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There you can learn more about my trip to the Republic of Georgia and follow the latest Global Ed posts.
There you can learn more about my trip to the Republic of Georgia and follow the latest Global Ed posts.
Research Question of TGC International Field Experience
Prior to our trip, all TGC Fellows are required to formulate a question to help guide our questions and research while in country, the Republic of Georgia in my case. This research question were supposed to be about a topic in which we are personally interested. For several years now, I have been interested in the inequity of access to quality education around the world. So this interest led to my research question being “How does Georgia ensure access to quality education for all students?”
The Republic of Georgia is a young democracy struggling to develop a system in which all students have access to a quality education. It is a post-Soviet nation which only gained its independence in 1991. All sectors of society are still emerging from the Soviet influence, as evidenced by the architecture of the capital, Tbilisi. Bold, modern buildings stand out among the drab, cookie-cutter Soviet ones. Despite this shift to a more western style of governance, the old Soviet centrally located power structure still persists. All education decisions come from the National Ministry of Education and Science, located in the capital. There seems to be little to no local initiatives in schools. This “top-down” central bureaucracy does not allow for flexible local decision making on how to best serve all students in the community.
Recently, there have been policy changes coming from the Ministry of Education and Science. In 2005, there was educational reform based on equity. All students were going to be provided an education. This brought into focus the topic of inclusion. Before 2005, and still today in many communities, parents with a significantly challenged child do not send that child to school. In years passed, there were no services offered by the schools that could meet the needs of that child. Since 2005, the government provides extra funding for schools of students with special needs. However, as is the case everywhere, policy changes more quickly than society. Many families still do not send significantly challenged children to school. As for lesser significant learning disabilities, teachers lack the training on how to differentiate and better provide for the needs of these students who are in their classes. The schools we visited did not have a special education department in which students with mild or significant learning disabilities received services.
As you would expect of a small, young, post-Soviet country, the economy struggles to grow at a pace that matches the fiscal needs of Georgians. Education is not the only sector that is underfunded. Though the issue of very low pay and little funding for more schools came up several times in our visit, the teachers I met work their hardest to overcome the challenge. The base teacher pay is 500 Lari a month, or roughly $215. Upon completion of certain tests teacher salary jumps to 1000 Lari a month, or roughly $430. Even in Georgia, with a cost of living much less than the US, this is not a livable wage. Most teachers are forced to do private tutoring in the evenings and on weekends for extra money. This takes away from not only their time with family, but lesson planning and providing student feedback at school. Recently, the Ministry of Education and Science began a new teacher professional development system that will provide small monetary incentives for teachers to improve areas of their teaching. This is a good step. However, it’s not likely the financial incentives will be significant. This lack of funding is hindering schools’ ability to provide a quality education to every student.
After meeting with Ministry of Education and Science officials, teachers, and professional development providers during my time in Georgia, I am optimistic about the future of Georgian education. Societally, there is a high value put on education. All parents want their children to go to school and to do well. There is an expectation by most parents that their children will go to university as well. Unfortunately, currently in Georgia, unemployment is high even among university graduates. In fact, I heard more than once the joke that Georgia has more cab drivers with law degrees than any country in the world. It’s true that there is an illogical dichotomy between the societal value of education and the lack of funding from the central government, but education is going in the right direction in Georgia.
It is important when researching another country to study it in context. Georgia is not the United States. Its history, size, and economies have very few similarities. Its historical context helps me explain away some of the real deficiencies I see in Georgia’s provision of a quality education to all students. With more years of peace and stability hopefully in its future, I believe Georgian schools will improve greatly the quality of education to all of it’s students.
The Republic of Georgia is a young democracy struggling to develop a system in which all students have access to a quality education. It is a post-Soviet nation which only gained its independence in 1991. All sectors of society are still emerging from the Soviet influence, as evidenced by the architecture of the capital, Tbilisi. Bold, modern buildings stand out among the drab, cookie-cutter Soviet ones. Despite this shift to a more western style of governance, the old Soviet centrally located power structure still persists. All education decisions come from the National Ministry of Education and Science, located in the capital. There seems to be little to no local initiatives in schools. This “top-down” central bureaucracy does not allow for flexible local decision making on how to best serve all students in the community.
Recently, there have been policy changes coming from the Ministry of Education and Science. In 2005, there was educational reform based on equity. All students were going to be provided an education. This brought into focus the topic of inclusion. Before 2005, and still today in many communities, parents with a significantly challenged child do not send that child to school. In years passed, there were no services offered by the schools that could meet the needs of that child. Since 2005, the government provides extra funding for schools of students with special needs. However, as is the case everywhere, policy changes more quickly than society. Many families still do not send significantly challenged children to school. As for lesser significant learning disabilities, teachers lack the training on how to differentiate and better provide for the needs of these students who are in their classes. The schools we visited did not have a special education department in which students with mild or significant learning disabilities received services.
As you would expect of a small, young, post-Soviet country, the economy struggles to grow at a pace that matches the fiscal needs of Georgians. Education is not the only sector that is underfunded. Though the issue of very low pay and little funding for more schools came up several times in our visit, the teachers I met work their hardest to overcome the challenge. The base teacher pay is 500 Lari a month, or roughly $215. Upon completion of certain tests teacher salary jumps to 1000 Lari a month, or roughly $430. Even in Georgia, with a cost of living much less than the US, this is not a livable wage. Most teachers are forced to do private tutoring in the evenings and on weekends for extra money. This takes away from not only their time with family, but lesson planning and providing student feedback at school. Recently, the Ministry of Education and Science began a new teacher professional development system that will provide small monetary incentives for teachers to improve areas of their teaching. This is a good step. However, it’s not likely the financial incentives will be significant. This lack of funding is hindering schools’ ability to provide a quality education to every student.
After meeting with Ministry of Education and Science officials, teachers, and professional development providers during my time in Georgia, I am optimistic about the future of Georgian education. Societally, there is a high value put on education. All parents want their children to go to school and to do well. There is an expectation by most parents that their children will go to university as well. Unfortunately, currently in Georgia, unemployment is high even among university graduates. In fact, I heard more than once the joke that Georgia has more cab drivers with law degrees than any country in the world. It’s true that there is an illogical dichotomy between the societal value of education and the lack of funding from the central government, but education is going in the right direction in Georgia.
It is important when researching another country to study it in context. Georgia is not the United States. Its history, size, and economies have very few similarities. Its historical context helps me explain away some of the real deficiencies I see in Georgia’s provision of a quality education to all students. With more years of peace and stability hopefully in its future, I believe Georgian schools will improve greatly the quality of education to all of it’s students.