Collaborating for improving first grade students
The Save the Children Mongolia Office and MECSS have been implemented the project “Strengthening Schools to Nurture Effective School Readiness and Learning Experiences in First Grade Children of Mongolia” between 2015 and 2018 in three phases with financial support from Ministry of Finance of Japan. Project targeted 24 public schools which are located in the ‘ger districts’ including Songinokhairkhan, Bayanzurkh and Chingeltei, where mostly vulnerable people reside, most of who are migrants the countryside. The closing event of the project held on March 13, 2018.
The project implemented the activities to
- Strengthen the school management, teachers, non-teaching staff and parents;
- Increase their participation;
- Ensure the sustainability of the project outcomes in policy level under its goal of improving 1st graders’ school transition skills by establishing the Start-up Program at the selected public schools.
The project has achieved the following key achievements:
- First, 1,849 primary teachers of the target 24 schools have improved their knowledge, skills and teaching methodology in school transition and learning skills of the 6 years old children through attending the relevant trainings and obtained skills to evaluate children’s progress and provide a required support and assistance to each child based on their progress. The project directly reached to 15,681 first grade students.
- Second, target 24 schools have own system to support 1st grade students’ school transition and learning skills by establishing and implementing ‘‘Start-up Program” and Self-Assessment System” as result of the project. The level of collaboration between the schools and relevant local state organizations including khoroo, kindergarten, family health center, policy etc., have increased in improving the school transition skills of the new entrees of the school.
Training for primary school teachers 2017
- Third, the project conducted series trainings on how to support children’s school transition and learning skills for 158 first grade teachers and 795 member of Parents. Following the trainings, over 18,000 parents of all 1st grade students have attended several activities such as information/experience sharing sessions, internal trainings, discussion etc., and have increased their knowledge, skills on school transition and learning skills and methods to work with their children. As result of these activities, parents’ involvement in school activities have increased which led to a better cooperation of parents, teachers and schools.
- Fourth, key stakeholders of the project have been focusing on the sustainability of the project outcomes since the beginning of the project implementation as they understand the importance of the school transition and learning skills of the 1st grade students. This effort resulted positively in project sustainability and several project activities are tending to implement continuously after the project completion. For example: the project and MECSS collaborated to implement the School Preparation Program and Child Exercise Book in national level by updating in accordance with textbook standards. The Municipal Education Department together with trained teachers under the project conducted training on school transition and learning skills for 800 first grade teachers in city level as well. As result of the training, all 1st grade teachers of the public schools in Ulaanbaatar have enriched their knowledge, skills and teaching methodology in school transition and learning skills.
The project reached directly and indirectly to 160,000 children of public schools in target three districts which located in the outskirt of the Ulaanbaatar. During the closing event, it has been emphasized that the programs, training modules and initiatives of the project could be used as one of the educational models in improving learning skills of the 1st grade students especially those who did not attend the formal ECE.
