Country: Lebanon

The Integration of a Psychosocial Support Program into the Lebanese Public Sector: A means to reduce tension in an overburdened educational system

Background and Context

Since March 2011, Lebanon has received over 1,200,000 Syrian refugees fleeing from one of the most atrocious civil wars of the decade. Seventy percent of the refugees in Lebanon are women and children and over 50 percent of them are children in need of educational services; i.e. over 400,000 children need to be enrolled and retained in some kind of learning space if not formal schooling.

The Lebanese public education system, supported by the international community and the UN agencies, opened its doors to welcome as many refugee children into their classrooms as possible, and over 250 schools started second shift schools (from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.) to accommodate Syrian students where the morning shift classrooms reached their maximum capacity.

In this ever-evolving context the Lebanese public school teachers, administrators and principals face a wide range of challenges daily, ranging from learning and teaching to managerial and administrative fronts. One of the most prominent challenges is providing a positive learning environment for their students who, as a result of their background and experience, have specific academic, psychological and social needs which are accumulating with each day that passes. Indeed, the toxic stress of living in a context where individual and community relationships are frequently damaged, destabilised and in need of reconstruction and adaptation is challenging the healthy development and learning of children in Lebanon.

In terms of evidence, the science of child neuropsychology overwhelmingly demonstrates that exposure to toxic stress (including armed conflict, domestic violence, poverty, neglect) in early childhood has both negative and enduring consequences for all aspects of cognitive, physical, mental and socio-emotional development through adulthood (NSCDC, 2011; Tarullo, Bruce, & Gunnar, 2007; Shonkoff, Richter, van der Gaag & Bhutta, 2012; Nelson & Sheridan, 2011). In other words, both the science and the shifting landscape of contemporary warfare suggest that existing education models will fail to help refugee children to achieve academic outcomes unless they first protect their capacity to learn from stunting or deteriorating. Thus there is significant potential for psychosocial interventions to help children understand, cope with, and build resilience to the impacts of toxic stress, a role that has been recently acknowledged in the international community.

This might explain that although today the records show that the public education system in Lebanon hosts an equal amount of refugee children to Lebanese children, there are a number of reports that show that the dropout rate of the refugee children in quite high, with some reports claiming the dropout rate to reach 70 percent in some areas.

Moreover, several studies1 have been conducted to identify the barriers to enrollment and the reasons behind the high dropout rates and most have arrived to common conclusions; some of the recurring themes are:

  1. A lack of inclusion policies in the education system
  2. School principals and teachers are facing large array ofcomplex educational problems with minimum means for resolving them
  3. The recruitment of new teachers, many of whom with negligible experience in teaching, to teach in the afternoon shift
  4. Relatively high transportation costs
  5. The use of English or French as the medium of learning for the sciences and Math, whereas all subjects are taught in Arabic in the Syrian curriculum

To respond to these barriers and constraints, the international community through its development projects in the country and through the UN agencies, has devised a range of programs that are being implemented either through the Ministry of Education or through the local and international NGOs.

One of these projects is the Psychosocial Support (PSS) Program was implemented under the Developing Rehabilitation Assistance to Schools and Teacher Improvement (D-RASATI) 2 project, a USAID-funded, nationally focused program with the overarching goal of supporting the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) to improve the performance of the Lebanese public school system and provide quality educational services to its students.

PSS Program Description

For the PSS program, World Learning, the lead implementer of D-RASATI, designed a comprehensive program for building the capacity in Lebanon, among MEHE professional trainers, teacher mentors and teachers, to meet the psychosocial needs of the public school students.

The first phase of the program was the development of a 5-day course titled “Essentials in Classroom Psychosocial Support” by experts at DC-based World Learning Home Office. The course was then tailored to Lebanon’s socio-educational context by a local PSS specialist and academic from the Lebanese University, who ensured that the course material and activities comply with the specific culture of the public school and its communities.

The World Learning training program comprises three phases:

  1. A Training-of-Trainers program, which prepared ministry teacher trainers and teacher mentors to deliver the subsequent teacher training and coaching phases.
  2. The roll out of the Essentials in Psychosocial Support for Teachers training to over 500 teachers
  3. The School-based Coaching phase which began when the Training-of-Trainers and the Essentials in PSS for Teachers courses were completed

The Essentials in Psychosocial Support for Teachers course began by exploring the definition, purpose, and impact of psychosocial support in the lives of children in trauma and crisis.  Although the course focus was on providing psychosocial support to a sub-group of students, the knowledge and teaching practice the training presents supports all children in any classroom to better reach their full potential.

The course addressed three fundamental themes for teachers in their development of practical skills and disposition:

  1. Communication
  2. Classroom Management
  3. Teacher Well-being

The organizational model for exploring each theme was the World Learning Pyramid Framework for Psychosocial Support in Schools. This model presents three bases that create the foundation of psychosocial support within the classroom which, taken together, promote resilience, management of emotions, motivation for learning, and a sense of hope and control in the lives of the children with trauma. We now know that social and emotional learning and skills are influential factors, or perhaps even the most influential, for a child’s success academically, and in life outside the classroom. The three bases of the World Learning pyramid framework, therefore, focus specifically on fostering teaching practice that advances Caring Relationships, Positive Classroom Environment, and Social-Emotional Competence as seen in the image to the left. Reading the framework as a guide to psychosocial support, we see the fundamental role of forging strong, caring relationships between teachers and children. This is enhanced by, and in turn enhances, the creation of a positive classroom environment which is built by incorporating pro-social skills into the syllabus and actively fostering community within the class (for example employing teambuilding activities). The third base of the foundation is promotion of the social-emotional skills of the all students (for example, calming techniques). When these three inter-connected bases are in place, they build the foundation for students to experience school as a safe, stable place within which their opinions, ideas, and experiences are valued and where they are respected and cared for. Under these conditions school behavior and performance can improve and academic skills can be developed.

Triangle made up of four smaller triangles to represent the interconnected elements of psychosocial support.

The World Learning PSS program, and all its components are organized around models and methodology of experiential learning and participatory methodology in which participants take an active role in their own learning and in which the training draws on participant experience and knowledge. Trainers in each phase of the program take a facilitative role in their work with the learners whether these learners are teacher trainers or teachers. Facilitators have knowledge of psychosocial support, and use a robust repertoire of collaborative, experiential, and participatory methods to guide teacher trainers and teacher mentors through activities and toward deep and lasting learning.

Starting November 2016, the project seven coaches conducted the PSS program training of trainers (ToT) and built the capacity of over 90 teacher trainers and teacher mentors on the provision of PSS approaches, PSS needs of children, and different PSS intervention techniques. The ToT focused on providing teachers with a conceptual framework for approaching children with social and psychological problems and developed their knowledge and understanding of concepts related to psychosocial support in education.

The rollout of the training on the five-day essentials commenced in February 2016. The rollout training sessions took place in the ministry teacher training centers all across the country. From February till end of May 2016, over 500 public school teachers were trained and mentored while implementing the PSS activities in their classrooms.

The PSS Program Impact Study

To assess the impact of the PSS program a study was conducted to examine whether the program met its main objective and reduced tension in the targeted classrooms hosting Syrian refugees2. The study assessed the following areas:

  • Teachers attitudes and knowledge in relation to psychosocial support
  • Teacher’s ability to create a positive classroom environment, constructively manage students’ behavioral challenges, address their psychosocial difficulties, and implement activities designed to increase children’s social-emotional competence.
  • Teachers’ and students’ perception of their classroom environment (the extent to which it is caring, supportive, stable, levels of tension etc.)
  • The psychosocial wellbeing of students.
  • School-based factors including the level of support for the implementation of PSS among principals, the resources in schools available to support the implementation of PSS activities, awareness among principals of trauma-related behaviors difficulties among students and school’s discipline policies.

The impact study evaluated each phase of the project in order to establish a correlation between a reported reduction in tension in classrooms, an improvement in teacher capacity, and an increase in students’ psychosocial wellbeing. It also attempted to identify the systemic factors that influence teachers’ ability to apply what they have learned, through the PSS program, in their classes. Baseline and end line data were collected and a comprehensive report of the study was completed by end of August 2016.

Four tools were developed for the evaluation – Teacher Questionnaire; Student Questionnaire, Principal Questionnaire, and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. 109 training participants from 65 schools took part in the impact study. Following are some of the key findings:

The findings of the evaluation indicate that the 5 Day Essentials training positively impacted teachers’ teaching practices, with a reported increase in the implementation of positive communication and classroom management techniques and practices to develop students’ social-emotional competence (SEC). The most significant increase in proficiency occurred in relation to developing SEC, with the number of teachers who used practices to develop students’ SEC ‘often’ or ‘very often’ increasing by 14 percent.

There was a significant reported decrease in disruptive behavior. Before the training, 41 percent of teachers indicated that students were disruptive ‘very often’, and after the training this dropped to 21 percent.

Both teachers and students reported an increase in students’ comfort in sharing their feelings in class. The number of teachers who reported that students felt comfortable sharing their feelings ‘often’ or very ‘often’ increased by 50 percent.

There was a significant increase in children’s psychosocial wellbeing. The average psychosocial wellbeing of students moved from ‘borderline abnormal’ to ‘normal’, which, given the short timeframe of the evaluation, is highly significant.

Today the ministry has taken ownership over the PSS trainings and committed to continuing to offer these trainings to teachers through its in-service program. Moreover, World Learning has drafted a policy paper that focusses on the measures needed to integrate both a culture of and the capacity to provide PSS in the Lebanese public school systems. The paper advocates for a systems change approach that responds to the psychosocial needs of all vulnerable children, both Lebanese and non-Lebanese, enrolled in public schools.
Notes

1 Adapted from the 2011 PSS Guide for Teachers created by World Learning for teachers in Ethiopia with funding from USAID as part of the project, School-Community Partnership Serving HIV/AIDS affected OVCs.

2World Learning (2016), D-RASATI 2 5 Day Essentials Training Program in Psychosocial Support: Impact Evaluation Study
References

Education for Syrian Refugees: Providing hope in Lebanon

http://luminosfund.org/media/32513/20160131-speed-schools-education-for-syrian-refugees-v2.pdf

Government of Lebanon, United Nations (2017). Lebanon Crisis Response Plan 2017-2020.

Human Rights Watch (2016), Growing up Without an Education: Barriers to Education for Syrian Refugee Children in Lebanon.

London Conference (2016), Syria Crisis Education Strategic Paper.

UNHCR.org, http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php

World Learning (2016), D-RASATI 2: 5 Day Essentials Training Program in Psychosocial Support: Impact Evaluation Study

World Learning (2016), D-RASATI 2 5 Day Essentials Training Program in Psychosocial Support: Impact Evaluation Study

 

The Storyteller of Nabatieh

Ghina is a second-grade student in Kfarsir Public School in Nabatieh, a city in southern Lebanon. She enjoys reading Arabic stories to her friends and classmates and playing the role of “Hakawati” — Arabic for Storyteller.

This wasn’t always the case, however.

Not too long ago, when asked what she liked most about her Arabic language class, Ghina responded, “The best part is when the teacher reads us a story!”

Now she is able to read these stories on her own.

Ghina in her classroom in Kfarsir Public School in Nabatieh, a city in southern Lebanon.

Recently, her Arabic language teacher, Fatima Rteil, gave her a story from QITABI’s leveled classroom library and asked her to read aloud to classmates. That’s when she discovered her own passion for storytelling. When the other students gathered on the carpet for story time, Ghina read the complete story aloud following the guidelines modeled by her Arabic language teacher.

The read-aloud activity is one of the many activities introduced by QITABI as part of the Early Grade Reading (EGR) intervention, based on the Balance Literacy Approach (BLA), and focusing on improving early grade students’ reading skills in Arabic language in 260 primary public schools, grades 1–4.

The USAID-funded Quality Instruction towards Access and Basic Education Improvement (QITABI) project is designed to expand access to education and improve learning outcomes for students in Lebanese public schools.

The program, led by World Learning and with support from several other organizations, focuses on strengthening education for students from underprivileged families and ensuring school-age Syrian refugee children have access to quality education.

Now, when Ghina finishes her class exercises, she grabs a story from QITABI’s Leveled Classroom Library and reads it to herself. She also enjoys taking home magazines distributed by the school to read to her parents.

“Ghina is one of many students who started to show interest in reading and enjoying Arabic class,” says Rteil, an Arabic language teacher for the first and second grade. She elaborates: “Students were never big fans of Arabic language class. Teaching the Arabic language is challenging; the material is too dry and lacks excitement. After introducing QITABI teaching methodologies students can’t wait for class to start. They are more enthusiastic and more energetic in class. Students are learning to love their mother tongue, especially the read aloud activity — the kids adore it.”

Rteil adds that QITABI’s early grade reading intervention has “empowered Arabic language teachers.”

Second-grade students participate in the “Hakawati” or Storyteller activity with their classmates.

Kfarsir public school is just one of the schools selected by Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) to receive five classroom libraries containing Arabic leveled reading books, in addition to other classroom materials, and nine classrooms with technical equipment and support and Arabic e-stories to support classroom instruction for around -200 students in grades 1–6.

Kfarsir’s Public School’s principal Ahmad Sbeyti agrees that the program has played a large part in enabling the school to raise its educational standards.

“QITABI Early Grade Intervention helped our public school get on the right track to achieve our ultimate educational goal of creating an active learning environment for our students,” he says.

“The program introduced innovative concepts to our Arabic language classes, making it an interactive environment that combines advanced teaching methodologies with enriching audio visual materials,” Sbeyti explains. This is a revolutionary concept improving education in public schools and helping us regain public trust and the good reputation we once had,” he adds.

Closing the Education Gap in Lebanon

Lebanon is now home to more than one million refugees from Syria, which puts pressure on a public education system already challenged by shortages of qualified teachers and aging infrastructure. In an effort to help the country’s schools address these issues, World Learning is working with the Lebanese government to close the quality gap between private and public education while managing the influx of Syrian students through phase two of the Developing Rehabilitation Assistance to Schools and Teacher Improvement Program (D-RASATI 2).

“World Learning believes education is the driving force behind positive, sustainable development,” said Carol Jenkins, World Learning executive vice president for global development. “We’re proud to be part of a program that will help ensure the quality of public education in Lebanon to provide all of the country’s children with a strong foundation for success.”

The program targets schools and communities hosting a high number of Syrian refugees and will provide trainings for school staff to improve support for the Syrian students, reduce tensions between students, and help alleviate the strain on the public school system. World Learning is implementing the $29 million initiative with partner organizations AMIDEAST and the American University of Beirut, and service providers American Lebanese Language Center and Digital Opportunity Trust.

Dr. Wafa Kotob, World Learning’s chief of party in Lebanon, said the project is in the process of fundamentally reforming Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) throughout the public school system, which will benefit more than 60,000 Lebanese and Syrian students.

“Education is the driving force behind positive, sustainable development.” — Carol Jenkins

“World Learning has helped the Lebanese government substantially improve English language teaching methods by building a network of TESOL master trainers,” Kotob said. “These new instructors have already provided trainings to hundreds of educators.”

In addition, the project recently outfitted 126 public schools across Lebanon with computer equipment to advance the use of technology in the classroom. It also provided training to more than 700 teachers on how to effectively incorporate the technology to support English, Arabic, and science education.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale attended a ceremony celebrating the achievement and said educational endeavors like this are a crucial part of the United States government’s commitment to help students “have access to the high-quality education that they deserve and that they need to be active members of their communities, and contribute to peace and prosperity.”

Alumni Thematic International Exchange Seminars

Participant Profile

Participants are alumni of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs and vary in age and level of expertise, but all will be engaged in the seminar topic and highly motivated to create change in their communities.

Please consult the list of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs below.

Participant Selection

Alumni TIES participants who are not U.S. citizens are nominated by the U.S. Embassies or Consulates in their countries. Please contact the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your country to learn how you can participate in Alumni TIES. Potential Alumni TIES participants who are living in the United States can apply for specific seminars managed by World Learning. The web link to the online application will be distributed widely by the Office of Alumni Affairs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

All participants for Alumni TIES seminars are selected by the U.S. Department of State.

Program Design

Alumni TIES seminars take place in six world regions and the U.S.; each seminar is three to four days for small groups of alumni. The seminars include speakers, capacity development trainings, and alumni networking activities. Through the small grants initiative, alumni have the opportunity to take action and make a positive difference in their communities.

Learn More

Watch more videos about the Alumni TIES program.

Read stories from past participants about their experiences at the seminars or with their small grant projects on the Alumni TIES blog.

For information on programs for U.S. government-sponsored exchange program alumni visit the International Exchange Alumni website.

Alumni TIES is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and supported in its implementation by World Learning, in partnership with the Office of Alumni Affairs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).  

Communities Connecting Heritage

Communities Connecting HeritageSM  Program Impact

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CCH Alumni Small Grants

At the conclusion of the program’s third year, the CCH team opened the Communities Connecting Heritage Small Grants to organizational and community member alumni from all three CCH cycles. The following projects were selected for CCH Small Grant implementation.

Kristina Llane (Albania)
Title of Project: Beekeeping Tradition as and Educative Tool

This project aims to preserve and share the importance of local beekeeping traditions in the Gjirokastra community of Albania. Kristina will work with elementary school students to cultivate youth interest in beekeeping’s cultural role in their community. Throughout the project, students and teachers will contribute to an educational book on beekeeping to that will equip teachers to continue sharing with future classrooms. The project will conclude with a panel discussion focused on protecting and preserving culture, tradition, and the environment in Albania.

Kalpana Gagdekar (India)
Title of Project: Connecting Community with Their Traditional/Heritage Cuisine

This project will explore and document the Chhara community’s traditional cuisines, which are experiencing a disappearing effect under modern global influences. Kalpana aims to document the rituals and heritage of Chhara cuisine through seven video interviews with Chhara women elders. The project combines modern technology with traditional food heritage and welcomes Chhara members of all ages to reclaim and rediscover their own heritage.

Mandala Theatre (Nepal) and Creative Connections (Connecticut, U.S.)
Title of Project: Hamro Sanskriti: Preserving Cultural Heritage through Participatory Theatre

The goal of this project is to provide youth in Connecticut and Nepal with a deeper connection to their own culture through student-led virtual workshops. The workshops – spearheaded by theater trainers in Nepal and Connecticut – will teach participatory theater techniques to 250 high school students and conclude with a model forum theater piece produced by students for the public.

Athar Lina (Egypt)
Title of Project: Rawya: The Water Women

Rawya: The Water Women is a Cairo-based project aimed at restoring the historically significant Sabil Um Abbas, a 19th century religious building and gathering place, into a usable community space once more. In addition to restoring aspects of the building, the project will connect U.S. and Egyptian women storytellers Donna Bryson and Chirine El Ansary to curate a storytelling experience of powerful 19th century women from their respective countries. Their work will culminate in a video exhibition that will be on display in the newly renovated Sabil Um Abbas for the local community to experience.

Bhasha Research and Publication Centre (India) and University of Northern Colorado (Colorado, U.S.)
Title of Project: Reclaiming Heritage II: Building Social Bonds and Bridges with Cultural Heritage

This project will utilize digital library resources at UNC to create and share cultural heritage “snapshots” with the broader community. These short videos will help immigrants and refugees in Colorado and indigenous peoples in India share their cultural heritage while building bonds with their local communities. The project will provide its participants with the ownership and platform to share their own heritage while paving a pathway for integration with others in their community.

Outside the Lens (California, U.S.)
Title of Project: Youth Tellers

Youth Tellers is a cross-cultural collaboration between Latinx youth in California and Bosnia-Herzegovina, relying on the concepts of past, present, and future to explore students’ complex cultural identities. Using digital media tools including photography, videography, and youth-facing communication forums like Discord, the project will culminate in a virtual exhibition showcasing the participants’ cultural heritage exchange with one another.

Explore the Story section on the right to learn more about the unique cultural heritage projects implemented since 2018.

Developing Rehabilitation Assistance to Schools & Teacher Improvement Program II

D-RASATI’s Phase 2 was a $24.5 million, two-year project, initially planned to run from October 2013 to September 2015. The program built on the achievements of Phase 1 and contributed to the implementation of MEHE’s Education Sector Development Plan. World Learning implemented the program to reach the specific objectives of enhancing the learning environments in public schools and providing dynamic learning opportunities for school administrators and teachers, while increasing parent and community involvement in the public school system development. The project involved staff from MEHE and from the Center for Education and Research and Development (CERD) in each of its components to embed institutional capacity building and operational and technical know-how in the structure of Lebanon’s public school system. In response to the situation produced by the Syrian crisis and its impact on the hosting communities and the public education system, D-RASATI 2 received an additional $4.5 million in September 2014 and was extended until March 2016

D-RASATI 2’s activities included developing key strategy and guidance documents for MEHE; a set of standards for extracurricular activities, leadership development, school improvement, and community engagement; a comprehensive national strategy to promote extracurricular activities within the education system including seven modules for schools; an ICT action plan to guide the deployment of ICT across the entire public school system; and training of trainers training materials on ICT, extracurricular activities, leadership development, school improvement, and community engagement.

D-RASATI 2 provided key interactive learning opportunities to public school system administrators on approaches to school development through leadership development and school improvement. This was coupled with continuous mentoring, coaching, and small grants to put learning into action. The project also provided teachers with English language training to improve the delivery of teaching in English, trained teachers with advanced language skills on language instruction and methodology, delivered intensive coaching on integrating ICT in the classroom, and offered training on organizing and delivering extracurricular activities. D-RASATI 2 provided equal opportunity for all to participate in and benefit from its activities.

In addition to the project’s main activities, D-RASATI 2 focused on schools located in communities hosting high concentrations of Syrian refugees to support the Lebanese government efforts to alleviate the pressure on the public education system as a result of the Syrian crisis. The project conducted trainings on human rights-based management skills and psychosocial support skills for school staff in order to improve social cohesion among Syrian refugees in the classroom and community and established a mechanism to closely monitor these activities and measure the reduction in tensions between students at the school level. Stipends were also available to 65 schools to finance teaching and learning materials to satisfy the needs of the increased student population.

For more information, visit the D-RASATI 2 Facebook page.

Fulbright Specialist Program

What?

Link U.S. Experts and International Institutions

A program of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Fulbright Specialist Program is a unique opportunity for U.S. academics and established professionals to engage in two- to six-week consultancies at host institutions across the globe. Host institutions, including universities, non-profits, and other organizations, develop and submit projects for approval by the U.S. Embassy or Fulbright Commission in their country in wide-ranging academic and professional fields that build capacity and promote long-lasting linkages between individuals and institutions in the U.S. and abroad.

Why?

Address Priorities and Build Institutional Capacity at Institutions Around the World

An important companion to the traditional Fulbright Scholar Program, the Fulbright Specialist Program differs by providing short-term exchange experiences that tackle discrete, sometimes rapid response, projects. The Fulbright Specialist Program encourages participation of both university faculty and highly experienced non-academics, including legal experts, business professionals, public health practitioners, scientists, IT professionals, artists, and journalists. The program is a mutually beneficial opportunity for the Specialist who may not be available to leave their position for an extended period of time and the host institution which needs an experienced partner to jointly tackle a problem or examine an issue on a short-term basis.

How?

Become a Fulbright Specialist: Apply to Join the Roster

Fulbright Specialists are a diverse group of highly experienced, well-established faculty members and professionals who represent a wide variety of academic disciplines and professions.  In order to be eligible to serve as a Fulbright Specialist, candidates must have significant experience in their respective professional field and be a U.S. citizen at time of application. Eligible disciplines and professional fields supported by the Fulbright Specialist Program are listed below.

  • Agriculture
  • American Studies
  • Anthropology
  • Archeology
  • Biology Education
  • Business Administration
  • Chemistry Education
  • Communications and Journalism
  • Computer Science and Information Technology
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Engineering Education
  • Environmental Science
  • Law
  • Library Science
  • Math Education
  • Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies
  • Physics Education
  • Political Science
  • Public Administration
  • Public/Global Health
  • Social Work
  • Sociology
  • Urban Planning

Interested candidates can find more information about the Fulbright Specialist Program and apply to serve as a Specialist at fulbrightspecialist.worldlearning.org. Candidates who meet all eligibility requirements will have their full applications reviewed by a panel of their professional peers. Candidates who are approved by the peer review panels will then join the Fulbright Specialist Roster. Individuals remain on the Specialist Roster for a three-year term and are eligible to be matched with a host institution’s project abroad during that tenure.

The following costs are covered for those Fulbright Specialists who are matched to a project: international and domestic airfare, ground transportation, visa fees, lodging, meals, and incidentals. A daily honorarium is also provided.

Become a Host: Bring a Fulbright Specialist to Your Institution

The Fulbright Specialist Program allows universities, cultural centers, non-governmental organizations, and other institutions abroad to host a leading U.S. academic or professional to work on diverse, short-term collaborative projects where the Specialist conducts activities which may include, but are not limited to:

  • Delivering a seminar or workshop
  • Consulting on faculty or workforce development
  • Developing academic or training curricula and materials
  • Lecturing at the graduate or undergraduate level
  • Conducting needs assessments or evaluations for a program or institution

Institutions interested in hosting a Fulbright Specialist should contact their local Fulbright Commission or U.S. Embassy for country-specific requirements and deadlines.

Contact information for all participating countries is available on the fulbrightspecialist.worldlearning.org website.

For more information or questions about the Fulbright Specialist Program, please email [email protected].

The Fulbright Specialist Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by World Learning.

International Visitor Leadership Program

End of Year Report

Chosen by U.S. embassies worldwide to participate, distinguished professionals include:

  • parliamentarians
  • government officials
  • entrepreneurs
  • NGO leaders
  • journalists
  • academics
  • arts administrators
  • mid-career professionals

Programs focus on policy issues in areas such as:

  • government
  • international security
  • foreign policy
  • entrepreneurship
  • economics and trade
  • media
  • women’s leadership
  • education
  • public health
  • arts
  • agriculture
  • disability rights and inclusion

World Learning staff members design national itineraries, arrange logistics, set up meetings in Washington, DC, and coordinate the collaboration of U.S. Department of State program officers, interpreters and International Visitor Liaisons, and more than 85 community-based member organizations from the Global Ties U.S. Network who arrange local programs nationwide.

Participants

Most participants are mid-career professionals and emerging leaders, and for many, this is their first visit to the U.S. Groups are of varying sizes, from single visitors to groups of 25 or more. World Learning program staff work closely with their State Department counterparts to design a program customized to the project objectives and the visitors’ interests.

 

Participant Selection

IVLP candidates are selected solely by U.S. embassy personnel in each country. There is no application form. World Learning is a private sector partner of the U.S. Department of State; our role is limited to designing programs for participants once they arrive in the U.S. For further information regarding the program, please consult the U.S. Department of State’s website.

Program Design

A typical project includes up to a week of meetings in Washington, DC, to provide an orientation and overview of the theme and to introduce visitors to federal officials and agencies, national organizations, academics and think tanks, nonprofits and NGOs, and professionals in their specific field of interest. All projects include a briefing on the US federal system of government. Meetings may include panel discussions, site visits, workshops, individual interlocutors, job shadowing, or service opportunities. Visitors typically travel to an additional three or four cities in geographically diverse regions of the country; the itinerary may include a state capital and a small town to provide first-hand exposure to the great diversity that exists in the U.S. Also included in the program design are hospitality dinners, school visits, community service activities, and cultural events such as rodeos, state fairs, festivals, visits to national parks, or events that highlight some unique aspect of the region visited.

Participant Experience

“My recent experience in the IVLP program is so far the deepest ever for me to see and understand the full picture of what America as a country is like. I strongly believe this program will have a very long-term impact on my views about America and the world and to some extent it has already helped me to understand many long-time questions.” – Journalist from China

The International Visitor Leadership Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by World Learning.

Leaders Lead On-Demand Program

Examples of past leaders Lead On-Demand Projects:

  • Vietnam Legal Aid
  • Refugee Integration and Resettlement in Central and Eastern Europe
  • Sports Leadership Program for Colombia
  • Mongolia Disability Rights Legislation and Implementation
  • Promoting Open Educational Resources: Middle East and North Africa
  • Tourism and Development in Serbia and Kosovo
  • Religious Freedom and Interfaith Dialogue for Myanmar, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand
  • Emerging Leaders Exchange for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
  • Environmental Advocacy for Mongolia
  • Getting Connected Program for the South Pacific
  • Civic Engagement Program for Moldova
  • Disinformation and Fact Checking in Kenya

Quality Instruction Towards Access and Basic Education Improvement (QITABI)

The project provides technical assistance and capacity building within the context of three project components:

Component 1: Improving reading outcomes for primary level public school students

QITABI Component 1 focused on improving early–grade students’ Arabic language reading skills in grades 1-4 in 913 primary public schools. The project instituted an early-grade reading assessment to track and monitor students’ reading skills and progress, established an early warning system to identify and support struggling readers, and developed teacher training modules and classroom materials to enhance learning. QITABI provided training and coaching to more than 1,947 primary school teachers and offered day-to-day support through the project’s learning facilitators. QITABI also hosted parent and community awareness reading activities, such as Parent Reading Circles. Additionally, QITABI trained the Ministry’s teacher mentors and the Center for Education and Research and Development’s master trainers to support oversight of the program and professional development for educators. QITABI also provided read-aloud, leveled books, and e-books to enhance reading instruction and learning for more than 100,000 students, ICT equipment (teacher’s laptop, overhead projector, and screen), and digital content to improve classroom learning environments for more than 58,600 students across Lebanon. QITABI helped set up dedicated ICT resource rooms to improve access to digitized teaching and learning materials in 300 schools. 

Component 2: Expanding access to safe and relevant education for vulnerable public school students

QITABI’s Component 2 aimed to increase enrollment and retention of students in the formal education system by addressing barriers to attendance and bettering the school experience. To achieve this goal, the project worked with 300 public schools nationwide, focusing on those in marginalized communities, to equip them with ICT resource rooms and improve the overall school environment. More than 63,000  students benefited from these changes. QITABI also worked with the Lebanese MEHE to build child-friendly schools by developing social and psychosocial support activities and designing and implementing a strategy to bring ICT resources into primary schools. In addition, the project procured and delivered 100 school buses to help 4,800 students gain access to a high-quality education. The buses provided transportation to out-of-school students who live in rural areas, which facilitated basic literacy and numeracy classes and allowed program staff to promote enrollment in formal education. These buses helped up to 5,000 vulnerable out-of-school children and youth gain access to a high-quality education. 

Component 3: Strengthening management (resilience in the education system to better direct and monitor education)

Components 1 and 2’s effectiveness relied on strong institutional systems within MEHE to ensure sustainability. Activities under Component 3 strengthened MEHE’s ability to monitor education services and effectively design and oversee reform efforts. This included stakeholder analysis and policy mapping, compiling and analyzing data collected at the school level, and familiarizing MEHE units and departments with evidence-based decision-making. These activities helped develop and strengthen policies and guidelines for a more resilient Lebanese education system.

Achievements

  • 913 public primary schools consistently participated in teacher training and coaching, strengthened support systems for struggling readers, received new early-grade reading materials, and increased parental involvement.
  • Through these schools, QITABI activities reached 66,993 students.
  • 1,947 teachers received training and coaching on reading education and student assessments, new classroom resources and materials, and a teacher support network.
  • 529 schools received ICT equipment to improve reading outcomes, and 300 schools received ICT resource rooms to enhance the overall school learning environment.
  • By the end of QITABI’s activities, 78% of students in Grades 1-4 had improved their Arabic reading skills by at least one reading level, 62% had improved by one or two reading levels, and 16% had improved by three or more reading levels.
  • In Grade 2, 1.7% of students improved their oral reading fluency scores, and 2.7% improved their reading comprehension scores. In Grade 3, 2% and 2.5% of students had improved their oral reading fluency and comprehension scores, respectively.
  • The National Student Learning Assessment Framework (NSLAF), developed by QITABI in collaboration with MEHE, is an evidence-based framework detailing appropriate forms of assessment for different levels of schooling and learning. The NSLAF also outlines a capacity development plan to improve literacy assessment practices among the school workforce. This framework was adopted by MEHE and integrated into MEHE’s assessment .

Beginning in 2019, World Learning implemented QITABI 2 as a continuation of the  QITABI project.