Date: 22-01-2019

NEWS - Kyrgyzstan shares their insights: Education is a Lifelong Process

The Foundation for Education Initiatives Support (FEIS, Kyrgyzstan) works closely with teacher-methodologists from different structures of the educational system in the country. In the past 5 years they've formed a team of like-minded people. They all share the values and principles of ISSA.

FEIS has recently worked on a pilot with kindergartens in Bishkek and helped them create a platform for the professional development of teachers. It was their key objective to promote and improve inclusive quality education in municipality owned kindergartens. It was a project that brought them many of great learnings. Not just on the improvement of existing system, but also on how to combine people, knowledge and passion for early childhood development matters.

As a result of all efforts, at many pedagogical universities and Republican institutes for teachers, the modules on the Step by Step child-centered approach are included in the curriculum. Also, all kindergartens whom are in some way linked to FEIS, are directed via ISSA’s Principles of Quality Pedagogy.


Combined approach

But mostly, it is all a combination of things: advocating the underlying philosophies of early childhood development, ensuring that basic provisions are available, and establishing places of learning. Training those who wish to be trained, from professional, director to parents, and even cooks, on child-centered methodologies. Another important activity was (and is) to have more parental engagement at the childcare centers.

FEIS intensely worked on the creation of a highly committed university on parenting, from where pedagogical practitioners, doctors and other specialists can support parents in their needs to further develop their child. All these wonderful efforts and results find their way into reports and learnings to share and to build on.

After seeing such proficiency and excellent work done, their philosophy won’t be a surprise. It says: The improvement of every individual life and society in general, is only possible through the improvement of education. So there we have it: they view education as a comprehensive and enduring process, which proceeds throughout the whole life and increases people’s horizons.
As a result, they work to overcome threats to children’s potential, such as biases or segregation.


Video Library
Is there nothing left to wish for? Sure there is. They’d like to form a video library for teachers and specialists, to further strengthen their professional development. However, at FEIS, there is not sufficient experience in the creation of methodological videos of that sort. They would welcome the opportunity to learn and exchange such knowledge with other organizations.

As a team they’ve developed an impressive list of methodological materials for teachers, working in early and pre-school education. Some of their resources:
⦁ Methodological manual “Read for children – read together with children”, for librarians, parents and teachers;
⦁ Methodological complex manual “Golden key” for teachers: Working in community based kindergartens;
⦁ Learning module for methodologists, who would support teachers in embracing new approaches in education and development in pre-school, for children not attending a kindergarten;
⦁ Methodological complex manual “Effective instruments in multilingual education” for pre-school practitioners.

The Team
Foundation for Education Initiatives Support consists of a team of passionate professionals. They all fiercely support the values of diversity, equality and inclusion, as all the members of ISSA do, in their networking and personal communication. They wholeheartedly add: ‘We have good hopes for continuous collaboration to increase our professional level and the strength of our interpersonal communication. Let’s work together!’

Finally, we introduce the team:
Irina Nizovskaya, is Program Director РКМЧП (Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking) in Kyrgyzstan and senior lecturer of pre-school pedagogy in the International University of Central Asia. Anara Tentimisheva, is a 'Step by Step' trainer and a specialist of the Republican Institute of Teacher’s Re-qualification. Natalia Maslikova, a specialist of a Republican Institute of Teacher’s Rre-qualification. Aygul Kamalova, Advisor of Minister of Education on Preschool Education. Bermet Asanbaeva, is Director of SOS Kindergarten. Alima Abdivasieva, a director of an educational network ‘Ilim-Osh.’ Toktobubu Orusbaeva, ‘Step by Step’ mentor and a Pre-school Faculty Director at Kyrgyz State University named by Arabaev


You can read this article in Russian HERE.