The Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO – Education Department) concluded, on April 1, 2021, a high-level virtual workshop on “The Integration and Development of Basic Life Skills in Educational Curricula and Practices in the Arab Countries”.
The three-day workshop was attended by 30 specialists in the design of curricula and teaching aids, along with education officials from Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Tunisia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Comoros, Libya, Mauritania and Yemen.
The aims of the workshop were to :
- Enhance the trainees’ knowledge and skills regarding the new professional roles of teachers;
- Introduce the concepts of life skills, particularly in relation to education; and the integration of life skills and citizenship education into educational curricula and practices;
- Enhance trainees’ knowledge in education for life skills, education for health, and education for the environment;
- Sensitize trainees to the importance of adopting modern educational practices for improving professional performance and upgrading the level of learners in line with international standards.
Participants addressed a number of themes, including in particular :
- The results of Arab States’ participation in international assessments;
- Ways of embodying the targets of Goal 4 in educational curricula;
- Learning theories related to life skills development;
- General principles of curriculum design;
- The incorporation of life skills into educational curricula;
- Assessment of life skills-based education.
Participants presented a number of proposals and recommendations, including:
- Enhancing cooperation, consultation and coordination with ALECSO to organize forums and workshops to develop the capabilities of curriculum designers, as well as teacher-training programs in life skills education and assessment;
- Calling on ALECSO to hold Arab assessments that give a prominent place to the assessment of life and work skills.
وانتهوا إلى تقديم عدد من المقترحات والتوصيات منها:
تعزيز التعاون والتشاور والتنسيق مع الألكسو لتنظيم ملتقيات وورشات عمل لتطوير قدرات مصمّمي المناهج التعليمية وبرامج تدريب المعلّمين في مجال تعليم المهارات الحياتية وتقييمها .
دعوة المنظّمة إلى عقد تقييمات عربية، على غرار التقييمات الدولية، تعطي مكانة لتقييم مهارات الحياة والعمل.
