Consultant on Intensive Accelerated Curriculum

OVERVIEW

Parent Sector : Field Office

Duty Station: Beirut

 

Classification of duty station: [[filter12]]

Standard Duration of Assignement : [[filter13]]

Job Family: Education

Type of contract : Non Staff

Duration of contract : From 1 to 6 months

Recruitment open to : External candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 23-MAY-2022

 

UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism

 

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

After a steady decrease of out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and secondary school age in the Arab States from 16,735,519 in 2015 to 15,632,474 in 2019, the number increased to 16,049,840 in 2020.  This is due to the unprecedented worldwide COVID-19-related school closures that affected approximately 110 million children and youth in the region. On top, the exacerbating conflicts and socio-economic crises in many Arab countries, such as Sudan, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Palestine, have led to a growing pile of challenges and obstacles (weak infrastructure, unavailability of devices, connectivity, lack of teacher training on digital skills and use of technologies, etc.) that prevented education systems and teachers from delivering quality education that meets emerging needs. The pandemic has accelerated the shift of teaching and learning towards digital solutions, forcing countries to switch to online, distance and blended education without prior planning and preparation, and rendering traditional teaching and learning methods obsolete. Teachers found themselves in a difficult situation, having to adapt their teaching methods, learning materials, contents, and assessments to fit distance/blended learning modalities with little to no help and guidance. Many education policy- and decision-makers were also forced to make swift decisions to adjust and adapt their policies and strategies for responding to the rapidly changing education and health-related developments.

Funded by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (herein after referred to as “KSRelief”) and implemented by the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States (herein after referred to as “UNESCO Beirut”), Education is Peace is a regional project launched in 2019 for an initial period of 1 year (2019-2020) before being renewed for an additional year (2020-2021). 

The project aims to develop regional resources and build the capacities of teacher trainers, teachers, educators, education practitioners and policy- and decision-makers to ensure quality education for all with a special focus on supporting Arab countries in crises through Education in Emergencies (EiE), and through promoting peace, tolerance, and social cohesion in the region. 

 The project encompasses 3 main objectives: 
•    Extend the benefit from developed resources;
•    Sharing knowledge with target groups and beneficiaries; and 
•    Promoting networking with other regional and global networks.
 

SCOPE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The purpose of this assignment is to develop a reference guide on intensive curricula that includes best practices and good case examples to be used by educators in the education sector.

The material to be developed will be built on existing material developed and/or available at UNESCO and/or other agencies to make sure it is complementary to existing ones used around the world.

The reference guide will specifically focus on the Middle East and North African, countries in crises such as Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, Yemen, Tunisia and others. It will also address a wider audience in the Arab world.

In this context, UNESCO Beirut Office calls for an individual consultant to deliver the above material indicated.
 

PROPOSED CONTENT FOR MATERIAL

Intensive mode teaching involves classes on fewer days and for longer on each day than is traditional done. The mode is used increasingly due to multiple crises faced by communities.  For example, a unit of study that might normally be taught through several hour-long classes every week, can be taught in intensive mode with one full-day class for half of the semester, or four full weekends of classes during the semester. There are many other models of intensive mode exist such as summer catchup programs of 4 weeks. Extra 1 hour of teaching 3times a week, weekend-intensive classes, etc.  

With today’s technology, teachers and students can access learning materials and engage in asynchronous learning activities outside class, particularly for older students. This has improved the convenience of and opportunities for intensive mode teaching. 

Intensive mode teaching and learning is not always a choice. In countries faced by crises or multiple crises intensive mode teaching is a necessity to ensure ongoing learning process that would guarantee students across all grade level minimum requirement to finish their grade level.

There are limited resources out there to support teachers and educators with intensive mode teaching. Such resource can help prepare teachers to support students to learn when classes are on fewer days and for longer on each day than the model to which students and teachers are accustomed. Illustrative themes include the following:

•    Learning thresholds
•    Support and value student diversity
•    Design an optimal learning space and environment
•    Design appropriate activities / alternative teaching methodologies 
•    Support development of a learning community
•    Design appropriate assessment
•    Optimise learning
•    Consider important resources
 

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES & TIMELINE & INSTALLMENTS

The deliverable timeline is divided as such:
a.    Inception Report for the Assignment (June 30)
b.    Semi-Final Draft (July 30)
c.    Final Draft (August 30)
d.    Formatted and Edited Final Draft (September 30)

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial) Accountability (C) Communication (C) Innovation (C) Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement (C) Planning and organizing (C) Results focus (C) Teamwork (C) Professionalism (C) - For detailed information, please consult the UNESCO Competency Framework. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

•    Advanced university agree (Master’s or equivalent) in education, learning recovery, accelerating learning practices, psychology, pedagogy, and or related social sciences.
•    A minimum of seven years of relevant professional experience; particularly working on education topics such as curriculum development, student diversity, optimal learning space and environment, alternative teaching methodologies, learning communities, and other.
•    Experience teaching and/or working with children and youth in crises situations in the Arab world. 
•    Working experiences and good knowledge of education and development issues in the Arab region.
•    Demonstrated ability to work effectively and independently within a complex and multicultural environment.
•    Capacity to deliver high quality results within specified timelines.
•    Excellent research, analytical and writing skills in Arabic and English;
•    Availability and readiness to start assignment immediately (as of June 2022).

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

•    Experience in contents development for online courses and good knowledge of online course design; experience in developing a similar course (structures and contents) will be an asset.
•    Previous experience in working with UNESCO, or other UN agencies, is preferable;
 

LANGUAGES

•    Fluency in both written and oral English and Arabic is a requirement. French is a plus.

SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the UNESCO careers website. No modifications can be made to the application submitted.

The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as a competency-based interview. 

UNESCO uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates.

Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided.

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