Development of civic competencies of students in schools

Why is the project important?

The issue of promoting human rights and the principles of democracy remains relevant at the moment. According to experts in the field of human rights, there is a tendency towards a decrease in legal awareness among the younger generation and there is a lack of young specialists promoting human rights and principles of democracy. The previously prepared constellation of specialists rightfully focuses their activities in other areas and do not practice working with youth on the basis of the principle of “equal to equal, and today's young people are not so actively involved in the promotion of human rights. This is due to the low economic level of the population, the loss of civic identity and the lack of basic knowledge of human rights and citizenship. Experience also shows that most of the civic education projects were aimed at young people who have already crossed the 16-year age threshold and have implemented non-formal education. With this approach, interventions were not sustainable and it was important to get involved in a change in the formal education system.

What is the project aimed at?

In 2018-2019 The Institute implemented the first phase of the project “Development of civic competencies in school students”, as a result of which a model of extracurricular educational work was developed, which is a set of technologies for organizing the school environment that shape civic skills. The key difference from the existing system of educational work is that the Model allows you to change positions between the student and teacher and move from directive methods to democratic principles.

The second phase of the project involves piloting in 10 pilot schools. During piloting, new technologies are applied, as well as existing ones are revised. Implementing the model are innovative teachers who have been trained in the first phase of the project.

Based on the results of piloting, an assessment and preparation of recommendations will be carried out. Based on the recommendations, the model will be finalized and transferred to the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republican Institute of Advanced Studies for further implementation of the experience gained. The developed curricula, model, technologies and methodological products will be transferred to the Ministry of Education and Science for approval and use in schools of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Project Duration:
Project activities started in April 2018 and are being implemented to this day.

Key partners of the project:
The project is implemented with financial support from the Soros Foundation Kyrgyzstan in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Project coordinator:
Ajara Kasmalieva - akasmalieva@jashtar.org