About Us
General information about the Learning Together Project
Finland’s Support to the Ukrainian School Reform (Learning Together) is a four-year collaborative project that started between Ukraine and Finland in July 2018 and was joined by the EU in late 2018. The project is funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (6 million euros) and the EU (2 million euros).
The expected long-term impact of the Learning Together project is to enhance the quality of education in Ukraine and the perceptions the Ukrainian citizens have of their education system. The key institution supported by the Project is the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. The added EU support is specifically aimed at enhancing the instruction in Ukrainian as the second language among the national minorities, in line with the Roadmap for Implementation of Article 7 “Language of Education” of the Law of Ukraine “On Education”. The project has national coverage, although the support for enhancing the instruction in Ukrainian focuses on Chernivtsi and Zakarpattia regions.
The project focuses on supporting the New Ukrainian School (NUS) reform, especially in the primary education, and is designed around three main clusters and cross-cutting elements, and the Language Component:
- Teacher preparation, which supports teacher preparation for the implementation of a competency-based curriculum and the development of alternative professional development systems, including online courses, mentoring and certification;
- Education promotion, which supports awareness raising about the education reform and forming a positive attitude towards education and teachers;
- Educational environment, which supports the development and use of electronic platforms for professionals and students in the education sector, as well as the development of standards for school principals and the production of educational materials;
- Language Component – EU support under this component is fully integrated into three clusters. This support is based on enhancing the instruction in Ukrainian as the second language among national minorities, including teacher training, promotion of bilingualism and multilingualism, and development of teaching materials. In addition, inclusive education for all is supported as a primary cross-cutting element of all three clusters.
The project is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland and the EU and implemented by FCG International in cooperation with the University of Helsinki.