policy trends in curriculum reform with regard toschool autonomy.

Significant administrative changes have resulted ingreater autonomy for educational institutions. TheMinistry of Education determines the compulsory sub-jects (80%), while the optional subjects (15-20%) are leftfor schools to determine. Decisions regarding optionalsubjects depend to a great extent on the skills and initia-tive of the school staff, as well as the school environ-ment.

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II. DRAFTING NEW CURRICULA

The first innovations in the development of Moldova'snew educational curriculum, in terms of its contents andstructure, started in 1991. Between 1992 and 1995, newcurricula for pre-school and primary education weredeveloped. This process involved the participation ofmany educationists and researchers, and resulted in theelaboration of a draft version for public discussion. Oncethe National Council of Curriculum and Assessment andthe Council of the Ministry of Education accepted thenew curriculum, implementation began in the autumn of1996, with the support of new textbooks and teachers'guides. In 1997 the process of development of the newcurricula for grades 5 to 9 (gymnastics) and grades 10 to12 (lyceum, secondary school) was concluded.

After public discussion on each subject with special-ists and teachers, the National Council of Curriculumand Assessment accepted the curriculum, and theMinistry of Education prescribed its implementation ingrade 5, starting in the school year 2000. The process ofimplementation of the new curricula for grades 5 to 6 iscurrently being developed for all subjects with new text-books, and will be continued in the years to come. Thecurricula for grades 10 to 12 were elaborated and imple-mented in accordance with new requirements for draftingcurricula and timetable guidelines.

The Ministry of Education, the Department ofSecondary Schools, the regional and local administrationof education and the Institute of Education are in chargeof the implementation of curricula and new textbooks.

All subjects of the curricula are translated into thelanguages of the minority populations (Russian,Bulgarian, Ukrainian, etc.)

Today, the new curriculum has been elaborated for allstages of education: pre-school, elementary, gymnasiumand lyceum. This has led to the need for a new universi-ty psycho-pedagogical curriculum, a document to be

applied in the second year of high school.

III. INNOVATING NEW CURRICULA

The accent is put on what is learned by the student(increased volume of information), rather than whatis presented by the teacher.The study process is orientated towards capacitiesand attitudes, with use of active didactical strategies.The education system is structured for the individualstudent.Study content has been directed towards the everydayreality, towards students' interests and capacities, andtowards a society based on a market economy.The selection criteria of content is based on qualityrather that quantity.

IV. PROBLEMS IN DRAFTING NEW CURRICULA

Old textbooks and teaching materials were still usedduring the implementation phase of the new curricu-

48

lum in pre-school, elementary school and the lyceum.Teacher training in the use of the new curricula wasdelayed and insufficient.The continuity between the pre-school and the ele-mentary curricula was not sufficiently ensured.There have been difficulties in monitoring curriculumimplementation due to the lack of skills in the plan-ning and implementation of monitoring schemes.The new assessment system needs to be grantedautonomy from the decision-making bodies andrequires supplementary financing.Not all institutions that provide teacher-training pro-grammes (especially for elementary and gymnasiumteachers) have adjusted the content and methodologyof training to the new curricula.Textbook authors and potential material developershave a great need for professional development. Onlya few training initiatives were provided in this area.

V. LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION

Curricula reform in grades I to 9 was supported bythe World Bank.The pre-school curriculum was supported by UNICEF.The lyceum curriculum was supported by theEducational Centre Pro Didactica, (a subsidiary ofthe Soros Foundation).The Educational Centre Pro Didactica conducted aqualitative 'step by step' evaluation programme forpre-school and elementary education.

According to the teachers, the strong elements of the newcurriculum are:

Its orientation towards objectives; their precise andconcrete formulation.Making the objectives operational.Stress is placed on 'what you can do' rather than on'what you know'.Multiple possibilities for stimulating creativity.A set of advanced didactic technologies.Orientation towards the pupil and to the applied,pragmatic aspect of the disciplines.The interdependence between teaching/learning/eval-uation.Promotion of a new vision on evaluation.

The (qualitative/quantitative) changes noted by theteachers as a result of implementing the new curriculaare the following:1. In the activities of the teachei

freedom in selecting the contents;creativity, flexibility;the necessity for the continuous improvement ofteachers;the teacher needs more time to prepare lessons;the teacher may become confused when there is dif-ficulty in implementing the new contents and animpediment to using old methods;the increasing role of self-education, using differentforms of improvement.

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2. In the behaviour of the pupilsfreedom of thinking and expression;increased activity, more implication;less inhibited, more able to defend their own opin-ions;collaboration with colleagues;more creativity;more responsibility;

Among the many suggestions offered by the teachers forimprovement of the curriculum and its implementation,the following ideas may be underlined:

More thought should be given to formulating theobjectives.The need to prepare adequate manuals and addition-al didactic materials.The need to provide libraries with the necessary liter-ature.The need to improve the evaluation system.The need to improve teachers' qualifications.More methodical indications and publication of man-uals in time.

More concrete suggestions will be formulated afterimplementing this curriculum after five or six years.

VI. CONCLUSIONS

We consider that the preparation, editing and approval ofthe entire set of new curricula, comprising complex andinnovative documents, represents a success for educa-tional reform in the country. Providing content that isfree of politics and ideology and providing choices in theselection of topics constitutes an important and attractivefeature of this curriculum. The fact that teachers andpupils have accepted it and are aware of the changes indi-cates progress. The fact that it is synchronized with theexperience of other advanced countries has, in our opin-ion, an enormous significance.

The specialists implicated in the curricular reformalmost unanimously were of the opinion that the docu-ments, at the initial stage, where too detailed for them tobe easily used (e.g. the elementary school curriculum:474 pages; the lyceum curriculum: 3 books for 3 curric-ula areas of 115, 157 and 180 pages respectively). Toincrease their functionality, the curriculum should con-centrate on general recommendations and the frame ofactivities while operational objectives and models ofevaluation can be included in other didactic materials.

Even if some improvements have been made, a lotremains to be done. It has been accepted, for instance,that the learning objectives at all levels have been over-ambitious and will thus be difficult to attain. The prob-

lem of reducing and merging the content of each curric-ular component therefore remains to be accomplished.Also, a considerable effort is needed to avoid the exces-sive overloading of content with scientific units. Achange in the mentality of the authors of the curriculumand in the mind of the teachers is also needed.

Finally, in an austere society with a tradition ofrestricted access to information, whatever the perform-ances of the curriculum as a normative documentwould be, there cannot be a true and realistic success ofthe reform without the support of manuals and otherdidactic materials. After a period of four or five yearsof printing new, reviewed and improved documents, nomore funding is available. Therefore, although text-book development is part of the activities planned bythe ministry, its implementation might be compro-mised.

VH.OUR PROPOSALS FOR FOLLOW-UPACTIVITIES

To create a regional centre for curricular resourcesand comparative studies in the field of curriculumdevelopment.To implement a common methodology for curricu-lum assessment and knowledge assessment.To harmonize national legislation in the field ofminority education.To conduct teacher training activities in the followingfields:

education for tolerance in a multi-culturalenvironment;conflict management, prevention andresolution;post-conflict rehabilitation.

1. The value of an education co-operation network

Access to information databases in the targeted areas.To share experiences in dealing with similar chal-lenges in the diverse contexts within the region, forinstance, in evaluating new curricula.

2. Activities that can be provided by the network

To establish an on-line consulting process, with tech-nical assistance from well-known international edu-cational experts acting as counsellors.To organize co-operative activities (conferences,workshops, etc.) focused on the specific needs of par-ticipating countries.

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8. MontenegroThe Team representing Montenegro consisted of: Tatjana Novovic, Natasa Zivkovic, MiodragVuceljic, Perko Vukotic and Slobodan Backovic

I. OVERVIEW

The educational reform process in Montenegro began afew years ago, from the grass roots level, through variousprojects sponsored by donor organizations, like the BritishCouncil, UNICEF, OSI Montenegro, etc. These projectsaimed at introducing new teaching and learning methodsand materials, as well as at building a climate of toleranceand in favour of finding peaceful solutions to problems inschools; thus enhancing co-operation within schools andbetween schools and the local community. One of themost important efforts was the European Union's 'OBNO-VA' project, which dealt with elementary education.

However, systemic changes started at the initialstages of the reform strategy and resulted in the adoptionof the Book of Changes (i.e. a White Paper) in December2001. The first phase of the educational reform consistedof the preparation of draft laws to be submitted to parlia-ment for adoption. The second phase consisted of theactual curricula reform at pre-school, elementary, sec-ondary and adult education levels. In order to provide asolid basis for consistent work on curricula revision, thegovernment established a Council for the Curricula,composed of twenty-nine members from all levels ofeducation. In its four-year mandate, the duties of thecouncil are as follows:

To prepare and adopt the overall content and method-ological framework for the development of the newcurricula for pre-school education, elementary, sec-ondary and adult education.Establish commissions: for the development of the

9. Romania

new curricula; for different segments of the educationsystem; for subjects and subject areas. Establishstudy groups for the evaluation of the draft versionsof the new curricula.Prepare and adopt a plan and dynamics for the workof the commissions and study groups and co-ordinatetheir work.Discuss the draft versions of the new curricula pre-pared by the commissions and encourage their adop-tion.Organize seminars and other forms of training for themembers of the commission, as well as other profes-sionals participating in the development and evalua-tion of the curricula.Perform other duties and activities aimed at theimprovement of curricula.

So far, the council has formed five commissions for dif-ferent levels of education; it has adopted the work plan for2002; prepared the draft version of the general guidelinesfor curriculum development; and is working on specificguidelines for each level of education. The main problemthe council faces in its work is the lack of institutionalsupport. At present, in Montenegro there is no education-al institute or other specialized institution engaged in ped-agogical research with the ability to offer expert assistancein curriculum revision. Therefore, local capacity-buildingin curriculum revision and development is one of the mosturgent needs the council is faced with. Furthermore, thestrategy of implementation envisages parallel teachertraining in order to familiarize teachers with the contentand methodology of the new curricula.

The team representing Romania consisted of: Li liana Preoteasa, Ligia Sarivan and Antoaneta-Firuta Tacea

I. STATUS OF THE EDUCATIONAL REFORM

After eight years of various curricular changes, Romaniastarted implementing a coherent national curriculum in1998. The main features of the national curriculum arethe following:

To provide equal opportunities for education througha core-curriculum.To offer flexibility for local decision-making by leav-ing room for a school-based curriculum.

To focus on students' acquisition of learning whiledesigning a curriculum centred on objectives andcompetencies.To aim at integrating knowledge and skills by group-ing the traditionally separated school subjects intocurricular areas.To introduce curricular key-stages according to age(the 'psychological' age in particular) in order torationalize the level at which students acquire learn-ing.

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The new curriculum was implemented as follows:1998grades 1-5; 1999grades 6-9; 2000grade 10;2001grade 11; grade 12 was scheduled to be intro-duced in schools starting in September 2002.

In order to help the implementation, the followingactivities were carried out:

Publication of the official curriculum: TheCurriculum Framework, Framework of Reference forCompulsory Education, The Competence DerivationModel, Subject curricula for all school levels.Publication of methodological guides to supportteachers in adapting their methodology to a student-centred curriculum (thirty-one guides were publishedfor all school subjects/curricular areas for all schoollevels).Publication of alternative textbooks.Teacher training: about 7,000 teachers from all overRomania, representing all subjects taught in the newcurriculum, attended interactive courses at nationallevel between April 2000 and February 2002.

II. PROBLEMS AND NEEDS

1. Within the project of pre-university education reformco-financed by the World Bank and the RomanianGovernment, an impact study of the curricular reformwas carried out in 2001. The study, developed by anexternal expert team and based on a national sample,revealed that a critical mass of teachers is favourableto the new curriculum. The teachers that were inter-rogated pointed to the following needs:

more room for the school-based curriculum with-in the curriculum framework;more teacher training on school improvementissues;a less loaded curriculum;better textbooks focused on a student-centredapproach.

2. According to the Law of Education, the ninth gradewill be included in compulsory education. For thetime being, a debate on how to implement this changewas launched, but no decisions have been made so far.

II. KEY CONTENT ISSUES AND DIRECTIONS

The impact study mentioned above was followed by aneducational forum that gathered together teachers,inspectors, decision-makers, curriculum experts, univer-sity professors and researchers who debated on the out-comes of the study. Consequently, a set of guidelines forfuture actions was developed:

more time provision was made for the school-basedcurriculum within the curriculum framework;the objectives were better defined;essential syllabi were clearly stated;a compulsory ninth-grade should be coherentlydesigned, so as to conclude general education and toorient students towards the various strands of highschool;pre-vocational guidance in the key-stages of orienta-tion (grades 7 to 9);curricular revision and gradual implementation of therevised form in 2002-07;the introduction of a pilot project so as to include thefinal year of kindergarten into compulsory education(starting in 2002/03);reform of initial teacher training as well as improvingstrategies for in-service teacher training.

IV. PROPOSALS FOR FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES

To develop guidelines for designing curricular materialsat a regional level (through seminars) on various issues,such as:

history of the Balkans;literature of the Balkans;civics and social studies;teacher training, etc.

V. ACTIVITIES TO BE PROVIDEDBY THE NETWORK

We recommend a number of activities to be carried outon line, such as:

To organize materials on the web by themes ratherthan by country. Possible themes include: mathemat-ics, languages, social studies, minorities, teachertraining, etc.To set up online discussion groups for each of thethemes presented. Thus the network might become alive forum of debate for each of the issues consideredimportant for curriculum design.

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10. SerbiaThe team representing Serbia consisted of: Vera Bojovic, Ljiljana Djuric, Emina Hebib, TindeKovacs Cerovic, Gaso Knezevic, Ljiljana Levkov, Jasmina Moskovljevic and Biljana Stojanovic

We wish to take this opportunity and express our grati-tude to the organizers and hosts for making a great effortin arranging for such an inspiring meeting concerningcurricula. The data, plans and suggestions, significantfrom the point of view of systemic, functional and qual-itative educational changes in Serbia and other parts ofthe region, are a central and continuing topic of educa-tion. We also wish to express our hopes that this meet-ing will mark the beginning of a process of continuous,active and fruitful co-operation in the region andbeyond.

I. EDUCATIONAL REFORM IN SERBIA

During 2001 and 2002, Serbia has worked to developthe general strategy of educational reform, which waspublished in the document Quality education for all:towards a developed society. To deal with the reformprocess, the Ministry of Education and Sport of the newgovernment of the Republic of Serbia slightly altered itsorganizational structure. This was done on the basis ofco-ordinated work of expert teams and as a result of awidely based consultation process, which, through aseries of debates on reform carried out in sixty-fivecities and towns throughout Serbia, included majorstakeholders in education (teachers, learners, parents,school principals, school board members local educa-tional authority representatives, with a total number of8,500 participants). Strategic objectives and the educa-tion reform plan have been presented and discussed,amongst other occasions, at two large international con-ferences held in Belgrade in June 2001 and January2002, which assembled more than a 1,000 participants,mainly educators and representatives of interest groupsin education.

At the moment the reform scene in Serbia has the fol-lowing characteristics:

The expert teams assigned by the ministry during thesecond half of 2001 continue their work with anemphasis on designing implementation programmes.New expert teams are assigned for special needs edu-cation, curricular reform and textbook publishingpolicies.A national forum for education for all in the Republicof Serbia (sponsored by UNESCO) has been estab-lished. Its sphere of activity has been defined and thedesign of its action programme is in progress.The first phase of changes in the law has resulted inthe adoption of annexes and changes to the law onelementary and secondary school, and the so-calledtransitional law on universities.

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Current priorities in the system are the functional andprofessional refreshing of schools as part of the con-cept of school development and professionalizationof teaching and management at schools. The com-mon denominator of all these activities is improvingthe quality of the process and results at all levels ofthe system.Developing potentials for co-operation and continu-ous communication among experts and expert teams,as well as stakeholders and representatives of keyinterests in education, have stimulated exchanges andgranted a good basis and support for reform. Becauseof uncertainties with regard to social consensus,ensuring such a co-operation was one of the prioritiesof the Ministry of Education and Sport.The principle of inclusion, which was employedthrough a widely based consultative process, provedto be both justified and effective.

II. PROBLEMS AND NEEDS CONCERNING CUR-RICULAR REFORMS

Like a large number of transitional countries with simi-lar educational traditions, we find ourselves confrontedby challenges involving major conceptual changes. Aconceptual framework for the curriculum is graduallyreplacing the 'plan-and-programme' paradigm. Duringthe debates on the reform, we noted a series of sugges-tions and initiatives referring to the concept of curricu-lum, rather than to plan and programme. The debates fur-ther emphasized general recommendations for the devel-opment of the new curriculum, such as:

A clear identification of subject and cross-curricularcontent.Profiling obligatory, elective and facultative seg-ments of study programmes.Providing conditions for the inclusion of extra-cur-ricular content in educational programmes.An orientation towards processes instead of towardscontent.

The debates on reform also indicated the need for curric-ular concepts of education and schoolwork that were ori-ented towards intuitive and aesthetic characteristics andwere also original, rather than being solely based on pro-fessional attributes. This had a major influence on theissues and created problems for developing and design-ing professional training material for teaching and non-teaching educational experts. It resulted in adapting pro-grammes to fit curricular contexts that also representedpriority aspects of planning reform moves in the curricu-lar sphere for:

51

professional (in-service) training and basic educationfor teachers;professional advancement and new professionalteaching domains (e.g. an expert for designing edu-cational programmes);and other professional functions in the system (e.g.managing and supervision).

We believe that one part of this complex problem has tobe solved in the context of higher education reforms.Nevertheless, a significant part of training could be car-ried out through seminars, since a large number of ourteachers have taken part in training programmes in thepast ten years, conducted by various non-governmentaland international organizations active in our region.

III. THE DIRECTION FOR CURRICULUMRE-DESIGN

We conclude that:Curricular reform, not only implies a change in cur-ricular content, but also a structural and functionalchange of that content; a change in working methodsand in educational practice; a change in ways ofthinking about basic and practical issues of educa-tional processes; a change in the estimation of itseffects and resultsbasically a transition from theparadigm of teaching-plan-and-programme, to theparadigm of an educational programme, implying acomplete distinct format.This process implies a significant change in focus,which is neither crucially nor exclusively linked toteaching content, but refers to flexibility in selecting,organizing and presenting content, quality of theprocess and its resultsbasically continuous effortstowards quality in all aspects and at all levels of thesystem.Many aspects point to the fact that the education sys-tem provides a good and favourable context forchanges of this type to take place, and that theirtiming, content and other aspects need to be verycarefully planned, especially the implementationpackages, which ensure that reforms flow in the cor-rect direction.

IV. FOLLOW UP

Regular meetings, such as the one in Bohinj, shouldbe organized with a concrete and comprehensiveagenda in order to ensure continuous informationexchange and consultations throughout the region.These meetings contribute to qualified and informeddecision-making, both on a strategic and a practicallevel.To establish a mechanism for regular reporting onevents and changes in educational systems within theregion, as well as on transformations that countriesmay experience. This would involve practically allEuropean and many other countries. It would be par-ticularly useful if these reports contained crucialinformation on evaluation methods, procedures andcriteria.To continue to translate curricula into different lan-guages of the region.

V. THE ADVANTAGES OF AN EDUCATIONALNETWORK

We largely support the existence of such a network as aplace, no matter how virtual, where experiences could beexchanged, both favourable and unfavourable, and wherenew and necessary information can be obtained. Wesuggest improving the quality of the existing site,making content more easily accessible in order toobtain responses, suggestions and experiences in a moreefficient manner.

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Annex I: Background readings

I. SELECTED DOCUMENTS ACCORDING TOWORKSHOP THEMES

GROUPS A & B: Designing and approving new curricula;curriculum, quality and evaluation

Search under: SEE-ECN - Slovenia Expertise and Theory:Slavko Gaber: The decade of changeLanguage: English, Serbian, Romanian and Albanian

Search under: SEE-ECN - Miscellany Common SEE IssuesGabor Halász: Educational change and social transition inHungaryLanguage: English, Serbian

Search under: SEE-ECN - Miscellany Common SEE IssuesStrategies of educational reform in SEE countriesProceedings of the seminar; Bled/Slovenia, June 8-10, 2000,(A) p. 55-68, Ivan Svetlik and Andreja Barle Lakota:Curricular reform: the case of SloveniaLanguage: English, Serbian, Romanian and Albanian(B) p. 75-81, Bachmann, Helmut:Evaluation and assessment of inaugurated changeLanguage: English, Serbian, Romanian and Albanian

Search under: SEE-ECN - Miscellany Theory and ExpertiseStronach, Ian; et al. (ed.): Ways towards Quality in Education,Brdo pri Kranju/Slovenia, 8-10 April 2000,(C) p. 27-37, Ian Stronach:Quality is the key, but is education the lock? Turning educationaround through quality procedures.Language: English, Serbian, Romanian and Albanian

Search under: SEE-ECN - Miscellany Reviews and ReportsEuropean commission: European report on the quality of schooleducationLanguage: English, French, German

GROUP C: Social sciences

Search under: SEE-ECN - Miscellany CurriculumKerr, David: Citizenship education in the curriculum: an inter-national reviewLanguage: English, Serbian, Romanian, AlbanianHaydon, Graham: The moral agenda of citizenship educationLanguage: English, Croatian, Romanian, Albanian

Search under: SEE-ECN - Miscellany Theory and ExpertiseAudigier, Francois:Basic concepts and core competencies for education for demo-cratic citizenshipLanguage: English, Romanian, Serbian, AlbanianSearch under: SEE-ECN - Miscellany - Good practicesNemer Frayha:Curriculum and social cohesion in a divided society: The case ofLebanonabstractLanguage: English, Croatian, Albanian

GROUP D: Mathematics

Search under: SEE-ECN - Miscellany CurriculumMathematics the national curriculum of EnglandLanguage: English, Albanian, Romanian, BosnianMathematics curriculum of ItalyLanguage: Italian, AlbanianMathematics curriculum of HungaryLanguage: English, Albanian

Search under: SEE-ECN Slovenia CurriculumMathematics grade 1" to 9" (Slovenia)Language: Slovenian, Albanian

GROUP E: Literacy and language policy

Search under: SEE-ECN - Miscellany CurriculumPiet Van de Craen:Individual plurilingualism and societal multilingualism in anofficial bilingual environment in a trilingual country: Belgianlanguage education in a historical and European perspectiveLanguage: English, Serbian, Albanian, RomanianLanguage teacher training and bilingual education. Thematicnetwork project in the area of languages, work group 6 'lan-guage teacher training and bilingual education' (1996-1999). Areport on activities sponsored by the european commission.Language: English, Serbian, Albanian, RomanianPluralingualism in multilingual Europe. European year of lan-guages, Berlin, 28-30 June 2001. Workshop report multilingualeducationLanguage: English, Serbian, Albanian, RomanianContent and language integrated learning, culture of educationand learning theoriesLanguage: English, Serbian, Albanian, RomanianSearch under: SEE-ECN Miscellany Expertise and TheoryGeri Smyth:The intercultural dimension in foreign language teaching andlearningLanguage: English, Slovenian

GROUP F: Teacher education

Search under: SEE-ECN Miscellany Good practiceSybil Wilson:Initial teacher education in Canada: the practicumLanguage: EnglishSearch under: SEE-ECN Miscellany Policy DocumentsBuchberger, B.P. Campos, D. Kallos, J. Stephenson (eds.):Green paper on teacher education in EuropeLanguage: English, Serbian, SlovenianSearch under: SEE-ECN Miscellany - Reviews and ReportsETUCE: Teacher education in Europe, Brussel 1995Language: English

Search under: SEE-ECN - Miscellany Theory and ExpertiseHytonen, Juhani et al. (ed): Teacher Education for Changing School:Juhani Hytonen: Emphasizing education as an individual taskLanguage: English, Romanian, Albanian, SerbianGeri Smyth: Teaching younger childrenLanguage: English, Romanian, Albanian, SerbianMargareth Drakenberg, Juhani Hytiinen, Cveta RazdevgekPukko, Geri Smyth:Postgraduate studies for classroom teachers - comparative studyLanguage: English, Romanian, Albanian, Serbian, Macedonian

GROUP G: Minorities and curriculum

Search under: SEE-ECN - Miscellany - Policy DocumentsOSI, Institute for Educational Policy, Budapest:Breaking the spiral: a Roma education initiativeLanguage: EnglishOSI, Institute for Educational Policy, Budapest:Multicultural education and the education of minority pupilsLanguage: English

Search under: SEE-ECN - Miscellany - Policy Documents'Denied A Future' Conference; Budapest, November 28-30, 2001:

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Francesca Gobbo: Your chance to askLanguage: English, CroatianMax Moulton: Clayton Park Junior High: a school for diverselearnersLanguage: English, Croatian

Search under: SEE-ECN Miscellany - Policy DocumentsSave the children, UK: denied a future?Language: English, selected chapters also in Albanian, Serbian

GROUP H: Early childhood

Search under: SEE-ECN Slovenia Curriculum documents

Curriculum for kindergartens (Slovenia)Language: Slovenian, Albanian

Search under: SEE-ECN Miscellany Curriculum documents

Preschool curriculum (Sweden)Language: English, Albanian, Croatian,Framework plan for day care institutions (Norway)Language English, Romanian, Serbian, Albanian

2. SELECTED CURRICULAR DOCUMENTS OF THESEE COUNTRIES ON SEE-ECN SITE

ALBANIA

Search under: SEE-ECN Albania Reviews and ReportsDhamo, Milka:Educafion policy in education for democratic citizenship and themanagement of diversity in South-East Europe: stocktakingresearch project country report: AlbaniaLanguage: English, Serbian

Search under: SEE-ECN Albania CurriculumDautaj, A. et al.:Teacher's book on civic education subject: detailed annual planaccording to grades for the content standards of civic education(examples), grades 1-8Language: English

Search under: SEE-ENC Albania CurriculumKamani, Vera & Mato, Erleta:Preschool standards and curriculum framework in AlbaniaLanguage: English, Albanian

Search under: SEE-ECN Shqiperia Kurrikula - ShqipCurricular documents in Albanian language.

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Search under: SEE-ECN Bosnia and Herzegovina Reviews and

ReportsOECD: Thematic reviews of national policies for education (p. 20)Language: English, French

BULGARIA

Search under: SEE-ECN Bulgaria - Reviews and Reports

Atanasova, Lyudmila:Project on ethnic relations, the Roma in Bulgaria: collaborativeefforts between local authorities and nongovernmental organiza-tionsLanguage: EnglishSearch under: SEE-ECN - E-tozapun 341e6ua npozpama

Curricular documents in Bulgarian language.

CROATIA

Search under: SEE-ECN Croatia Reviews and ReportsOECD: Thematic reviews of national policies for education (p.

ESTCOPYAVAILABLE56

11-23)Language: English, French, Croatian

Search under: SEE-ECN Croatia Reviews and Reports

Spajie-VrkaA, Vedrana:Peace and human rights for Croatian primary schools - terminalreportLanguage: English_

Search under: SEE-ECN - Hrvatska Kurikulum - HrvatskiCurriculum documents in Croatian language.

KOSOVO

Search under : SEE-ECN Kosovo Reviews and ReportsOECD: Thematic reviews of national policies for education (p.15-27)Language: English, French, Albanian, Serbian

Search under: SEE-ECN Kosovo Reviews and ReportsPupovci, Dukagjin and Hyseni, Halim:Education policy in education for democratic citizenship and themanagement of diversity in South-East Europe: stocktakingresearch project country report: Kosovo

Language: English

Search under: SEE-ECN Kosovo CurriculumThe new Kosovo curriculum frameworkLanguage: English, Albanian, Serbian

MACEDONIA

Search under: SEE-ECN - FYR Macedonia - Reviews and Reports

Burg, Steven:Project on ethnic relations: state policies toward the Roma inMacedoniaLanguage: English

MOLDOVA

Search under: SEE-ECN Moldova - National Policy DocumentThe concept of preschool educational system development inMoldovaLanguage: English

Search under: SEE-ECN Moldova CurriculumMinistry of Education: Curriculum civic educationLanguage: English, Romanian

Search under: SEE-ECN Moldova - Curriculum Romana

Curriculum documents in Romanian language

MONTENEGRO

Search under: SEE-ECN Montenegro Reviews and ReportsOECD: Thematic reviews of national policies for education(p. 17-34)Language: English, French, Serbian

Search under: SEE-ECN Montenegro Reviews and ReportsEducation policy in education for democratic citizenship and themanagement of diversity in South-East Europe: stocktakingresearch project country report: MontenegroLanguage: EnglishSearch under: SEE-ECN Montenegro CurriculumThe Ministry of Education: The curriculum: primary schoolsLanguage: English, Serbian

Search under: SEE-ECN Montenegro CurriculumTextbooks in Montenegro: Current use, immediate needs andfuture policy optionsLanguage: English, Serbian

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Search under: SEE ECN Miscellany - Theory and EvertisePekovie, Zoran and Zekovie, UroS:The present state and the reform of the education system ofMontenegroLanguage: English

ROMANIA

Search under: SEE-ECN Romania CurriculumSchool development in Roma communities. Teachers guide.2000-2001 Ed.Language: English

Search under: SEE-ECN Romania Theory and ExpertiseCrisan, Alexandru & Dvorski, Monica:What kind of models to implement change in education?The project "EDUCATION 2000+" of the Center Education2000+ RomaniaLanguage: English

Search under: Romania - Curriculum RomanaCurriculum documents in Romanian language.

SERBIA

Search under: SEE-ECN Serbia National Policy DocumentsReport of the expert group on quality assurance: assessmentand evaluationLanguage: English , SerbianReport of the expert group on pre-school education: early child-hood education reform in SerbiaLanguage: English, SerbianReport of the expert group on democratization: democratizationof education and education for democratic citizenshipLanguage: English, SerbianReport of the expert group on decentralization: decentralizationof education in SerbiaLanguage: English, Serbian

Report of the expert group on teacher education: teacher educa-tion and professional development: suggested changes (2002-2005)Language: English, Serbian

Search under: SEE-ECN - Serbia - Expertise and theoryIvan, Ivie:Possibilities and limitations of education in promotion of peace,democracy and toleranceLanguage: English

3. OTHER CURRICULAR DOCUMENTS ON THEINTERNET

Search under: EURYDICEEurydice Publication: A decade of reforms at compulsory educa-tion level in the European Union (1984-94)Reforms at compulsory education level: 1984-94-Part I-CurriculumLanguage: EnglishSearch under: EURYDICEEurydice Publication: Pre-school and primary education in theEuropean Union: pre- school educationPrimary educationLanguage: EnglishA. Educational programmes and their content: (part 1, part 2,part 3, part 4)B. Assessment, promotion, and certificationLanguage: English

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57 55

Annex 2: Agenda

Phase 1: November 2001 - March 2002collecting background materials;sample curricula;best practice;selective translation into South Slavic languages, Albanian, Romanian;materials available from the SEE ECN website: www.see-educoop.net

Phase 2: April 2002: country teams study background materials at homevirtual communication between country teams and facilitators;analysis of expectations (CEPS).

Phase 3: Conference, 26-28 AprilLanguages: English and South Slavic

Friday, 26 April 2002Arrival of participants in Slovenia, transport to I3ohinj (shuttle at the airport)

17:00 Arrival of participants at the hotel, registrationMeeting of moderators and presenters

19:00 Welcome to participants

20:00 Dinner

Saturday, 27 April

Note on translation: Simultaneous interpretation for all languages available only at plenary sessions.Consecutive interpretation available at the working groups.

09:00 Session I Plenary: Curricular Renewal Processes: how to undertake them and why?Moderators: Mr. Sobhi Tawil (IBE), Mr. Pavel Zgaga (CEPS)Plenary Case Studies: Mr. S. Gaber, Slovenia (Process of designing and approving)Mr. A. Thorbjornsen, Norway (Implementation of curricula & evaluation)

Mr. N. Frayha, Lebanon (The role of education for social cohesion in a divided society)

10:30 Coffee/tea break

11:00 Session II Workshops: From Curriculum Design to EvaluationIn smaller groups, participants will have an opportunity to exchange experiences, address issues focusing on specif-ic areas/aspects of drafting curricula and to discuss concrete questions/cases. Participants choose one of the threesessions. Country teams divide up so as to cover all topics.

Group ADesigning and approving

new curriculaModerators:

Ms. Andreja Barle, SloveniaMr. Peter Rado, Hungary

Group BCurriculum, quality

and evaluationModerators:

Mr. Arild Thorbjornsen, NorwayMr. Helmut Bachman, Austria

13:00 Lunch

14:30 Session III Workshops: Curricular areas in primary education: how to approach them?

585 6

Group CSocial sciences

Moderators:Mr Nemer Frayha, Lebanon

Mr. Janez Krek, Slovenia

Group DMathematicsModerators:

Mr. Brian Hudson, UKMr. Zlatan Magajna, Slovenia

Group ELiteracy and Language Policies

Moderators:Mr Piet van de Craen, Belgium

Mr. Igor Saksida, Slovenia

Note: Two short case studies in each group.16:00 Coffee/tea break

16:30 Continuation of workshops

18:00 Completion of Day 1

20:00 Reception

Sunday, 28 April

09:00 Session IV Workshops: Perspectives in Curricular RenewalIn smaller groups, participants will have an opportunity to exchange experiences and address issues on specificaspects of drafting curricula. Participants choose one of the three sessions. Country teams divide up so as to coverall three topics.

Group F Group G Group HTeachers' Education Minorities and Curriculum Early Childhood

Moderators: Moderators: Moderators:Mr. Laurence Walker, Canada Ms. Maria Andruszkiewicz, UK e'Ms. Ljubica Marjanovi Umek,

Mr. Pavel Zgaga, Slovenia Mr. Peter Rado, Hungary SloveniaMs. Arjana Miljak, Croatia

10:30 Coffee/tea break

11:00 Continuation of workshops

13:00 Lunch

14:00 Country Teams meet to draw conclusions, outstanding issues

15:00 Session V - Wrap-up PlenaryModerators: Dr. Cecilia Braslavsky, IBE and Dr. Pavel Zgaga, CEPS

A representative of each country team will give a brief report on drafting new curricula.Presenters and facilitators may provide observations. Follow-up will be discussed.

16:45 Participants provide written evaluation

17:00 Closing

20:00 Dinner

Monday, 29 April

Transport to the airport, departure of participants.

5 759

ANNEX 3: List of participants

ALBANIA

Sotir RapoMinistry of Science and Education, Tirana, Albania,Chief of the department of compulsory educationphone: +355 4 22 22 60/22 63 07.

e-mail: srapo@mash.gov.al

Balili EninaMinistry of Science and Education, Tirana, Albania,Specialist in the Foreign Relations Departmentphone: +355 4 22 22 60/22 63 07.

e-mail: ebalili@mash.gov.al

Cano MimozaPedagogical Research InstituteExpert of curricula in mother-tongue subjectsphone: +355 4 22 38 60.

e-mail: mgjokutaj@yahoo.com

Gjanci YlliMinistry of Science and Education, Tirana, Albania,Expert on the qualification of teachers in the Management ofHuman Resources Departmentphone: +355 4 22 30 51.

e-mail: ygjanci@mash.gov.al

AUSTRIA

Helmut BachmannZentrum fiir Schulversuche und Schulentwicklung, Klagenfurt

e-mail: bachmann@zsel.at

BELGIUMPiet Van de CraenVrije Universiteit Brussels,Secretary of the European Language Council

e-mail: piet.van.de.craen@vub.ac.be

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Boris CekrlijaPedagogical Institute Republic of Srpskaphone: + 387 51 43 01 10.e-mail: boris@blic.net

Melvida PekmezPedagogical Institute of Sarajevo District

phone: + 387 33 22 18 39.

Stanislav PusicHeadmaster of Elementary School, Kiseljakphone: + 387 30 87 95 35.

BULGARIAZahari ZaharievNational Institute of EducationScientific secretaryphone: +359 2 72 05 85.

e-mail: z.zahariev@nie.bg

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Deyan PilevNational Institute of Educationphone: +359 2 71 37 59.

e-mail: deyan.p@nie.bg

Zvetelina PetrovaMinistry of Education and Science, Inspectorate of Education forthe Sofia RegionExpert in biologyphone: + 359 29 62 28 65.

e-mail: tsvet40@bitex.com

Rumiana Mantcheva-PopovaI38th School in SofiaDeputy headmistressphone: +359 2 72 39 17/72 05 37.

e-mail: ruan92@yahoo.com

CANADA

Laurence WalkerKEDP, Canada/KosovoPre-service co-ordinatorphone: 381 38 55 25 93.

e-mail: lwalker@kedp.ca

CROATIA

Vlasta Vizek VidovicDept. of psychology, Faculty of philosophy,University of ZagrebFull professorphone: +385 16 12 01 90.

e-mail: vvizek@fzg.hr

Iris MarusicCentre for Educational Research and Development, Institute forSocial Research in ZagrebProject co-ordinatorphone: + 385 14 88 35 50.

e-mail: iris@idi.hr

Vera TurkovicAcademy of Fine Art University of ZagrebProfessorphone: + 385 13 71 14 08.

e-mail: vera.turkovic@zg.tel.hr

Milan MatijevicTeacher Education Academy, University of ZagrebProfessorphone: +385 16 17 7 367 local 1302.

e-mail: milan.matijevic@zg.tel.hr

Arjana MiljakUniversity of Zagreb, Croatiae-mail: amiljak@globalnethr

Petar BezinovicCentre for Educational Research and Development, Institute forSocial Research in ZagrebResearcher

phone: + 385 51 43 23 31e-mail: petar.bezinovic@ri.tel.hr

Milvija MarkovicInstitute of Educational Development, MoESSenior adviserphone: + 385 13 82 02 46e-mail: mmarkov@mips.hr

Petra HoblajCentre for Educational Research and Development, Institute forSocial Research in ZagrebJunior assistant researcherphone: +385 14 88 35 52e-mail: petra@idi.hr

HUNGARY

Peter RadoPRADO Consulting, BudapestEducational policy specialistphone: (+36)309 66 91 81e-mail: prado@osi.hu; rado.sulai@axelero.hu

KOSOVO

Ramadan ZejnullahuUniversity of PrishtinaFull Professor in the Department of Mathematicsphone: +377 44 11 38 20e-mail: office@kec-ks.org

Halim HyseniKosovo Education CenterProgramme co-ordinatorphone: +381 38 22 68 97e-mail: hhyseni@kec-ks.org

Ljuljeta Belegu DemjahaMinistry of education, science and technologyChief of curriculum sectionphone: +381 38 50 46 04 38 45e-mail: lulebd@hotmail.com

Ramush LekajMinistry Of Education, Science and TechnologyCurriculum developerphone: +381 29 02 27 87e-mail: ramushl@hotmail.com

Remzi SalihuMinistry of Education, Science and TechnologyChief of Section, In-Service Teacher Trainingphone: +377 44 11 80 09e-mail: remsalihu@hotmail.com

Besa PupaTeacher of English languagephone: 044 25 57 72e-mail: besapupa@hotmail.com

Deme HotiFaculty of Philosophy, PrihstinaVice-Deanphone: +381 38 55 11 65, +381 38 22 40 35e-mail: deho52@yahoo.com

Ganimete KulinxhaKosova Foundation for Open Society in PrishtinaCo-ordinator for "Step by Step" Programmephone: +381 38 22 68 97e-mail: gkulinxha@hotmail.com; kulinxha@kfos.org

LEBANON

Nemer FrayhaLebanese University Faculty of Pedagogy

e-mail: normafrayha@hotmail.com; nfrayha@ndu.edu.lb

FYR MACEDONIA

Jasmina Delceva DizdarevicFaculty of Philosophy in Skopje, Institute of PedagogyAssistant Professor lecturing graduate courses in didactics in pri-mary school and general pedagogyphone: (389-2) 36 45 47

e-mail: delcevaj@freemail.org.mk

Natasha Angeloska GalevskaFaculty of Philosophy in Skopje, Institute of PedagogyAssistant Professor lecturing graduate and post-graduate coursesin Methodology of Educational Research and Statisticsphone: (389-1) 22 72 39e-mail: transmer@ukim.edu.mk

Lena DamovskaFaculty of Philosophy in Skopje, Institute of PedagogyAssistant Professor lecturing Preschool Education, Methodic ofPreschool Education and Family Educationphone: (389-02) 36 52 56e-mail: lenad@mail.net.mk

Olga SamardzicBureau for development of education, SkopjeAdviser for high-school teachersphone: ++(398 2) 36 38 01e-mail: bromak@mt.net.mk

MOLDOVA

Gremalschi AnatolInstitute for Public PolicyProgram directorphone: (373 2) 27 67 85e-mail: Anatol_Gremalschi@ipp.md

Postica VioricaEducational Center "Pro Didactica"Educational Programme Co-ordinatorphone: (3732) 54 19 94; 54 25 56e-mail: vpostica@cepd.soros.md

Velisco NadejdaNational Council of Curriculum and Assesment of Ministry ofEducation and ScienceHead of Department of Secondary and Complementary school,responsible for curriculum for all subjectsphone: (373 2) 23 24 43e-mail: nadinvel@yahoo.com

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MONTENEGRO

Tatjana NovovicSchool inspector for pre-primary education PodgoricaMember of the Council for Curricula of Montenegrophone: 00 381 81 24 57 80

e-mail: tatjanan@mn.yu

Natasa ZivkovicManaging Editor at the Department for Publication of Textbooksand Teaching AidsMember of the Council for Curricula of Montenegrophone: 00 381 81 23 05 39

e-mail: natasaz@mn.yu

Miodrag VuceljicSchool inspector for mathematics in primary schools PodgoiicaMember of the Council for Curricula of Montenegrophone: 00 381 81 24 57 80

e-mail: miodragv@mn.yu

Perko VukoticFull professor at the Faculty of Mathematics and SciencesPresident of the Council for Curricula of Montenegrophone: 00 381 81 26 45 51

e-mail: perkov@rc.pmfac.yu

Slobodan BackovicFull Professor at the University of MontenegroChief co-ordinator for the Education Reform projectphone: 00 381 67 05 00 05

e-mail: backo@rc.pmf.cg.ac.yu

NORWAY

Arild ThorbjornsenNorwegian Board of EducationDirectorphone: +47 23 30 12 11

e-mail: Arlid.Thorbjornsen@ls.no

ROMANIA

Ligia SarivanInstitute for Educational SciencesMain researcherphone: +40 (0)1-310 32 04

e-mail: 1.sarivan@iseso

Antoaneta-Firuta TaceaUniversity of Bucharest, Faculty of Psychology and EducationalSciencesTeaching assistantphone: 004 01 221 00 43

e-mail: ftacea@yahoo.com; ftacea@ise.ro

Liliana PreoteasaMinistry of Education and ResearchSenior Head of the pre-university education departmentphone: 004 01 313 55 47

e-mail: liliana@men.eduso

SERBIA

Ljiljana LevkovFaculty of philosophy BelgradeProfessor at department of educationphone: +381 11 68 87 07

e-mail: lidile@yubc.net

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Biljana StojanovicMinistry of Education and SportsAdviser to the Ministerphone: +381 11 76 72 55

Emina HebibFaculty of philosophy BelgradeAssistant teacher, department of educationphone: +381 11 328 29 85

e-mail: eminaheb@yahoo.com

Jasmina MoskovljevicFaculty of Philology Belgrade

Assistant professorphone: +381 11 328 39 54

e-mail: jasminam@sezampro.yu

Ljiljana DjuricAdviser to the minister of education and sports, Section forEducation Development and International Cooperation inEducationPhone: +381 11 76 72 55

e-maiLminpros@eunet.yu

Vera BojovicAdviser to the minister of education and sports, Section forEducation Development and International Cooperation inEducatione-mail: zkdur@eunet.yu

phone: +381 11 322 70 68

Tinde Kovacs CerovicMinistry of Education and SportsState Secretaryphone: +381 63 31 18 98

e-mail: tkovacs@yubc.net

Gaso KnezevicMinistry of Education and SportsMinisterphone: +381 11 361 63 57

e-mail: highedusr@yubc.net

SLOVENIA

Andreja Barle LakotaMinistry of Education, SloveniaState Secretarye-mail: andreja.barle@mszs.si

phone: +386 1 252 81 80

Slavko GaberFaculty of Education, University of Ljubljana, SloveniaAssistant Professore-mail: Slavko.Gaber@guestarnes.si

phone: +386 1 589 22 53

Janez KrekFaculty of Education, University of Ljubljana, SloveniaAssistant Professore-mail: Janez.Krek@guestarnes.si

phone: +386 1 589 22 53

Zlatan MagajnaFaculty of Education, University of Ljubljana, SloveniaSenior Lecturere-mail: zlatan.magajna@uni-lj.si

phone: +386 1 589 22 16

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Igor SaksidaFaculty of Education, University of Ljubljana, SloveniaAssociate Professore-mail: igor.saksida@guest.arnes.siphone: +386 1 589 23 21

Marcela Batistie ZorecFaculty of Education, University of Ljubljana, SloveniaSenior Lecturere-mail: Marcela.Batistic@uni-lj.si

phone: +386 1 589 23 11

UNITED KINGDOM

Brian HudsonSchool of Education, Sheffield Hallam University, UKProfessorphone: +44 (0)1 142 25 23 46e-mail: B.G.Hudson@shu.ac.uk

Maria AndruszkiewiczSave the Children Fund, UKphone: 020 77 03 54 00

e-mail: M.Andruszkiewicz@SCFUK.ORG.UK

UNESCO: INTERNATIONAL BUREAUOF EDUCATION

Cecilia BraslavskyDirectorphone: +41 22 917 78 25e-mail: c.braslavsky@ibe.unesco.org

Sobhi TawilProgramme Specialistphone: +41 22 917 78 17e-mail: s.tawil@ibe.unesco.org

Saskia RozemeijerAssociate expertphone: +41 22 917 78 30e-mail: s.rozemeijer@ibe.unesco.org

CEPS, UNIVERSITY OF LJUBLJANAPavel ZgagaDirectore-mail: Pavel.Zgaga@guest.arnes.siphone: + 386 1 566 14 92

Igor RepacSecretary Generale-mail: Ceps.ljubljana@uni-lj.siphone: + 386 1 566 14 92

Sabina MojskercJunior researchere-mail: Sabina.Mojskerc@guest.arnes.siphone: + 386 1 566 14 92

OSEPSEETerrice BasslerDirectore-mail: Bassler@zavod-irc.siphone: +386 1 548 37 70

Teja RekProgram assistante-mail: Rek@zavod-irc.si

phone: +386 1 548 37 70

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