Working adults will have free career education courses
School administrators are adjusting to diversifying school environments
LAK-instruction training will start in March for training providers
Sunday school teachers of ethnic culture societies acquired new knowledge
Working adults will have free career education courses
The Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA) is organising working adults with limited Estonian language proficiency free career education courses, the goal of which are to increase the competitiveness and ability of the participants to cope in everyday life and in the labour market.
The courses will take place in Tallinn, Jõhvi, Kohtla-Järve, Sillamäe and Narva. The courses are comprised of 24 academic hours of auditory study and 10 hours of independent study. The courses include group work and discussions as well as role-playing; practical assignments are solved and reciprocal feedback is provided; talks and study trips are organised and an individual approach towards the participants is employed. The working languages of the courses are Estonian and Russian.
“Mostly people seek out a career counsellor or attend a course after they have lost their job, although one should constantly deal with developing one’s competitiveness. Career education is not only intended for young people or the unemployed. It is also important for working people, in order to make them aware of workers’ rights, the expectations of employers, how best to apply their strengths, etc.,” explained Eduard Odinets, Head of the MISA Lifelong Education Unit.
“These new courses are intended for those working adults who have no higher education and have limited proficiency in Estonian because, as we know, this target group is less competitive than workers who have a higher level of education and proficiency in Estonian,” added Odinets.
The target group for the career education courses is working adults who are at least 27 years old and have a lower level of education, who have limited Estonian language proficiency and who wish to increase their competitiveness in the labour market.
The courses will help the participants to develop skills in the management of personal development, to improve their study and work motivation, to increase their awareness of developments in the labour market and trends in the employment market as well as the employers’ expectations for employees. In addition, the participants will also find out about the possibilities offered by career services and supports systems as well as increase their competitiveness and ability to cope.
The courses will deal with the participants individually and help them with self-analysis and self-regulation and the development of communications and cooperation skills.
The free courses will take place in Estonian and Russian, as required. Upon completion of the course, the participants will be given a certificate by MISA attesting to the completion of the course.
For the schedule and more information, see www.meis.ee/karjaarioppekursused and www.meis.ee/kursused-rus!
The courses will take place within the framework of the “Career study courses for working adults with insufficient Estonian language skills” project of the “The development of learner-based and innovative vocational education and expanding the opportunities for lifelong education” measure of the priority with the title Implementation Plan for the Development of Human Resources financed by the European Social Fund.
For additional information, please contact: Riina Ring, Coordinator in the Lifelong Education Unit, phone 659 9030, e-mail riina.ring@meis.ee
School administrators are adjusting to diversifying school environments
January saw the start of a training project entitled “Inter-school cooperation and multiculturalism in school” targeting school administrators from Estonian and Russian language schools, which is the result of a procurement carried out by the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA).
The main objective of the training for school administrators is to support better information exchange and cooperation between schools with the same and different languages of instruction, and to provide knowledge on how to better cope with the cultural diversification of the student body.
“The topics covered by the training include the need and inevitability of change in school; the themes of school culture, values and school development; partnerships between school administrators and schools, and the cooperation opportunities for the optimisation of resources,” commented Ave Härsing, MISA Coordinator of the Language Immersion Unit.
“In addition, the focus will be on the planning and evaluation of developmental management; cultural diversification within the context of the new curriculum will also be dealt with; as will the development of multicultural identities, values, attitudes, cultural awareness and tolerance in schools and the school curriculum,” Härsing added.
Fifteen school administrators from Estonian-language schools and fifteen from Russian-language schools will also participate in lectures and discussions as well as practical seminars and school visits. They will also acquire knowledge about the language strategy in schools and the opportunities for subject and language study.
The in-service training for school administrators is being financed by the Ministry of Education and Research within the framework of the Estonian Integration Plan for 2008-2013, and the training will be carried out by Implement Inscape. The training will continue until June.
For more information, please contact: Ave Härsing, Coordinator in the Language Immersion Unit, 659 9037, e-mail: ave.harsing@meis.ee
LAK-instruction training will start in March for training providers
At the initiative of the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA), a basic training course for training providers for integrated subject and language instruction (LAK-instruction) will start in March.
The training will start in 2012 and end in 2013, and it includes 120 hours of in-service training (in 2-day modules) and a 16-hour study seminar. The goal of the training is to increase the number of LAK-instruction training providers and provide better support to the teachers of various subjects in general education schools, in order to allow students the opportunity to develop their target language skills in their subject classes.
As a result of the training, the participants will acquire knowledge about LAK-instruction methods and the preparation of training materials; basic knowledge about the training of adults and practical knowledge about the technical organisation of training courses.
“The course will be conducted utilising the methods and principles of LAK-instruction. Since the methods and principles of LAK-instruction are well-coordinated with the provisions of the new basic school and upper secondary school curriculum, the training course will help to delve into the opportunities and challenges provided by the new curriculum” commented Maarja Mänd, Coordinator in the MISA Language Immersion Unit.
“We welcome all of those who feel a need to share their teaching experiences with colleagues; wish to help with the transition to Estonian-language subject teaching and with the opportunities to popularise the implementation of LAK-instruction in Estonia by improving their professional competence in the management of various processes related to learning,” Mänd added.
Applicants must compete for the right to participate in the training group. The training working language is Estonian!
The applicants must fulfil the following requirements:
• higher education;
• at least one year’s experience as a teacher or training provider;
• the wish and readiness to start training other teachers;
• a positive attitude towards the implementation of integrated subject and language instruction;
• an interest (and preferably also experience) in the implementation of methods to activate students.
Applicants must notify Marita Tanil, Coordinator in the Development Centre for Schools with Distinction Foundation by 12 February by e-mail at tartu@ami.ee or by phone at 742 8777, where more information is also available about the content of the training course and the application requirements.
The training is being organised and conducted by the Development Centre for Schools with Distinction Foundation of the Institute for the Open Mind (AMI). The activity is being financed by the Ministry of Education and Research within the framework of the Estonian Integration Plan for 2008-2013.
Additional information: Maarja Mänd, Coordinator in the Language Immersion Unit, phone 659 9853, e-mail maarja.mand@meis.ee
Sunday school teachers of ethnic culture societies acquired new knowledge
The training of the Sunday school teachers of ethnic culture societies, which was ordered by the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA) and focuses on the creation of a secure teaching and learning environment for developing creativity, ended in January.
Twenty-seven Sunday school teachers participated in the training that learned about teaching methods, the psychological principles for teaching and learning and the implementation of strengths and weaknesses in studies.
“The Sunday school teachers of ethnic culture societies have been attending training courses since 2004, and although we have trained many teachers during this period, there is a great need to continue because new Sunday schools and teachers have been added in the meanwhile. In addition to increasing competence, these training courses are important from the perspective of sharing experiences, because Sunday school teachers include people who do not have any teacher training,” comments Kristina Pirgop, Coordinator in the Language Immersion Unit.
There are almost 40 Sunday schools registered in Estonia, which teach children of various ethnic backgrounds the culture, language and customs of their country of origin and how to introduce their culture to the residents of Estonia.
The training was conducted by Õie Vahar and Helgi Org, and the training was financed by the Ministry of Education and Research within the framework of the Estonian Integration Plan for 2008-2013.
More information: Kristina Pirgop, Coordinator in the Language Immersion Unit, phone 659 9024, e-mail kristina.pirgop@meis.ee
