CCIIR is conducting Intercultural Education Research in Primary Schools of Georgia.

The research is being conducted with the financial support of USAID in the framework of The East West Management Institute (EWMI)’s program Policy, Advocacy, and Civil Society Development in Georgia (G-PAC).

The overall objective of the project is to ensure equal educational opportunities for all students of Georgia and facilitation of preparation of tolerant and inter-culturally sensitive citizens through education and public policy research, discussions and analysis of National Curriculum, textbooks reform and teachers’ preparedness for mainstreaming of multicultural approaches in instruction process at public schools of Georgia.

Research primary “population”: teachers of primary grade of 2,085 schools of Georgia. Teachers of primary grade, (native, second and foreign Languages 1-VI) and social and natural sciences (history, V-VI grades).

The methodologies to be employed in this evaluation include three approaches represented in qualitative, quantitative and statistical research methods:

Textbook, curricular and subject standard analysis: Along with curricular and specific subject standards, 17 textbooks (3 books of Georgian language and literature, 3 books of Painting and applying art, 3 books of Music, 2 books of history, 6 books of GLS) will be reviewed and analyzed.

Face-To-Face Stakeholder Interviews: Interviews with 70 school teachers of primary grade school will be surveyed through standardized questionnaire evaluating textbooks used in primary school and assessing the capacity for implementation of the policy change introduces in the recent years (new curricular and subject standards, multicultural approach and relevant teaching methods, equity in education); 4 interviews with Key education officials - heads of National Curriculum and General Education Development department, National Center for Education Quality Enhancement, National Centre for Teachers’ Professional Development and National Examinations and Assessment Centre will be held.

Focus Group Discussions: 6 Group discussions with students and parents of primary school 3 FGD each (Batumi (West Georgia), in Telavi (East Georgia) and in Akhalkalaki (South East Georgia), and experts of national curriculum and general education development department, and publishing houses/authors of the textbooks;

Questionnaires: The investigation will employ the questionnaire for the School teachers of primary grade. To minimize language issues, these questionnaires are being prepared in Georgian and Russian for non-Georgian speakers.

Project has direct and indirect beneficiaries:

The project beneficiaries of the project are:

1. Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia and respective national centers by the ministry – will be provided with the policy papers and legislative recommendations for enhancing the education policy;
2. 2 085 schools throughout Georgia who will be able to ensure equal education opportunity through mainstreaming multiculturalism in studying process;
3. App. 350 000 students of primary school including more than 35 000 representatives of ethnic minorities and their parents who have good insight into the multiculturalism and tolerance;
4. App. 25 000 teachers of primary grade including about 3 000 teachers of minority schools who are well equipped with a professional skills to integrate multicultural, unbiased approach in school environment and support to growing of responsive, culturally informed and tolerant citizens;

Indirect beneficiaries of the project are:

1. students of higher education institutions, who will be engaged in all stages of research and thus will be able to deepen professional and research skills from the university period;
2. Scholars and individual researchers, NGO and think tanks, specialists of education policy and political parties – who will be actively engaged in discussion of the ongoing education policy with emphasis on equity and elaboration of the recommendations and policy;
3. Diverse groups of Georgian population generally regardless of ethnicity, belief, sex, linguistic particularities and social status;

After analyzing research results CCIIR will develop and publish recommendation package for improvement of textbook approval criteria, national curriculum and school textbooks on primary grade;