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The
Joy of Learning
Taking
effective elements of the small school models
to scale, Egypt is attempting to respond to the
needs of hard-to-reach students by emphasiz-ing
student-centered learning approaches, increased
curricular relevance, gender sensitivity, and,
according to the Ministry of Educa-tion, the joy
of learning.
For
example, recognizing that small schools require
alternative approaches to teaching and learning,
the curricu-lum combines vocational training with
academic learning. This is a strategy based on
experience, which indicates that income-generating
skill develop-ment appeals to parents and helps
keep girls in school.
In
1997, USAID/Cairo engaged LearnLink to assist
with several aspects of the small school effort,
including drawing lessons from Egypt’s decade
of experience, developing teacher training materials
and launching an Interactive Radio Instruction
(IRI) program for teaching English as a foreign
language.
On
the Front Lines: Staff Development
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to enlarge view (~45K)
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Recognizing
that small schools require alternative approaches
to teaching and learning, the Ministry of Education
is restructuring the primary curriculum to make
it more applicable in multi-grade classrooms.
Teachers’ guides, instructional support materials
and supplementary learning aids are being designed
with a focus on topics such as methods of multi-grade
teaching, classroom organization and creative
use of space, group formations, thematic learning
and integration of subjects. The multi-grade materials
are being produced in close coopera-tion with
governmental and nongov-ernmental partners.
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Geography
