About 100 ministers and deputy ministers of education unanimously adopted the declaration which stresses implementing integrated policies to make schools the key to social cohesion and instrumental in the teaching of democratic values. The document emphasises strengthening the role, functions and status of teachers in partnership with educational professionals and society as a whole.
The participants pledged to call upon teachers' organisations, defined as key actors of change, as well as political and religious authorities, businesses, the family, media, scholars, artists and scientists "to commit themselves to the development of a school envisaged as an active centre for learning and moral, spiritual, civic and vocational education to be continually adapted to a changing world
"One cannot claim to promote the long term development of a country and proceed with programmes which erode the quality and morale of its educators," said Colin N. Power, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education. "We must change the school environment so that it attracts --rather than repels or discourages-- teachers, students, parents and the communities."
EI President Mary Hatwood Futrell said it was essential to improve the "recruitment, training, social status and conditions of work of teachers." She recalled the specific problems faced by teachers in developing countries where two-thirds of this profession live: "In Africa, we are actually seeing a decrease rather than an increase in educational achievement. Economic crises and structural adjustment policies have reduced the number of teachers in many African and Latin American countries. In other nations, especially industrialised countries, teachers are often called upon to implement teaching methodologies without the pre-training as to how to effectively do so."
Mary Hatwood Futrell concluded by saying: "I firmly believe that if teachers are given the respect and support they richly deserve, they can and will indeed make a greater, more positive difference in the lives of the children they teach and the communities they live."
The ICE's final declaration is paired with a set of recommendations to attract the most competent youngsters to the teaching profession at a time when many educators are leaving for more prestigious and better-paid jobs.
The recommendations also insist on the need to make teaching more professional by modifying radically educators' initial training and emphasising in-service training, defined as a right and as a responsibility. They suggest stimulating the commitment and responsibility of educators by stressing their autonomy and personal attributes.
The recommendations also stress reliance on new information and communication technologies that have the potential to "enhance the social value of education by renewing the potential of the content of education."
UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor called for a teaching system based "on love and example." He underscored the role of teachers in the building of a culture of peace during a plenary session debate on this theme which he presided. Mr Mayor raised the problem of violence in schools. He emphasised that preventive policies should encompass the teaching of human rights, tolerance and listening to others. He drew attention to the need to revise school manuals to highlight the role of creators, thinkers and those who work for peace.
The problems of society cannot be allowed to enter the school, said Jacques Delors, chairman of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century during a debate on the theme of teachers in search of new perspectives. "Students are now coming to school and bringing with them the problems of poverty, hunger, violence and drugs, whereas previously they [these problems] existed outside the school environment."
Jacques Delors spoke of how the world's 50 million teachers could overcome the challenge of change, their place in society and their relations with students. He stressed students must learn how to live together. He proposed that a quarter of international development aid be devoted to education.
Education International at the ICE. Besides being represented by President Mary Hatwood Futrell at the closing ceremony celebrating World Teachers' Day (see above), Education International was actively involved in the proceedings of the Conference which was followed by some 40 delegates and observers from EI member organisations and Secretariat staff.
EI organized a round table on how social changes affect opportunities for teachers to improve the quality of education. This debate stressed the democratisation of scholastic life and a growing participation of students were solutions, moreover low-cost ones to improve teaching. EI Deputy General Secretary Elie Jouen chaired that session which drew a large audience and positive comments.
EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen intervened in another panel centred on enhancing teachers' role in educational reform through their participation in educational decision-making. Participants noted that nearly 70 percent of the 23 million teachers affiliated with Education International live at or below the poverty level. They are barely available for retraining because most of them hold a second job. Many are undergoing a process in which they are losing their skills. This is accompanied by the hiring of a large number of untrained short-term volunteers.
Quoting the Delors Report ("No reform has succeeded against teachers or without their participation"), Fred van Leeuwen declared that teachers are ready to work with the educational authorities in a systematic and democratic way through their organisation. The EI spokesman warned against the tragic mistake of leaving education to free market forces: "Public education has contributed more to ensuring equity and opportunity for working people than has any single government initiative."
[The two other round tables were devoted to the impact of new technologies on teachers and training, and to the relationship of teacher training to Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget's concept on the construction of knowledge.]
Education International also intervened in the major debates, took part with UNESCO and IBE in the press conference concluding the 45th ICE, offered information and documents to all visitors of the EI stand at the Conference Centre, recorded interviews of participants for a series of videos to be released in cooperation with UNESCO, and was honoured to see EI Education Award winner Ruth Olive Limerick (see EI Magazine April 1996) receive the Comenius Medal granted by UNESCO to candidates who have distinguished themselves in the development and renewal of education.
The EI participants at the ICE worked hard to ensure that the vital concerns and hopes of teachers were high on the agenda during this 6-day meeting under the theme Strengthening of the Role of Teachers in a Changing World taking place three decades after the adoption of the UNESCO/ILO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers.
But for Education International and its members, the most important task remains: pressing intergovernmental organisations and UNESCO Member States for the implementation of the commitments made in Geneva. A detailed EI document on the outcome of this Conference is under preparation. In the meantime, some information on the Conference is available on the EI Homepage at http://www.education.unesco.org/ei and from the IBE web site at http://www.unicc.org/ibe
The next ICE will take place in the year 2000 and will address the results and perspectives of Education For All. It is already estimated that nine million additional teachers will be needed if the goal of universal primary education is to be achieved worldwide.
After a review of global events and actions since the First World Congress, the two-day meeting was devoted to the discussion of current regional issues including strategies for intensifying EI activities in Africa, membership recruitment and retention, conflict areas on the African continent, and regional meetings and conferences to be scheduled in 1998. Vacancies on the committee were filled by the election of Ms Eugénie Bamba (SNEAB, Burkina Faso) and Ms Salimata Doumbia (SNEPPCI, Côte d'Ivoire).
The program of the General Secretary of EI included a first official visit to our office in Togo, meetings with regional staff and coordinators and with the leadership of EI member organisations in Togo (SELT, SEPT, SYNEDD-TO) and in Ghana (GNAT and TEWU). In addition, the EI representative visited selected schools in Lomé, some with classes of up to 160 students! "These school visits, which could be described as a solidarity gesture, were greatly appreciated by both teachers and the union leadership" reported Chief Coordinator for Africa Tom Bediako.
It is with regret that we have to inform our readers of the premature death of our colleague V. K. Machanda. The Secretary General of the All India Federation of Teachers Organisations (AIFTO) died from a heart attack on 5 October 1996 on reaching the venue of an important function he had organised for World Teachers' Day.
According to Past EI Chief Regional Coordinator Gurnam Singh, Brother Machanda can be described as "one of the greatest teacher trade union leaders India has produced in contemporary times who sweated and toiled to improve the lot of teachers and united them into a non-religious, non-political federation with no leaning of any kind". He founded the AIFTO in 1972 and remained its General Secretary until his death; under his leadership, the humble federation comprising a few thousand teachers grew into an active organisation of 1.6 million members committed to help eradicate child labour and remove total discrimination against women.
"A very likeable person, soft-spoken and ever cool and smiling, Machanda was a familiar figure at all IFFTU and later EI regional and world conferences. He was an ardent supporter of the international trade union movement, and during the past 35 years he represented educators at several international meetings and bodies such as the first ILO Joint committee on working conditions and employment of teachers (1978)" recalls Gurnam Singh. On behalf of the education community, we offer Brother Machanda's family, friends and colleagues our most sincere condolences.
On 5 September 1996 in London, the Officers of Education International/Europe, the World Confederation of Teachers (WCT) and the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) met jointly for the first time to discuss the arrangements for united activities and operations agreed in Luxembourg in June (see previous Monitor).
The meeting made rapid progress and a short report was given to the ETUCE Executive Board later in the day. A further meeting was due to take place on 22 October in Brussels to finalise the recommendations of the tripartite group.
At the heart of the proposals is a commitment that the Officers will in future meet jointly to prepare recommendations for the respective meetings and to coordinate action. These regular meetings will be convened by the General Secretary of ETUCE, in consultation with the General Secretaries of EI and WCT.
EI/E Officers will attend meetings of the ETUCE Executive Board as observers and the members of the Regional Committee will be able to attend sessions of the ETUCE Board which follow EI/E meetings, in a similar capacity. It has already been established in the new By-laws that ETUCE Board members from EI unions are members of the EI Regional Committee.
Whilst provision will be made for the separate preparation of policy
specific to countries inside or outside the EU/European Free Trade Association
area (e.g. in conferences, colloquia or working groups), it is envisaged
that the large majority of activities will be organised on behalf of the
WHOLE structure in a unified manner, in the spirit of the Luxembourg
decisions.
EI Round Table on Education in Eastern and Central Europe in November
On 1 and 2 November, a round table was scheduled on educational issues in a rapidly changing context. The main themes for discussion were due to focus on the context for current and future education reforms within Latin America: structural adjustment policies; the proposals by the World Bank: Priorities and Strategies for Education; the proposals by UNESCO: Delors Report on the education organisation in the 21st century; and the proposals for education reform made by the teacher organisations in Latin America: Success and Failures.
From 3 to 6 November, the 3rd Latin American Regional Conference of Education International was convened. The Regional Committee holds a meeting within the framework of the Conference in order to gain greater insight into internal aspects of the region and in order to propose resolutions to the Conference. A one-day debate on the theme of Reform for retirement and pension plans of teaching personnel in Latin America was also on the agenda. The aim of this debate was to define common and viable strategies enabling the education sector to face the possible privatisation of such plans, as promoted by national governments and proposed by the World Bank in various Latin American countries within the framework of structural adjustment programmes. The Conference should also conduct an evaluation of the current situation across the region, and propose an overall programme of activities for the next few years. Finally, the Conference should elect a new Regional Committee composed of 14 members, representing 14 organisations and countries. 7 and 8 November were devoted to the organisation of a Seminar on the general theme of ?Education and Health'.
Our Chief Coordinator for Latin America, Napoleón Morazan, informed us that the Education International member organisations in Costa Rica (ANDE, SEC and ASPROFU) had co-ordinated their activities during the previous three months in order to receive the Latin American delegates and provide them with a pleasant and encouraging environment in Costa Rica, thereby facilitating the work of the Conference and the organisation of parallel activities.
A similar series of events is scheduled for the Asia/Pacific region at the end of July 1997 in Kuala Lumpur and for Africa in 1998.
Most EI member organisations in the Caribbean were represented at the Round Table on education reform for the 21st Century hosted by the Antigua & Barbuda Union of Teachers on October 10-11 1996 in Antigua. EI President Mary Hatwood Futrell, General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen, Executive Board Member Marguerite Cummins Williams and Regional Coordinator Virginia Albert addressed the meeting. Past President of A&BUT Ruth Olive Limerick (EI Education Award and UNESCO Comenius Medal laureate) made the feature presentation and the Minister of Education of Antigua & Barbuda also addressed the gathering. Member unions reported on activities undertaken by their organizations, on their success and difficulties. A session on Development Cooperation was also on the agenda.
A few resolutions were passed unanimously on the struggle of Trinidad and Tobago teachers who have not received increase in salaries for the last 13 years (and suffered a 10% cut in 1989-1990), on the relationship between Education International and the Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT), and on the situation of Montserrat teachers where a volcano in eruption has forced the evacuation of half the population (and teachers) from the island and the relocation of the remainder to temporary homes and schools. A regional meeting for North America and the Caribbean is now planned for October 1997, reported our correspondent Virginia Albert.
Algeria: an exhibition of trade union documentation, conferences and debates on education, and a sit-in at the Education Department marked the week-long celebrations.
Australia: New South Wales teachers were invited to conduct poster and writing competitions at school, to hold a special breakfast or morning tea, to display large banners, to write letters to their local newspapers, to link-up with teachers in their country and around the world through Internet, and to raise funds for schools overseas experiencing a time of war or poverty.
Canada: wearing a WTD badge, placing feature stories and ads in the local papers, asking officials to endorse or proclaim WTD, arranging to have school bells ring at a designated time, holding a special luncheon in the staff room, writing a letter to every member, broadcasting commercials or programs on public, private, local or community television are some of the ways chosen to support WTD in various Canadian provinces.
Central African Republic: commemorations centred on a two-day conference in Bangui about the education crisis and the globalization of the economy.
Chad: on 5 October, SET and SYNECS teachers marched toward Place de l'Indépendance in N'Djaména and were greeted by local and national officials as well as diplomats. Motions were read for the occasion, the General Secretary of SET and the President of the Republic addressed the crowd.
Costa Rica: World Teachers' Day was celebrated during a National Congress and with the publication of a special issue of the union periodical La Voz de ANDE.
Croatia: an ITUWSEC letter was read during recess-periods in every secondary school and published in newspapers, a tripartite meeting (Ministries of Education and Labour, trade unions, school principals) was organized on negotiations, followed by a cultural show where students recited poems and teachers spoke about their profession. A teachers' hymn composed in 1846 was sung.
Djibouti: World Teachers' Day 1996 will long be remembered in Djibouti. What started as a celebration with artistic activities and sport events for children until the Fourth of October turned into a nightmare on the Fifth when teachers were attacked by the police (see p. 10).
Eritrea: the teachers' association invited guest speakers to deliver lectures at its headquarters and suggested that its branches also organize similar activities.
Ethiopia: despite a very difficult situation (see EI Magazine, September 1996), ETA invited an array of representatives from government, unions, NGOs, civic organisations, intergovernmental institutions, personalities, etc. to celebrate WTD in its Addis Ababa premises. Speeches from guests, teachers' demands, and indigenous songs of diverse cultures having to do with education and democracy (accompanied by the ETA Music Band) were on the program.
Fiji: manifestations were largely school-based, organized and conducted with students and school management along guidelines suggested by a ministerial National Committee on which the union is represented. The Ministry published supplements in the newspapers and telecast 30-second clips showing teachers in classroom situations.
Finland: the highlight of OAJ's WTD activities was a public outdoor happening in Helsinki's city centre featuring repeated performances of musical entertainment and of the Hot Club Dance Company. The day-long programme included speeches by the Minister of Education and OAJ President; the UNESCO/ILO Recommendation was read out, and the audience was invited to participate through a "Hyde Park" session. Local unions held Open House in schools, seminars and soirées involving students, parents and teachers. The EI/UNESCO postcard was sent to all Members of Parliament.
Germany: while a majority of EI affiliates featured WTD articles or translations of the EI/UNESCO material in their publications, two German unions (VBE and BLLV) published substantial texts on the history of the 1966 Recommendation.
Guinea: sadness and despair marked WTD 1996 in Guinea where teachers could find no reason to celebrate but rallied to react against an 8% cut in salaries, other losses and the fact that the May 1994 agreement was not respected by the authorities.
Haiti: a young teacher was granted a study fellowship in education sciences and five experienced educators declared "Teachers of the Year" received souvenir plaques and medals from KNAD/CNEH and the President of the Republic during a cultural evening in Port-au-Prince which 600 teachers attended. A radio message on the Day's theme was aired by 20 Haitian stations.
India: AIFTO had planned an Intellectual Meet on 5 October at its Research and Training Centre in New Delhi where scholars, social scientists, women activists and union leaders were to deliberate on a variety of issues from WTD and the UNESCO/ILO Recommendation to international understanding, child labour, women upliftment, AIDS, religious bigotry, democracy. This programme was announced to EI by our regretted colleague V. K. Machanda.
AIPTF expected thousands of primary teachers to participate in meetings and mass rallies in various Indian states. A mass function in the Delhi headquarters was also planned.
AISTF called on educationists and community leaders to agitate during the period covering 5 September (National Teacher Day) to 5 October (World Teachers' Day) for the strengthening of state funded quality education for all. Actions included marches, human chains, school meetings, two-day workshops for leaders of state organisations and for office bearers at national level.
Jamaica: the JTA Honour Roll Award for outstanding contribution to the Association, to education and to the country was conferred on October 5. A special message on WTD was sent to all schools and broadcast by the union President.
Lesotho: lectures on the 1966 UNESCO/ILO Recommendation, environmental awareness education, exhibitions, solidarity songs were on the program of the 1st WTD observed in Lesotho.
Macedonia: a festive academic session was attended by distinguished political, cultural and academic personalities, as well students from elementary and secondary institutions to familiarize pupils with WTD and get their views on it.
Malaysia: 200 NUTP members attended a seminar in Penang on: "Teachers make the difference".
Mauritius: a car rally, a teachers defile, a symposium on prospects and challenges of the teaching profession in a changing world, followed by a cultural programme and social gathering, were scheduled on 4 October 1996 for Mauritius teachers.
Pakistan: renowned personalities from different fields of life including government officials intervened at a seminar highlighting teachers' role, activities and working.
Peru: nation-wide mass actions and a conference in Lima were planned to enhance the role of teachers.
Philippines: in a public statement on WTD, ACT presented a Five-point Agenda on Education comprising demands about salaries, the right to self-organisation, and the integration in school curriculum of human rights education, nationalism, environmental concerns and gender sensitivity.
Tanzania: at a large rally attended by top government officials, teachers' trade unions presented 10 demands on key problems facing them all over the country. Selected educators received awards from the Prime Minister. Primary and secondary teachers marched in Dar es Salaam.
Trinidad and Tobago: T&TUTA organised a National Solidarity Rally where Executive members were to address a crowd expected to comprise over 5.000 people. Information on negotiations with the government was on the program.
Turkey: opposing the 24 October Teachers' Day imposed by the military dictatorship responsible for the 1980 coup and ensuing attacks on teachers' organisations, EGITIM-SEN invited all its branches to celebrate 5 October actively. At the national level, press releases, radio and TV programs and a feast were foreseen.
Zaire: FENEZA demonstrations were planned throughout Zaire to demand better conditions.
Promoting EI members and Education Worldwide in 1997
Education International placed an ad in the International Herald Tribune's Special Report on International Education which appeared in the 19 October 1996 issue and will also be inserted in the IHT 1997 International Education Guide to be distributed in various (students', book, education, cultural) events and fairs next year. EI was also quoted in the lead article of the Report entitled "Chips Down for Teachers - Status and Salaries Are Both in Decline". The Paris-based International Herald Tribune is available in more than 180 countries throughout the world and claims a global readership of nearly half a million.
Projects including Internet, videos, and media campaigns are already on EI's (and UNESCO's) drawing boards for 1997, but suggestions, comments, and ideas to attract an even larger participation of unions and teachers in all nations are welcome. Again in 1997, it will be our collective responsibility and challenge to show that teachers make the difference.
On 6 October Djibouti teachers went on strike and organised an unauthorized but peaceful march starting from union headquarters. The demonstration was meant as a protest against the earlier suspension, transfer outside of the capital or dismissal of some 50 primary (SEP) and secondary (SYNESED) teachers, most of them involved in union responsibilities. The police charged and tear- gassed the demonstrators, arrested 80 teachers which were sent to a transit camp and later released with the exception of two, including a cameraman, who were brought to court. The police forcefully broke into SYNESED's headquarters which eight trade unionists were trying to protect against an assault, and arrested them. Further demonstrations on the following days also ended in confrontation with the police force. EI has decided that a mission to Djibouti would be organised to further examine the situation and meet the Minister of Education. As is often the case in developing countries, education workers have not been paid for the last three months.
Two recent EI missions to the Federation of Bosnia Hercegovina were reported in a communiqué to all member organisations in October. The dramatic situation of schools at all levels and education systems in the region led to an urgent appeal for teacher-to-teacher, school-to-school, union-to-union solidarity. Funds, material, expertise, exchanges, contacts are welcome; a variety of other ways to show your solidarity can also be arranged with the help of EI, the UNESCO Associated Schools Project or National Commissions. Contact EI for more information.
EI affiliates were also recently alerted to the fact that seven Turkish
teachers had been kidnapped in the south-east of Turkey, and four
of them murdered. Hasan Kacan, Yusuf Akgun and other trade unionists belonging
to EGITIM-SEN have been arbitrarily arrested and detained but were later
released due, entirely, to the response of trade unions internationally.
It is reported that 152 teachers have been assassinated in this country
since 1985. EI called for discussions to reach a solution to the underlying
problems that result in such violence so that teachers can carry out their
activities under normal conditions. The ICFTU has filed a complaint at
the ILO against the Government of Turkey.
At its May 1996 meeting, the Executive Board put forward three themes to be studied specifically:
1- the financing of education,
2- the means by which teacher unions can bring together "industrial' and professional concerns in order to influence and implement education reform,
3- the impact of the social environment of students, teachers and education workers (housing, socio-economic status, health, family conditions, etc) on quality schooling and on success at and through school. The executive also invited studies of some other related areas such as Education for All, intercultural education, privatisation, structural adjustment, new technologies, the globalization of higher education, lifelong learning.
Meeting at EI headquarters in Brussels 18 and 19 September 1996, the pre-school and primary education committee reviewed all three suggested topics, adding information from national perspective, and decided to put emphasis on the third theme (impact of the social environment) focusing on the social situation of students and teachers, with special attention to early years education. Members will forward their contributions to the Secretariat and a draft report will be sent out in due time for consideration at the next meeting which should take place 5 and 6 March 1997 in Brussels. Hector Alberto Robles (CEA Argentina) will chair this committee.
After a review of past activities which included among others a proposal to accept as EI members full- time research staff, the study of World Bank papers and of UNESCO's draft Recommendation concerning the status of higher education teaching personnel (see other text below), the EI further and higher education committee meeting in Brussels 17 & 18 July 1996 discussed new developments on these issues in the light of the Delors Report, the May 1996 EI/World Bank seminar (see Monitor Vol 3 No 5) and subsequent publications. The preparation of the EI Conference on the Internationalisation of Higher Education was also an important item on the agenda (see following page). The members also examined a paper on higher education and new technologies (raising a number of important questions to be discussed in a further session), elected Gerd Köhler (GEW Germany) as chair of that Standing Committee and took an appointment for another meeting 10-12 July 1997.
| Sponsored and hosted in Paris by the UNESCO,
the three-day event (19-21 March 1997) will focus on new trends in higher
education and research as well as on the UNESCO Recommendation concerning
the status of higher education teaching personnel with speakers from UNESCO,
ILO and EI; workshops will discuss related themes: quality, evaluation,
professional development, changes in professional roles, new technologies,
funding, rights and freedoms, labour market and society, terms and conditions
of employment, international cooperation, etc. Guest keynote speakers will
address the opening session at the UNESCO Headquarters which should be
attended by some 100 participants. EI member organisations representing
higher education and research personnel should receive full details on
program and registration in coming weeks.
The UNESCO is also launching the preparatory process of its World Conference on Higher Education to take place in September 1998; that conference is preceded by regional meetings for Latin America (Cuba) in November 1996, Africa in April 1997, other regions to follow. |
1- world economy today,
2- the importance of education (both presented by Ray Marshall, former State Secretary in the Carter Administration),
3- consequences of education reform on personnel (Australia, Norway, USA and Sweden),
4- a new concept of public education (workshops),
5- computers in education (conclusions by Professor Ronald E. Anderson of the University of Minnesota on a survey of 21 countries by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement -IEA),
6- mathematics and science teaching (the TIMMS results) commented by Professor David Robitaille of the University of British Colombia, Canada).
Concerning the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) -which is in no way involved in this EI activity-, the recent admission
of South Korea in this select club of 29 industrialized nations
was strongly opposed by the labour movement on account of this country's
poor record on trade union rights - the dismissal of 1,300 Chunkyojo teachers
and the denial of their right to organise being one of the worst recent
examples in the developed world. The advocacy of EI and some member organisations
(and in some cases, of the government of their country) led to a set of
conditions to the recognition of Korea and to the creation of an OECD monitoring
of human and trade union rights with the possibility to file complaints
against the Seoul government.
On this premise, WHO (World Health Organisation), UNESCO, UNAIDS and Education International have decided to work jointly, in collaboration with the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC/USA), to empower the world's teachers for the promotion of health and to enable them to address priority health issues, such as HIV infection and related discrimination. The announcement was made during the International Conference on Education last October in Geneva.
UNAIDS estimates that as of July 1, 1996, 21 million adolescents and adults and 800,000 children under 15 years of age were living with HIV/AIDS. Over half of all HIV infections so far have occurred in young people under 25 years of age.
In the wake of the EI/WHO/UNESCO global Conference on School Health
and HIV Prevention (Harare, Zimbabwe, July 1995 - see supplement to
Monitor Vol 2 No 4), the organisations and their partners are now embarking
on a series of regional 'training of trainers' programmes for leaders of
teachers' unions. In 1996, 18 Latin American countries will benefit from
this joint initiative based on the WHO/UNESCO "Resource Package: School
Health Education to Prevent AIDS and STDs".
Study guides in various languages are now prepared for Looking for Richard (based on Shakespeare's Richard III and directed by Al Pacino) and The Crucible (screenplay by Arthur Miller, starring Daniel Day Lewis and Winona Ryder) to be released in 1996-97 first in America, Europe and the Far East. These films will be followed by a modern interpretation of Romeo & Juliet, a re-worked version of the classic Great Expectations starring Robert de Niro, and other titles.
Also in the world of cinema but on a different initiative, Education
International and UNESCO have been invited to give their patronage to the
production of a movie based on Aristophane's comedy Lysistrata.
Film-maker Roger Coggio will direct this adaptation of the classic satire
on the theme of women and war which is intended to a young public and will
also be shown in movie theatres worldwide in 1998.
Against this context, UNICEF and UNESCO's International Bureau of Education
(IBE) decided to cooperate towards building awareness on school repetition,
understanding it better and thus creating the conditions for more effective
action to deal with it at both the national and the international level.
First used as a working document in a workshop of international experts
held in February 1995 in Geneva, the 32-page publication entitled Primary
school repetition: a global perspective is now available free in English,
French (Le redoublement scolaire dans l'enseignement primaire: analyse
mondiale) and Spanish (La repetición escolar en la enseñanza
primaria: una perspectiva global) from IBE Publications, P.O. Box 199,
1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland.
| If you are interested in comparative studies,
read Interpreting international comparisons of students achievement
by Harvey Goldstein, No 63 in the ?Educational studies and documents'
series. UNESCO Publishing, 1995. ISBN 92-3-103082-5. 38 pages. Available
at usual booksellers in English and French (Résultats scolaires:
interprétation des comparaisons internationales - Etudes et documents
d'éducation 63 - ISBN 92-3-203082-9). Price: 35 FF, US$7.
The International Bureau of Education (IBE) also proposes, for the first time on CD-ROM, a database of 98 national reports filed by UNESCO Member States at the 1992 and 1994 international conferences on education (ICE). This CD-ROM is available free, a contribution for mailing fees is however welcome. Contact Mr H. Bao, IBE Documentation Center, P. O. Box 199, 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland. With 45 countries* participating, five grades assessed in two school subjects, more than half a million students tested in more than thirty languages, and millions of open-ended responses generated, the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is the largest and most ambitious study of comparative educational achievement ever undertaken. TIMSS includes more countries, more students in more grade levels, and "more ambitious aims for subject matter coverage and valid testing approaches than any previous international study". In 1994-1995 achievement tests in mathematics and science were administered to carefully selected samples of students in class rooms around the world. At the same time, the students, their teachers, and the principals of their schools were asked to respond to questionnaires about their backgrounds and their attitudes, experiences, and practices in the teaching and learning of mathematics and science. The results should be announced in the course of November 1996. For more information: TIMSS International Study Centre, Campion Hall 323, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02167, USA. Tel: +1 617 552 4521 Fax:+1 617 552 8419 E-mail: timss@hermes.bc.edu *Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium (Flemish, French), Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United States of America. |