Eu member states

Child-Friendly Schools
Organisations involved in the project/programme/measure/policy (as the case):

Initiating group/ Implementing organisation	Centre for Educational Initiatives Step-by-Step Address: Kralja Tvrtka 1, 71000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Phone/fax: [phone] Email: [e-mail] Webpage: http://www.coi-stepbystep.ba/ Contact person: Ms Radmila Rangelov-Jusović, Executive Director
Profile of Partners	All ministries of education in BiH and 380 primary schools within their scope of work

Information about the project/programme/measure/policy (as the case):

1. Title:	Child-Friendly Schools
2. Rationale:	The education system in BiH is often criticised for its complexity, and its teacher-centred schools. The quality of education offered is considered low, and there are concerns regarding the quality of undergraduate education given to future teachers; there is also no continued education for teachers. Many schools are monoethnic; there are also schools were children of different ethnic groups attend classes in a segregated manner. The consequences of the current state in BiH education are very far reaching: the lack of progress in the education reform is considered by the OSCE to be a potential threat to security in the country. Children from ethnic groups are particularly at risk of receiving inadequate education, which will later prevent their proper social inclusion. Interventions aiming at enhancing the quality of the education system are most necessary, especially those with a wide range of effects, as in the case with this project, and covering wide territorial areas. According to the CEI Executive Director, they realised that, if they aimed at system change, they needed to work directly with and within the education system, including raising awareness of discrimination and the students who are different from others in any way. The project also commenced in parallel with the education reform in BiH and greatly contributed to its progress.
3. Objective(s):	Introducing and implementing quality child-centred education and child-friendly environments in which the child feels safe and where the child is given multiple possibilities to develop his/her full potential in all primary schools in BiH from kindergarten to 4^th grade and upper classes in later phases. Creating conditions for sustainable systemic change and ongoing professional development in primary education.
4. Target ethnic group(s):	This project did not aim at any particular ethnic group per se – it aimed at children from all ethnic groups, and the overall social inclusion, to ensure that everyone – including ethnic minorities – is at school and receiving adequate inclusive education. In the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina it is important to note that this is (1) a post-conflict environment, where good interethnic relations among all groups are of utmost importance, and (2) that in addition to children from the officially recognised ethnic groups, children from the majority populations – "constitutional peoples", i.e. Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs – depending on their location – can also locally constitute an ethnic group and be unfairly treated as such. This project was implemented in most BiH primary schools to a different extent (380). The project served approximately 32,500 children in grades one to four or five of primary school (depending on whether the length of primary education was eight or nine years in the particular case), and involved over 2000 teachers and over 400 other educators.
5. Involvement of ethnic group in:
Scoping	Representatives of all ethnic groups were involved.
Implementation	Representatives of all ethnic groups were involved.
Assessment	Teachers undergoing training took part in the evaluation processes at the end of each training cycle. Parents, including ethnic parents, were involved in the external evaluation conducted in 2004.
6. Main activities:	Fourteen training centres were established to spread and multiply the project activities in the Federation BiH, Republika Srpska and the Brčko District, notably covering all areas of BiH, and surpassing the systematic fragmentation of the BiH education system. It should be noted that the project territorially expanded in phases. 400 classrooms were furnished and equipped with appropriate educational materials and literature. Numerous trainings of different type and different level were organized for 1500 educators, in an environment particularly lacking in teacher training outside university education. Teacher certification was initiated and implemented within the project, with the aim of supporting the education reform and the reform of teacher training. Mentoring initiatives were widely launched. Most importantly, tens of thousands of children around the country benefited from innovative and inclusive education they received. Teaching about other cultures also featured in the innovations.
7. Duration of the project:	2001 – 2004
8. Main results:	Most projects deal with the inclusion of children into the education system. This project, however, aimed at changing schools and exerting influence that they adopt to the needs of children, and this was one of its main assets. It fully supported the ongoing education reform, the basis of which includes antidiscrimination and inclusion. Child-centred education promoted good interethnic relations on all levels. Students in child-centred classrooms proved to demonstrate respect for difference, and in general children's speech was free from bias. Children were also more tolerant and respected each other despite difference. The project also facilitated social inclusion of ethnic children – they were empowered and self-confident, and they addressed teachers when needing help in numerous examples. Teachers emphasized that students helped each other and respected each other's opinion regardless of their ethnicity or religious background. According to the project evaluation, a parent noted that "children celebrated all religious holidays and spoke with respect about all religions" – this is no small achievement in a post-war country. Similarly, children themselves stated that "all children in the class were their friends, regardless of race, skin colour or religion."
9. Total budget and sources of funding:	1.3 million USD (915,000 EUR). Co-funded by UNICEF and the Open Society Fund Bosnia and Herzegovina.
10. Assessment of effectiveness:	The project underwent an extensive evaluation process, and the external evaluation of the project, published in 2005, is available online at: http://www.coi-stepbystep.ba/eng/zavrseniprojekti.html.
11. Sustainability:	This project directly influenced the educational reform in BiH and created a new platform for the development of education, including the introduction of a new child-centred methodology. A local network of sixty teacher trainers was created, who are both qualified and interested in working on the local level. In the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton their position has been systematized, and they have the status of mentors. Additionally, 42 education officials were involved in the reform, and they could tentatively support this kind of work in future. The evaluation of the project notes the consistent call across respondent groups to expand the project beyond the primary level and also to a wider number of schools. Parents also strongly advocated for this approach emphasizing that this is "about a new generation of children who represent an open and inclusive society". These were the indications of a strong interest for the project to be continued in the future.
12. Difficulties and reasons of insuccess (if any):	According to UNICEF staff, it is a great disappointment that the trainers from this project have not been legally integrated in the educational system and recognised as such by the education ministries. The fees for these trainers are not paid by the ministries. This hampers future activities once donors withdraw. (One exception was described above.) In order not to repeat this, stronger commitments can be requested from the institutions involved upon the completion of the project, or during the project.
13. Transferability:	The practices of this project could be applicable in other situations where changes are needed on a wider scale. Active peer learning is a sound possibility; in the BiH context, the main focus of training centres was precisely to expand the network among the peer group, in this case teachers. There is a potential for vertical transferability, as proved in the case of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton described earlier, which is an example of the project's mainstreaming. There is also a potential for horizontal transferability, which was actually proved within the project itself, in its phased expansion and encompassing more schools in different systematic, geographic and ethnic settings with each coming academic year. This practice can also be focused on different issues, such as social inclusion, antidiscrimination, etc. This good practice is worth consideration because it changes the point of view of approach: it addresses the schools and attempts at change within the school system, compared to the possibility of addressing the students, though both approaches are necessary: efforts to include ethnic children in schools where they would not benefit from education would not be fully successful. It also shows the importance of working with state institutions, as this is the surest way of influencing systematic change. With regards to the operationalisation of the transfer of good practices: by the end of 2007 or in early 2008 the examples of good practice from this project will be published. They will be written by the teachers who participated in the project. The project itself included organizing conferences and seminars on the topic of education reform.

Action Plan on the Education Needs of Roma and Members of Other National Minorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Organisations involved in the project/programme/measure/policy (as the case):

Initiating group/ Implementing organisation	Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Address: Fra Anđela Zvizdovića 1, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Email: [e-mail] Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Contact person: Mr Claude Kieffer, Director of Education
Profile of Partners	Task Force on the Educational Needs of Roma and Other National Minorities All entity and cantonal ministries of education in BiH