Description
The project addresses the need for tools to evaluate objectively and follow the impact of education projects of NGOs. The project aims at developing a toolkit to evaluate the overall impact of NGO activities on school education. First, 7 tools to assess 3 categories of functional literacy (reading, writing and numeracy) for 3 age groups (5th-6th grade, 7th-8th grade, 9th-10th grade) will be developed. Second, 2 motivation assessment tools for the age groups of 5th-7th grade and 8th-12th grade will be developed. Third, 3 teacher’s guides on functional literacy will be developed. Fourth, training sessions on functional literacy and other key skills will be developed including a Framework of 10 key skills for success and 10 learning sessions. Finally, awareness will be raised among the stakeholders via an online platform, 2 conferences and 3 seminars for education experts. The project will benefit the target groups of schoolchildren, teachers, education experts and NGOs.
Summary of project results
Development of 21st century skills in school students from vulnerable communities in particular is the key to overcoming differences in performance. All stakeholders share how important these skills are and identify them as critical for the success of school students on the labour market. However, in practice Bulgaria lacks any easily accessible training workshops and guidance for teachers about how to integrate these skills in the regular classes on general subject. By creating the tool to assess the motivation of students, the project of Teach of Bulgaria addressed the need of tools for impact assessment of the NGO work in the education system.The project offered a comprehensive model for development of the 21st century skills. The model is described and presented in practice in the Handbook on How to develop the 21st century skills in class (printed and electronic version). 13 face-to-face and 13 video sessions for teachers were developed based on the Handbook.The assessment tool serves to measure the motivation of school students from 5th to 12th grade. A cycle of measurement and internal monitoring was approved and a clear plan to further develop the tool was outlined. In addition, an e-platform was created for administration, processing and analysis of the evaluation forms measuring the motivation of school students: motiviram.21stcenturyskills.info. The e-platform is on the project website with access to all developed e-resources.The project had direct impact on the work of teachers from the Teach for Bulgaria Programme. All acting teachers under the programme (94 teachers during the project) were trained or informed about the model to develop the 21st century skills in class. As a result, all teachers selected 1 to 3 skills in the vision for the school year to focus their attention on in their work with the students. The teachers follow the model for development of skills in class that was created under the project, setting themselves clear goals about the skills and having a plan as to the strategies to develop the skills and the means to measure the progress students make to acquire the skills. Thus the project has indirect impact on approximately 6600 students.The workshops organized under the project helped two schools that are partners of Teach for Bulgaria (Nesho Bonchev Secondary Comprehensive School in the town of Panagyurishte and Lyuben Karavelov Secondary Comprehensive School in the town of Koprishtitsa) test the model at school level.
Summary of bilateral results