Given the impetus and opportunity, communities will join together to help their children achieve success. It begins with their education. And it begins with re-building children’s self-esteem.
Few had heard of the USAID-funded Revitalization of Iraqi Schools and the Stabilization of Education (RISE) Project. Even fewer had heard of the concept of accelerated learning in the months after the end of Saddam’s regime. News of the Accelerated Learning Program in Iraq spread via three channels: regional directorates of education, community outreach workers, and more importantly by parents, particularly mothers.
The promise of a one-year pilot program to accelerate long-term out-of-school youth to catch-up their schooling by undertaking two years of study in only one year was a second chance at education. Parents seized the opportunity immediately and at once began to promulgate the program. As the program commenced, the children themselves told their friends and wished for them what they were able to participate in themselves. Communities bonded into a cohesive group for the singular aim of seeking access to education for their children who were denied access to regular government schools because they were over-age.
Years of missed schooling meant that students of differing ages were in the same classroom. Here they formed “families”: families that provided support and encouragement, free from punitive discipline, free from embarrassment and shame. All students knew that they were there for the same goal – to achieve the success that was not available to them the first time.
With the onset of wars in the early 1980s and an oppressive regime, the education system in Iraq deteriorated from one of high standard and repute in the Middle East to one of the worst in the region with depleted resources, neglected facilities, stagnant curricula, inefficient management, corruption, political influence, and under-trained teachers. Declining enrolment and attendance rates, particularly for girls (with only a 50% attendance rate in rural areas) resulted in poor literacy levels; 24% of girls and 56% of boys are literate (with a total literacy rate of 40% across the country). The high drop-out rate resulted in youth missing years of schooling. With a population estimated at 26 million and a student population of 6 million in 2003, the out-of-school population was believed to be as high as 1.8 million.
Encyclopedic education practiced in oversized classes, promoting chalk-and-talk styles of teacher-pupil relationships, had debilitated skills such as teacher leadership, student leadership, personality development, critical thinking and knowledge acquisition.
Accelerated learning, an umbrella term for a series of practical, student-centered approaches to learning, was implemented across five locations in Iraq. It has the expectation that, when motivated and appropriately taught, all learners can reach a level of achievement which may currently appear beyond them. A critical, underpinning principle of accelerated learning is to create a supportive learning environment, free from high levels of anxiety and threat. Establishing an atmosphere of safety, trust, friendly cooperation, and appreciation enables students to be receptive to new ideas, and willing to explore and experiment without fear of ridicule.
In Iraq, during the Accelerated Learning Program, students became more involved in their education and made choices towards their own successes. Students chose not to have breaks between classes; outh in Iraq.
With accelerated learning principles in the classroom, students were likely to learn more content and increase their self-esteem, interpersonal communication and teamwork skills. Attendances increased as they overcame their reluctance to ask for help and the tendency for low achievers to avoid participation.
Dramatic transformations of teaching and learning methodologies were impractical to expect in a one-year program in Iraq after decades of a strict, regimented education system. The way forward was through a continuous, evolving process of design, implementation, and reflection that gradually emerged throughout the implementation of accelerated learning and student-centered philosophies, principles and practices. By applying accelerated learning principles to education within countries in conflict and crisis, students can achieve a sense of achievement, enjoyment and shared experiences in a safe, non-threatening environment.
Connecting learning with positive emotions improved the students’ learning process. This was evident in the AL Program by the high attendance rate and the willingness of students to achieve their best results. The re-building of self-esteem, “the heart of learning”, was the most critical factor in the success of the Accelerated Learning Program across post-war Iraq.
Few had heard of the USAID-funded Revitalization of Iraqi Schools and the Stabilization of Education (RISE) Project. Even fewer had heard of the concept of accelerated learning in the months after the end of Saddam’s regime. News of the Accelerated Learning Program in Iraq spread via three channels: regional directorates of education, community outreach workers, and more importantly by parents, particularly mothers.
The promise of a one-year pilot program to accelerate long-term out-of-school youth to catch-up their schooling by undertaking two years of study in only one year was a second chance at education. Parents seized the opportunity immediately and at once began to promulgate the program. As the program commenced, the children themselves told their friends and wished for them what they were able to participate in themselves. Communities bonded into a cohesive group for the singular aim of seeking access to education for their children who were denied access to regular government schools because they were over-age.
Years of missed schooling meant that students of differing ages were in the same classroom. Here they formed “families”: families that provided support and encouragement, free from punitive discipline, free from embarrassment and shame. All students knew that they were there for the same goal – to achieve the success that was not available to them the first time.
With the onset of wars in the early 1980s and an oppressive regime, the education system in Iraq deteriorated from one of high standard and repute in the Middle East to one of the worst in the region with depleted resources, neglected facilities, stagnant curricula, inefficient management, corruption, political influence, and under-trained teachers. Declining enrolment and attendance rates, particularly for girls (with only a 50% attendance rate in rural areas) resulted in poor literacy levels; 24% of girls and 56% of boys are literate (with a total literacy rate of 40% across the country). The high drop-out rate resulted in youth missing years of schooling. With a population estimated at 26 million and a student population of 6 million in 2003, the out-of-school population was believed to be as high as 1.8 million.
Encyclopedic education practiced in oversized classes, promoting chalk-and-talk styles of teacher-pupil relationships, had debilitated skills such as teacher leadership, student leadership, personality development, critical thinking and knowledge acquisition.
Accelerated learning, an umbrella term for a series of practical, student-centered approaches to learning, was implemented across five locations in Iraq. It has the expectation that, when motivated and appropriately taught, all learners can reach a level of achievement which may currently appear beyond them. A critical, underpinning principle of accelerated learning is to create a supportive learning environment, free from high levels of anxiety and threat. Establishing an atmosphere of safety, trust, friendly cooperation, and appreciation enables students to be receptive to new ideas, and willing to explore and experiment without fear of ridicule.
In Iraq, during the Accelerated Learning Program, students became more involved in their education and made choices towards their own successes. Students chose not to have breaks between classes; outh in Iraq.
With accelerated learning principles in the classroom, students were likely to learn more content and increase their self-esteem, interpersonal communication and teamwork skills. Attendances increased as they overcame their reluctance to ask for help and the tendency for low achievers to avoid participation.
Dramatic transformations of teaching and learning methodologies were impractical to expect in a one-year program in Iraq after decades of a strict, regimented education system. The way forward was through a continuous, evolving process of design, implementation, and reflection that gradually emerged throughout the implementation of accelerated learning and student-centered philosophies, principles and practices. By applying accelerated learning principles to education within countries in conflict and crisis, students can achieve a sense of achievement, enjoyment and shared experiences in a safe, non-threatening environment.
Connecting learning with positive emotions improved the students’ learning process. This was evident in the AL Program by the high attendance rate and the willingness of students to achieve their best results. The re-building of self-esteem, “the heart of learning”, was the most critical factor in the success of the Accelerated Learning Program across post-war Iraq.
Iraq is probably among the countries that needs a lot of attention when it comes to a good education system that will actually aid them to development.
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