The mandate of EQUIP1/ERP is to assure quality education for all Egyptian children in schools that are themselves committed to continuous improvement through processes that the schools and communities control. AIR with its partners, Educational Development Center (EDC) and World Education (WE) worked to achieve this aim through a strategy of School Based Reform. School Based Reform (SBR) is a process rooted in recognizing the school as the change agent through which quality education is achieved. A quality education is one that addresses the child’s intellectual, social, psychological and physical development. The primary stakeholders whom an effective SBR approach must address were: teachers, school leadership and governance structures, communities and parents, and the governmental systems which support the schools. Yet, while all of these stakeholders were important and had their roles to play in improving the quality of education and learning outcomes; the reform was driven from the base of the school. ERP/EQUIP1’s approach to School Based Reform would empower school communities to direct their own change process. It would be based on a partnership among the government, schools and civil society; and providing schools with the skills and knowledge they needed to effectively implement the Egyptian standards to achieve accreditation for schools. ERP/EQUIP1 would support schools and communities to make the changes needed to produce positive outcomes in the cognitive, social and behavioral skills of all learners.
Keys has built strong relationships with the MoETE over many years and projects/programs. Based on these relationships Keys has been able to introduce, model and promote best practices in teacher training, early grade reading, coaching/mentoring, school leadership. Keys implemented two Short Term Technical Assistance (STTA) programs under USAID funded IIE-STEP to build the capacity of the Ministry of Education to implement teacher training for Version 2.0 grades 1, 2 and 3 teachers in early grade reading, math, multidisciplinary learning. We have provided training in teacher mentorship and support training for Supervisors in monitoring and assessment. Keys has provided school orientation and mobilization of Muderiya Learning Teams to conduct effective training and classroom observations, using a standardized assessment tool to evaluate performance and provide constructive feedback to trainers and teachers. In our third STTA under USAID IIE-Step, Technical Assistance was provided to support the Ministry of Education and Technical Education (MoETE) to plan for and successfully implement the Fixed Amount Reimbursement Implementation Letter (FARIL) to achieve the goals of the Government-to-Government (G2G) partnership. This was achieved by providing the MoETE with essential and adequate technical knowhow and guidance in areas where technical expertise was required. Technical assistance was needed during the initial phase of the FARIL implementation to identify the areas needing support and the exact type of required assistance to support the development and/or strengthening of the different components of the FARIL. Keys also provided the MoETE with assistance to support the implementation of the newly reformed curricula (Education Version 2.0) in KG1 and KG2. This support included the technical assistance, material development and capacity building of approximately 40,000 KG1 and KG2 teachers, 1,000 trainers and 1,000 KG1 and KG2 supervisors.
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Keys is currently partnering in the USAID funded Teach for Tomorrow (T4T) Project, a four-year activity, which aims to sustainably improve primary-level teacher practice through effective professional development. Program activities fall under two main components: 1) supporting the enhancement of Egypt’s system for in-service training and continuous teacher professional development in reading, mathematics, and 21st Century Skills including critical thinking and problem-solving among pupils, and 2) professional licensing/certification system strengthening, including the development of a teacher incentivization structure for continuous professional growth. Project support will include the design and delivery of an innovative blended learning system (integration of digital and online media as well as traditional face-to-face teaching) for teacher professional development that will assist teachers to infuse critical thinking, inquiry, and problem solving into their instructional practices.
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Launched in October 2006, Discovery is an independent, semester-long, extracurricular program of leadership learning activities designed for public university students in Egypt. The Program was administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE) Center for Leadership Excellence based in Cairo in partnership with Keys to Effective Learning and Creative Encounters. The Program’s development and pilot semesters were made possible through a generous grant by the Ford Foundation Regional Office in Cairo. The Program enabled students to assume leadership roles with confidence and act as student role models at the university and community levels and within the national and global arena.
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CARE Egypt is an international non-profit, non-sectarian development NGO that works with the most marginalized communities in Egypt as part of CARE International. Today, CARE's work is focused primarily on Upper Egypt, where it works closely through a rights-based approach with the poor and marginalized, civil society, and government institutions to improve livelihoods on a sustainable basis. Using community-generated strategies and local resource mobilization, CARE's work encompasses a number of different sectors including Women Rights Water and Sanitation, Education, Good Governance, and Agriculture and Marketing.
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