Parent's Club Narrative report
Parent’s Club Narrative report
PARENTS’ CLUB FINAL REPORT Early Childhood Development Center, non-governmental organization based in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia strives to support children in their early development phases through activities for and by parents and community members. Since June 2011 Early Childhood Development Center has been implementing a two year project named “Parents’ Club” supported by the Asia Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood and funded by the Global Leader for Asia-Pacific sponsorship program. The project aims to support parents’ involvement in care and developmental activities of their children of young age. The project short term objectives were:
Establish active clubs for parents with young children at schools and kindergartens Increase of the parents’ knowledge and skills in young children care and developmental issues Develop informational package for parents with young children
The project long term objectives were:
Design and implement a pilot project adapted to Mongolia’s conditions and needs Disseminate the project activities to other districts of Ulaanbaatar and encourage wide information sharing among kindergartens and schools
The project target groups are:
Parents, family members and caregivers of children of age 0-10 Kindergarten and school teachers
Project Description The project phases were: Preparation phase which includes needs assessment survey and development of training modules Training of the participants phase which includes providing trainings on given topics to the project groups Support parents’ involvement at the project kindergartens and schools and public awareness raising activities In the beginning of the project we had several meetings with the project participants including school and kindergarten teachers, social workers and parents from target schools and kindergartens. Then we had information sharing and discussion on certain topics such as: general information on the project (goal, objectives, activities etc) information sharing and discussion on the needs and existing problems at the project sites
1
Parent’s Club Narrative report
planning of the project phases
During these meetings we laid grounds for our further collaborative work within the project and established active involvement of the project sides. The project was implemented at the following sites: 1. School 61, Chingeltei district 2. School 7, Khan-Uul district 3. Kindergarten 115, Bayanzurkh district 4. Kindergarten 52, Bayanzurkh district Main activities and results for the report period were: Initial meetings were held with teachers, parents, social workers, school and kindergarten parents council members at 5 target schools and 15 kindergartens Needs assessment survey was done among the project participants including 258 school teachers, 132 kindergarten teachers, 102 parents and caregivers. We take this survey as the project baseline survey. Main training topics were identified as follows 1. Parents and/or families are the child’s first teachers 2. Early reading matters to child development (or books for children) 3. How to support your young children’s development 4. Mongolian traditions in child raising 5. Recommendations to Parents’ Council at school or kindergarten 6. Positive methods for discipline - for teachers 7. Positive methods for discipline – for parents
The project school and kindergarten teachers took part in trainings on early childhood care and development issues. 350 parents took part in initial trainings on the above topics and the trainees got good chance to increase their knowledge and skills in children protection and development issues. Also we encouraged the parents to be active participants in school and kindergarten daily activities. Within the project we widely encouraged information and experience sharing among the teachers and parents and we established an information corner for them at our center and two other schools. With our support there were established Parents’ Council at one school and five kindergartens. Eventually we had to change the project name “Parents’ Club” into “Parents’ Council” and now this group is well recognized at project schools and kindergartens due to its active involvement in their daily life. Members of the Kindergarten Parents’ Councils along with our project staff members defined internal structure of Parent Council and developed its overall goal and objectives and its activity frames. Picture. Parents discussion
2
Parent’s Club Narrative report
Also our center had a support from the Save the Children Japan to develop and print a handbook for parents and caregivers named “Kindergarten and Parent Collaboration in the Sake of Child Development”. Under this support we also developed a training module targeted teachers and parents in which we try to show how collaborative approach benefits our children in their early development. Parents and/or families are the child’s first teachers and many things children learn at home without the influence and/or benefit of formal instruction or schooling. It is critical that teacher and care givers form strong connections with families. Under this small grant from Save the Children, Japan we already approached another 205 parents of young children at 16 kindergartens in Ulaanbaatar and the kindergartens continue to contact our center for further consultation in early childhood development issues. Picture. Parents training
Activities that target the project long term results:
Our centre had a good chance to bring together two initiatives in the same field thus improves the project results and provides more opportunities for the participants learning. Since March 2012 our center has been collaborating with Save the Children Japan, to improve parent and community involvement in school life and we see parents as valuable resources. The main activities include: Support to Parent Councils and activities focusing on parents education and their active involvement in school life Development of training module covering two main units with 10 sub-units. This training module is 48 hour of classroom learning and we offer this credit bearing training to kindergarten teachers, parents and caregivers. The training participants were satisfied with the module content and training itself. For the past period we worked with parents and caregivers from 16 kindergartens in Ulaanbaatar and for the next round we are planning to include another 22 kindergartens in the project.
Obstacles we faced during the project implementation and lessons learnt:
Since the project funding was limited we experienced some difficulties in reaching all the parents and teachers at the target sites. In some cases to had to have fewer representatives from the schools and kindergartens who were obliged to influence other parents and teachers after the trainings. Another problem we are still facing is low involvement of parents in school and kindergarten life and we feel more work is needed in this field.
3
Parent’s Club Narrative report
Since the project planned budget was limited we had to seek for other funding sources and our center now had good connections with Save the Children, Japan to disseminate good practices of the project to other schools and kindergartens
The project outcomes:
380 parents significantly increased their knowledge and skills in young children protection, care and development area and positive methods of discipline 205 parents were empowered to run kindergarten parent councils and support parent involvement in kindergarten life. In total 585 parents were educated in young children protection, care and development issues. Parent Council is established at one school and 5 kindergartens and these councils are strong enough to plan and run further activities Picture. Kids with parents More than 2000 parents were approached with different trainings, parent involvement activities for the report period. We can say parent involvement at schools and kindergartens is much increased 40 caregivers from four kindergartens and 25 teachers from two primary schools increased their knowledge and skills in positive methods of discipline and gained strong experience in parent and school collaboration A handbook and training module “Kindergarten and Parent Collaboration in the Sake of Child Development” were developed and disseminated to teachers and parents. This handbook is seen as a good source of information on ways to improve and maintain parent and kindergarten cooperation to achieve better results in children learning This training module recently was recognized by the Ministry of Education as a credit bearing training module for teachers and we are happy to share the project resource and experience with colleagues We trained 20 teacher trainers on this module and they are seen as main human resources to disseminate the project ideas to others 4 staff members of our center were empowered to offer their knowledge and experience to colleagues in parent involvement in school life
Problems to address in the coming months:
We still have to pay more close attention to establish strong parent involvement at schools and kindergartens We plan to reflect on the project valuable ideas and principles to improve our further work in the field We have to evaluate the project training content in order to improve the training content and methods We plan to support more Parent Councils in 2012-2013 academic year
4
Parent’s Club Narrative report
We want to reach more school teachers and caregivers with trainings and recommendations in parent involvement thus increases parent involvement at more numbers of kindergartens
Financial Performance All the budgeted amounts for the project activities were spent accordingly and we had also some financial support from the Save the Children Japan to expand the project activities. In producing good results Early Childhood Development Center contributed its expertise and human resources and its facilities.
June 26, 2012 Early Childhood Development Center, Mongolia
5
PARENTS’ CLUB FINAL REPORT Early Childhood Development Center, non-governmental organization based in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia strives to support children in their early development phases through activities for and by parents and community members. Since June 2011 Early Childhood Development Center has been implementing a two year project named “Parents’ Club” supported by the Asia Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood and funded by the Global Leader for Asia-Pacific sponsorship program. The project aims to support parents’ involvement in care and developmental activities of their children of young age. The project short term objectives were:
Establish active clubs for parents with young children at schools and kindergartens Increase of the parents’ knowledge and skills in young children care and developmental issues Develop informational package for parents with young children
The project long term objectives were:
Design and implement a pilot project adapted to Mongolia’s conditions and needs Disseminate the project activities to other districts of Ulaanbaatar and encourage wide information sharing among kindergartens and schools
The project target groups are:
Parents, family members and caregivers of children of age 0-10 Kindergarten and school teachers
Project Description The project phases were: Preparation phase which includes needs assessment survey and development of training modules Training of the participants phase which includes providing trainings on given topics to the project groups Support parents’ involvement at the project kindergartens and schools and public awareness raising activities In the beginning of the project we had several meetings with the project participants including school and kindergarten teachers, social workers and parents from target schools and kindergartens. Then we had information sharing and discussion on certain topics such as: general information on the project (goal, objectives, activities etc) information sharing and discussion on the needs and existing problems at the project sites
1
Parent’s Club Narrative report
planning of the project phases
During these meetings we laid grounds for our further collaborative work within the project and established active involvement of the project sides. The project was implemented at the following sites: 1. School 61, Chingeltei district 2. School 7, Khan-Uul district 3. Kindergarten 115, Bayanzurkh district 4. Kindergarten 52, Bayanzurkh district Main activities and results for the report period were: Initial meetings were held with teachers, parents, social workers, school and kindergarten parents council members at 5 target schools and 15 kindergartens Needs assessment survey was done among the project participants including 258 school teachers, 132 kindergarten teachers, 102 parents and caregivers. We take this survey as the project baseline survey. Main training topics were identified as follows 1. Parents and/or families are the child’s first teachers 2. Early reading matters to child development (or books for children) 3. How to support your young children’s development 4. Mongolian traditions in child raising 5. Recommendations to Parents’ Council at school or kindergarten 6. Positive methods for discipline - for teachers 7. Positive methods for discipline – for parents
The project school and kindergarten teachers took part in trainings on early childhood care and development issues. 350 parents took part in initial trainings on the above topics and the trainees got good chance to increase their knowledge and skills in children protection and development issues. Also we encouraged the parents to be active participants in school and kindergarten daily activities. Within the project we widely encouraged information and experience sharing among the teachers and parents and we established an information corner for them at our center and two other schools. With our support there were established Parents’ Council at one school and five kindergartens. Eventually we had to change the project name “Parents’ Club” into “Parents’ Council” and now this group is well recognized at project schools and kindergartens due to its active involvement in their daily life. Members of the Kindergarten Parents’ Councils along with our project staff members defined internal structure of Parent Council and developed its overall goal and objectives and its activity frames. Picture. Parents discussion
2
Parent’s Club Narrative report
Also our center had a support from the Save the Children Japan to develop and print a handbook for parents and caregivers named “Kindergarten and Parent Collaboration in the Sake of Child Development”. Under this support we also developed a training module targeted teachers and parents in which we try to show how collaborative approach benefits our children in their early development. Parents and/or families are the child’s first teachers and many things children learn at home without the influence and/or benefit of formal instruction or schooling. It is critical that teacher and care givers form strong connections with families. Under this small grant from Save the Children, Japan we already approached another 205 parents of young children at 16 kindergartens in Ulaanbaatar and the kindergartens continue to contact our center for further consultation in early childhood development issues. Picture. Parents training
Activities that target the project long term results:
Our centre had a good chance to bring together two initiatives in the same field thus improves the project results and provides more opportunities for the participants learning. Since March 2012 our center has been collaborating with Save the Children Japan, to improve parent and community involvement in school life and we see parents as valuable resources. The main activities include: Support to Parent Councils and activities focusing on parents education and their active involvement in school life Development of training module covering two main units with 10 sub-units. This training module is 48 hour of classroom learning and we offer this credit bearing training to kindergarten teachers, parents and caregivers. The training participants were satisfied with the module content and training itself. For the past period we worked with parents and caregivers from 16 kindergartens in Ulaanbaatar and for the next round we are planning to include another 22 kindergartens in the project.
Obstacles we faced during the project implementation and lessons learnt:
Since the project funding was limited we experienced some difficulties in reaching all the parents and teachers at the target sites. In some cases to had to have fewer representatives from the schools and kindergartens who were obliged to influence other parents and teachers after the trainings. Another problem we are still facing is low involvement of parents in school and kindergarten life and we feel more work is needed in this field.
3
Parent’s Club Narrative report
Since the project planned budget was limited we had to seek for other funding sources and our center now had good connections with Save the Children, Japan to disseminate good practices of the project to other schools and kindergartens
The project outcomes:
380 parents significantly increased their knowledge and skills in young children protection, care and development area and positive methods of discipline 205 parents were empowered to run kindergarten parent councils and support parent involvement in kindergarten life. In total 585 parents were educated in young children protection, care and development issues. Parent Council is established at one school and 5 kindergartens and these councils are strong enough to plan and run further activities Picture. Kids with parents More than 2000 parents were approached with different trainings, parent involvement activities for the report period. We can say parent involvement at schools and kindergartens is much increased 40 caregivers from four kindergartens and 25 teachers from two primary schools increased their knowledge and skills in positive methods of discipline and gained strong experience in parent and school collaboration A handbook and training module “Kindergarten and Parent Collaboration in the Sake of Child Development” were developed and disseminated to teachers and parents. This handbook is seen as a good source of information on ways to improve and maintain parent and kindergarten cooperation to achieve better results in children learning This training module recently was recognized by the Ministry of Education as a credit bearing training module for teachers and we are happy to share the project resource and experience with colleagues We trained 20 teacher trainers on this module and they are seen as main human resources to disseminate the project ideas to others 4 staff members of our center were empowered to offer their knowledge and experience to colleagues in parent involvement in school life
Problems to address in the coming months:
We still have to pay more close attention to establish strong parent involvement at schools and kindergartens We plan to reflect on the project valuable ideas and principles to improve our further work in the field We have to evaluate the project training content in order to improve the training content and methods We plan to support more Parent Councils in 2012-2013 academic year
4
Parent’s Club Narrative report
We want to reach more school teachers and caregivers with trainings and recommendations in parent involvement thus increases parent involvement at more numbers of kindergartens
Financial Performance All the budgeted amounts for the project activities were spent accordingly and we had also some financial support from the Save the Children Japan to expand the project activities. In producing good results Early Childhood Development Center contributed its expertise and human resources and its facilities.
June 26, 2012 Early Childhood Development Center, Mongolia
5
