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June 6th, 2008 by kristy
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Author Archive for kristy
TOL online course - improving coverage of education issues
April 28th, 2008 by kristy
TOL is searching for participants for an online course on covering education issues, developed in cooperation with the Guardian Foundation and BBC World Trust. The course is open to journalists from Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. Applicants should be covering education or have a strong interest in the topic. Application deadline: May 10, 2008
For more information or to apply, go to: http://training.tol.org
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Freedom House - Corruption in Education
March 18th, 2008 by kristy
Freedom House’s “Countries at the Crossroads Governance Blog” discusses the hidden costs of education in post-Soviet countries in its latest post [it also references TOL’s education series!]. Check it out!
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Call for Academic Writing Instructors
February 13th, 2008 by kristy
CALL FOR ENGLISH ACADEMIC WRITING TEACHERS
FOR SUMMER SCHOOL IN ISTANBUL, TURKEY,
JULY & AUGUST 2008
The Open Society Institute (OSI) is currently recruiting instructors of academic writing in English to teach at the Network Scholarship Programs (NSP) 2008 Pre-Academic Summer Programs in Istanbul. There will be two summer schools held in 2008: the first from July 2-31, the second from August 1-30. Both will be identical in structure and instructors can apply to teach at one or both programs. Instructors will be expected to attend three days of preparation as a part of each school: July 2-4 for the first school, and August 1-3 for the second school.
The summer school is designed to prepare NSP scholarship finalists from the Balkans, the Former Soviet Union, the Middle East and Southeast Asia for graduate studies or faculty exchange programs in the UK or US. The curriculum is an integration of academic writing courses with intensive seminar-style social science courses.
Participants in the summer school take one academic writing course (2 hours a day, 4 days a week) and one social science course (1.5 hours a day , 4 days a week). Academic Writing instructors will work closely with Social Science instructors during the pre-program preparation to coordinate their course approach and writing/research assignments. Each course is expected to have no more than 12 students. The expected total number of students attending each summer school is approximately 85. Students attending the summer school will be entering graduate programs in a range of disciplines, including law, social work, public policy, political science, human rights, international economic theory, gender studies, sociology, and development studies.
The Open Society Institute is calling for experienced teachers of academic writing in English to submit a letter of interest, CV, and sample syllabus for an intensive 3.5 week course in academic writing. Please note that final syllabi and assignments will be worked out during the three day preparation in cooperation with the Social Science instructors. Preference will be given to individuals with significant experience teaching and/or studying in a western graduate program with experience living/teaching in the participants’ regions (Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Middle East, and South East Asia). Due to budgetary considerations, preference will also be given to those who are able to travel inexpensively and conveniently to Istanbul.
Academic Writing instructors will teach one course lasting 3.5 weeks for each summer school. The total number of classes will be 12 per school, with the three last days of the program set aside for instructors to grade projects and work closely with social science instructors on final student evaluations.
Teaching hours: Approximately 2 teaching hours per day for four-days a week per course, plus a required minimum of 2 hours a day for student consultations.
Additional responsibilities: Instructors will be called upon and are encouraged to assist with extra-curricular activities and special events during the course of the summer school. They will also be expected to conduct additional lectures or facilitate presentations that orient students to graduate studies in the UK and US.
Remuneration: Instructors will receive $4200 USD per summer school, round-trip travel to Istanbul, and accommodation. Applicants should specify which summer program they are applying for, or whether they are applying to teach at both.
OSI is also recruiting for the position of Coordinator of Studies (COS) for Academic Writing. Duties for this position include managerial and administrative oversight of academic writing instructors and program curriculum in cooperation with the Coordinator of Studies for Social Sciences. The two Coordinators of Study will also plan and facilitate the pre-program planning sessions for instructors. The COS for Academic Writing will not teach a course, but will have additional duties associated with the overall administration of the program. Please note that the successful applicant for this post must be able to act in this capacity for both schools. Applicants should indicate in their cover letter if they are interested in this position.
Applicants should submit sample syllabi and CV electronically to NSPSummerSchool@sorosny.org. For more information about the Open Society Institute please visit: www.soros.org, and for the Network Scholarship Programs: www.soros.org/initiatives/scholarship.
Submission deadline: March 21, 2008
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Call for Social Science Instructors
February 13th, 2008 by kristy
CALL FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE INSTRUCTORS
FOR SUMMER SCHOOL IN ISTANBUL, TURKEY,
JULY & AUGUST 2008
The Open Society Institute (OSI) is currently recruiting instructors of social sciences and the humanities to teach at the Network Scholarship Programs (NSP) 2008 Pre-Academic Summer Programs in Istanbul. There will be two summer schools held in 2008: the first from July 2-31, the second from August 1-30. Both will be identical in structure and instructors can apply to teach at one or both programs. Instructors will be expected to attend three days of preparation as a part of each school: July 2-4 for the first school, and August 1-3 for the second school.
The summer school is designed to prepare NSP scholarship finalists from the Balkans, the Former Soviet Union, the Middle East and Southeast Asia for graduate studies or faculty exchange programs in the UK or US. The curriculum is an integration of academic writing courses with intensive seminar-style social science courses.
Participants in the summer school take one academic writing course (2 hours a day, 4 days a week) and one social science course (1.5 hours a day, 4 days a week). Social Science instructors will work closely with Academic Writing instructors during the pre-program preparation to coordinate their course approach and writing/research assignments. Each course is expected to have no more than 12 students. The expected total number of students attending each summer school is approximately 85. Students attending the summer school will be entering graduate programs in a range of disciplines, including political science, human rights, international relations, economics, gender studies, sociology, law, history, and development studies.
The Open Society Institute is calling for experienced instructors of social sciences/humanities to submit a letter of interest, CV, and sample syllabus for an intensive 3.5 week course of their choice. Please note that final syllabi and assignments will be worked out during the three day preparation in cooperation with the Academic Writing instructors. Preference will be given to individuals with significant experience teaching and/or studying in a western graduate program with experience living/teaching in the participants’ regions (Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Middle East, and South East Asia). Due to budgetary considerations, preference will also be given to those who are able to travel inexpensively and conveniently to Istanbul.
Social Science instructors will teach one course lasting 3.5 weeks for each summer school. The total number of classes will be 12 per school, with the three last days of the program set aside for instructors to grade projects and work closely with Academic Writing instructors on final student evaluations.
Teaching hours: Approximately 1.5 teaching hours per day for four-days a week per course, plus a required minimum of 2 hours a day for student consultations.
Additional responsibilities: Instructors will be called upon and are encouraged to assist with extra-curricular activities and special events during the course of the summer school. They will also be to do additional lectures in their field or to facilitate presentations that orient students to graduate studies in the US and UK.
Remuneration: Instructors will receive $4200 USD per summer school, round-trip travel to Istanbul, and accommodation. Applicants should specify which summer program they are applying for, or whether they are applying to teach at both.
OSI is also recruiting for the position of Coordinator of Studies (COS) for Social Sciences. Besides teaching, duties for this position will involve managerial and administrative oversight of Social Science instructors and program curriculum in cooperation with the Coordinator of Studies for Academic Writing. The Coordinators of Study will also plan and facilitate the pre-program planning sessions for instructors. Please note that the successful applicant for this post must be able to act in this capacity for both schools. Applicants should indicate in their cover letter if they are interested in this position.
Applicants should submit sample syllabi and CV electronically to NSPSummerSchool@sorosny.org. For more information about the Open Society Institute please visit: www.soros.org, and for the Network Scholarship Programs: www.soros.org/initiatives/scholarship.
Submission deadline: March 21, 2008
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Call for Participants at the Kosovar and Regional Student Conference about Social Issues
January 22nd, 2008 by kristy
Students from high schools in Kosovo, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Albania are invited to the Kosovar and Regional Student Conference about Social Issues. This conference—a continuation of the highly successful 1st , 2nd and 3rd Conferences about Social Issues—gathers youth from around Kosovo to discuss important social issues facing Kosovo.
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TOL Features: Lessons in Graft
January 21st, 2008 by kristy
Need better marks in school? In Uzbekistan, a little extra cash can help.
by Maria Kozlova
Click here to read the article.
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Macedonia – Erasmus Mundus Programme
January 16th, 2008 by kristy
New Partnerships and Scholarship Opportunities for Macedonians
The higher education institutions of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia now have the possibility to co-apply for partnerships under Erasmus Mundus, with a group of higher education institutions (called the “consortium”) from three different Member States, EEA-EFTA states.
The guidelines for preparing applications as well as the deadlines can be found here.
Students of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonian also now have the possibility to apply for scholarships for the academic year 2008/2009. The approximate application deadline is January/February 2008 (deadlines vary from one course to another).
Towards the end of 2007, the European Commission adopted a financing decision which allows for the possibility of awarding a limited number of scholarships (Action 2) for nationals from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia who submit their applications to Erasmus Mundus Masters Courses selected under Action 1 for academic year 2008/2009.
The list of selected Erasmus Mundus Masters Courses (Action 1) can be found here.
The interested candidates should apply directly to the relevant Erasmus Mundus Masters consortium. The guidelines for submission of applications as well as the deadlines for the submission of applications can be found on web-pages of individual Erasmus Mundus Masters Courses.
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News Digest #5 (01.01.08 - 14.01.08)
January 14th, 2008 by kristy
AZERBAIJAN
(Право Выбора 04.01.08) Draft Law “On Education” Discussed: December 26, new draft law “On education” was broadly discussed with participation of standing commission of Milli Mejlis on science and education and other standing commissions.
(Право Выбора 05.01.08) Wearing hijab (headscarf) to be prohibited at least in education centers, as envisaged by the draft law “On Education”: Center for protection of freedom of religion and freedom of conscience protests against prohibition allowing girls to wear headscarf envisaged in new draft law.
(Trend News 07.01.08) Kindergartens and Secondary Schools Close in Azerbaijan Due to Weather: Kindergartens and secondary schools in Azerbaijan have been closed for a period of three days due to bad weather conditions, a source stated at Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Education on 7 January.
BELARUS
(Interfax 10.01.08) Children of sectarian Belarusians refuse to go to school: Teachers and psychologists have failed to convince Valentina Ponedelnik, resident of the Matyasy village in the Brest region and follower of sectarian Pyotr Kuznetsov, that her children must go to school.
BULGARIA
(Sofia Echo 02.01.08) Bulgarian schools lack IT and foreign language teachers: Schools in Bulgaria suffered a lack of qualified teachers in information technologies and foreign languages.
CZECH REPUBLIC
(Czech Business Weekly 07.01.08) First lady to attend discussion on integrating children: Education in children’s homes and the integration of the children into society is the discussion topic for the meeting to be held Jan. 8 in K+K Hotel Central in Prague.
(Cesky Noviny 08.01.08) Former Czech minister to teach at private university: Former Czech education minister Dana Kuchtova (junior ruling Greens, SZ), who resigned in early October, will teach at the private J. A. Komensky (Comenius) University in Prague, university Vice-Chancellor Lubos Chaloupka confirmed in today’s issue of daily Pravo.
HUNGARY
(MTI 02.01.08) Nearly 27,000 students get gov’t scholarships: Nearly 27,000 students from disadvantaged backgrounds have received scholarships as part of the government’s Utravalo (For the Road) scheme since 2005, an education ministry said in Budapest on Tuesday.
(MTI 08.01.08) Classroom segregation endures despite extra gov’t funding – paper: Hungary’s government has thrown a considerable amount of money at local schools struggling to eradicate Roma classroom segregation, but results so far suggest the problem is deep-rooted and not easily solved, said national daily Nepszabadsag on Thursday.
RUSSIA
(Russia Profile 02.01.08) The Problem of the “Right” Textbook: The new and probably the only “right” textbook on modern Russian history, edited by Alexander Filippov, has been given the green light for testing in several Russian regional schools.
(Russia Today 06.01.08) Teaching blind children to ‘see’ real life: A forty minutes drive out of Moscow, but a world away from the bustling capital city, the school for the blind and visually impaired is sheltered but far from quiet. The first concern here is ensuring pupils are ready for the toughest lesson of all – life in the ‘real world’.
(Pravda 11.01.08) Preschool teachers vent their anger on students: Teachers in preschool institutions who suffer from stress or depression recommend that students should be expelled more often than their emotionally stable colleagues.
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News Digest #4 (15.12.07 - 31.12.07)
December 31st, 2007 by kristy
BULGARIA
(Balkan Insight 19.12.07) Bulgaria pays price of outdated education: Delaying reforms has ruined the quality of Bulgaria’s higher education, and threatens to drag down the country’s economy.
CZECH REPUBLIC
(Ceske Noviny 18.12.07) New Czech Education Minister to focus on EU funds, school reform: New Czech Education Minister Ondrej Liska (Greens), 30, intends to focus on the drawing of money from EU funds, the development of the school system reform as well as the funding of regional schools, he told reporters today.
(Ceske Noviny 18.12.07) New Czech education minister presents his team: Czech Education Minister Ondrej Liska (Greens) who was inaugurated on December 4 presented his deputies.
RUSSIA
(Moscow Times 19.12.07) Montessori in Moscow: In an open, shelf-lined classroom, a preschooler builds a tall, complex tower out of different-sized wooden blocks, matching her work to a picture in an instruction manual.
(Moscow Times 20.12.07) A mad rush to get into kindergarten: There is a severe shortage of places in preschools, with the waiting lists at most public kindergartens stretching to thousands of names and many parents now adding those of their children as soon as they are born.
(CNews 28.12.07) National project Education: 50 thousand Russian schools connected to the internet.
(CNews 28.12.07) ‘School portal’ closed in three days after being launched: The ‘School portal’ presented by Andrei Fursenko, the Minister of Education and Science, on December 21st was closed three days later.
SERBIA
(B92 27.12.07) Vojvodina preschools teach in six languages: Vojvodina’s multi-ethnicity will be evident in its preschools as they start curriculum in six languages next year.
SLOVAKIA
(Romano Vodi 19.12.07) Ethnic children should master Slovak language – government: Children from ethnic minorities’ families should improve their knowledge of Slovak under the plan proposed by the Slovak Education Ministry and approved by the government today.
TAJIKISTAN
(Ferghana.ru 21.12.07) Only 7% children in Tajikistan attend infant schools and day-care centers: Conference “Infant school development in 2005 - 2010″ in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, this week discussed a new strategy of development of infant schools.
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