Supporting the Implementation of Education Reforms in Armenia and Fostering Teachers' Professional Development

This is a follow-up project to support education in Armenia. In the previous project, we identified that one of the main problems in the Armenian education system is the lack of functional literacy and numeracy skills among primary school pupils, which do not meet current standards and expectations. In order to find a solution, we conducted two on-site trainings in Syunik and Lori regions. These trainings were aimed at strengthening the pedagogical skills of teachers in order to improve students' functional literacy skills and to support broader educational innovation in schools. In cooperation with NCEDI (National Centre for Educational Development and Innovation) and COAF (Children's Foundation of Armenia), these target regions were selected. Based on the feedback from NCEDI representatives, it became clear that a similar training programme is also highly needed in the Tavush region. This region is located on the border of Azebaijan, is vulnerable and needs support to improve teachers' professional skills. 

At the beginning of the year, a meeting was held with officials from the Armenian Ministry of Education, who sent a list of expectations for cooperation and where they see that Estonia's practices and experience could be useful. Based on this, Tallinn University has developed a training package for Armenian education officials and school leaders to help them implement educational reforms in their country. The training package includes a number of components, including online training, seminars and a study visit to Estonia. The training package has been agreed and approved by the Armenian Ministry of Education. The training programme is implemented by Tallinn University through a cooperation agreement.