Center for Educational Initiatives Step by Step
At the initiative of the Open Society Institute New York (OSI NY) and the Open Society Fund Bosnia and Herzegovina (OSF B&H), the implementation of education reform program Step by Step began in 1996, and is intended for children of up to 10 years of age and their families. This program is founded on modern pedagogical and development theories, and promotes, as is it is based on the principles of democracy, respecting differences, the right of each child to receive quality education, and the active involvement of families and the community in the education processes. In addition to B&H, this project is being implemented in more than a million classrooms in 30 countries around Europe, Asia and South America.
The Step by Step educational approach philosophy is based on the premise that each child is unique and that every child learns the most if the child is actively involved into the process of education. The child-centered methodology creates conditions for, and encourages children to actively participate in the process of acquiring knowledge, to explore and experiment. In these classrooms children are encouraged to form their own opinions, to present their ideas openly, to cooperate with others respecting their mutual differences, to develop critical thinking and problem-solving, to recognize and use the power of argumentation, to become responsible for themselves and others and to be interested in society and therefore empowered to face the challenges of the 21st century. Step by Step is also based on the premise that parents are the first and most important educators of their children and that they need to become active partners in all segments of activities of educational institutions and education as a whole.
In its first year of existence, the Step by Step program was implemented in seven kindergartens of three cantons in the Federation B&H, and has grown to become active across the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina including more than 60 towns, and in over 500 pre-school institutions, primary and secondary schools. In the past eight years, more than 8000 kindergarten teachers, headmasters/headmistresses, pedagogues, parents and other professionals have been involved in a specially designed training program in order to gain the necessary knowledge and skills for the implementation of the Step by Step methodology. The continued professional development is organized in 15 training centers and a large number of mentor classrooms. Furthermore, the publishing in that regard includes more than 30 textbooks and manuals, training modules for the needs of teachers and other professionals, as well as picture books for children in languages of the peoples of B&H and the Roma language.
Remaining in compliance with the OSF-B&H Strategy on strengthening the local capacities, the Step by Step program turned into the Center for Educational Initiatives Step by Step, a non-governmental organization that brings together experts, parents and other interested parties into a strong network aiming to initiate, organize and implement different projects and activities that promote democratic principles, partnership with families and community, and equal rights to quality education for all children. The Center is carrying out a series of projects in partnership with other international and local organizations.
The activities of the Center are principally directed towards improving the quality of education and the continued professional development of all participants in the educational process through a series of activities such as:
- Providing a high-quality training at different levels;
- Offering advisory and consulting services both to schools and teachers and to different institutions, governmental and non-governmental organizations and the educational policies' makers;
- Improvement of human and material resources as a basis for further, sustainable development through training and certifying of mentors and trainers, opening of training centers, preparing manuals and publishing professional literature and literature for children;
- Establishing standards of quality in partnership with ministries and pedagogical institutes;
- Active involvement in reform and other processes that help the modernization of education based on the principles of democracy, respecting differences and non-discrimination and enabling each child to gain access to quality education (including children with special needs and children from minority groups).
For more information, please visit www.coi-stepbystep.ba