CE International Awarded Grant to Expand Inclusive Education Practices in Serbia
On 5 November 2021, Childhood Education International launched a 6-week training course aimed at empowering primary school leaders and school inclusion coordinators in Serbia. The U.S. Department of State grant is funding the professional development exchange program through a public diplomacy grant award.
Thirty education program leaders representing 10 different primary schools throughout Serbia were invited to the professional development program. The content covered in the course will equip the participants with new skills and knowledge, which they can integrate into their school action plans to promote and enhance inclusive education efforts. Furthermore, education diplomacy is one of the main topics of the course, creating more opportunities for the participants to spread the value of inclusive education and inspire collective action.
The award is the second such grant awarded to CE International since completing the transition from an association to an international development organization. Through uniting multiple stakeholders around the urgent topic of inclusion, CE International demonstrates a prime example of collective action for the sake of education.
The professional development course is titled “Supporting an Inclusive Culture in Primary Schools: Empowering School Leaders and Managers.” Participants were identified by the Center for Interactive Pedagogy (CIP), course partners based in Serbia. Sessions, which are conducted over Zoom and translated into Serbian, cover the following topics:
- Creating a Culture of Inclusion in Your School
- Education Diplomacy Skills for School Leaders
- Inclusive Education Practices: Universal Design for Learning and Project-Based Learning
- Changes to Policy and Practice
Upon completion of the training, participants will receive an internationally accredited IACET certificate. The course began on 5 November 2021 and will continue through 13 December. CE International will reconnect with the participants in February and March 2022 for a monitoring impact phase to gauge application and usefulness of the content covered in the course.
