International consultancy to conduct Mapping of UNICEF Skills Building Programmes with Life Skills, Citizenship Education and other relevant competency frameworks, Prishtina, Kosovo, Educati
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Title: International consultancy to conduct Mapping of UNICEF Skills Building Programmes with Life Skills, Citizenship Education and other relevant competency framework Contract type: International consultant Duty Station: Prishtina / Kosovo Length of contract: 5 months (80 days of engagement remotely)
Purpose of Activity/Assignment:
The Education 2030 Framework for Action set a new vision for education building beyond cognitive, also on noncognitive skills that allow children, adolescents and young people to develop their full potential. Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all is at the core of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, specified under the SDG target 4.7 "By 2030 ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including among others through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development”.
Evidence reveals that life skills play a fundamental role in the personal development and success of children, adolescents and young people, not only during school learning, but also through the acquisition and mobilization of skills necessary for their adaptation to changing environment and their inclusion in social life, such as empowerment, acceptance of difference, stress management, social know-how, active citizenship, innovation, creativity or sense of entrepreneurship. Life skills are based on four essential axes: “Learning, Doing, Being, and Living together”. While this knowledge is essentially developed by the education system, it is still promoted primarily by the non-formal education, vocational training and education, as well as in the informal social and family spheres, during leisure and free time.
Kosovo has the youngest population in Europe and is currently in the early demographic divided stage which provides a
window of opportunity for its socio-economic development. However, according to the recent Labour Force Survey
data2, a large proportion of youth aged 15–24 years are currently unemployed (49 per cent), out of which 46 per cent
males, and 53 per cent females. In addition, almost one third of this age group (30 per cent) are not in employment,
education, or training (NEET). The quality of education system remains poor, and the curriculum is not aligned with the
labour market needs. According to the World Bank Human Capital Index, a child in Kosovo is expected to complete 12.8
years of pre-primary, primary and secondary school by the age of 18 years. However, when years of schooling are
adjusted to the quality of learning, this is only equivalent to 7.7 years, with a learning gap of 5.1 years.3 The situation
with COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the quality learning. According to a recent World Bank report, it is
estimated that the level of both schooling and learning will fall due to COVID-19, resulting in a loss of between 0.3 and
0.9 years of schooling, adjusted for quality.
The Kosovo pre-university education curriculum is competency based (since 2011) and integrates a coherent system of knowledge, skills and attitudes that are applicable and transferable. It aims to enable students to cope with the challenges of the digital age and with the knowledge-based labour market in an interdependent world. In line with the objectives of the education system, the key competencies include competency in communication and expression; competency in thinking; competency in learning; competency in life, work and environment-related areas; personal
1 Noting that there is debate around the term ‘non-cognitive skills’ and that other terms have been used including ‘21st century skills’, ‘soft skills’, ‘transversal skills’ and ‘transferable skills’, this document (the Education 2030 Framework) uses ‘non-cognitive skills’, which may include critical and innovative thinking; interpersonal skills; intrapersonal skills; global citizenship skills; media and information literacy, etc. (Noncognitive defined in the Education 2030 Framework), Education 2030: Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all - UNESCO Digital Library, p36
2 https://ask.rks-gov.net/media/6355/lfs-q1-2021.pdf
3 https://databank.worldbank.org/data/download/hci/HCI_2pager_XKX.pdf
competency; and civic competency. Despite the Kosovo Curriculum Framework having been developed based on the best education practices, a number of challenges remain in the context of the curriculum implementation, and
transferring of competencies to students, as reflected in the poor outcomes of PISA test and other internationally
comparable assessments.
UNICEF, as part of the Kosovo Programme 2021-2025, aims to empower and equip adolescents and youth with skills for
life and work through formal and informal education. UNICEF skills building programmes (Upshift, Ponder and Podium)
implemented in informal settings since 2014, have been accredited and aligned with the upper secondary school
curriculum by the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) in 2020 for implementation within
the formal education system. To this end, UNICEF is supporting the MESTI to strengthen the capacities of teachers and
students to deliver skills building programmes within the school settings to equip youth with skills related to civic
engagement, critical thinking, social entrepreneurship, innovation, creativity and media literacy.
Through this consultancy, UNICEF aims to develop a conceptual and programmatic framework based on a mapping and
analysis of skills and competencies provided by skills building programmes vis-a-vis selected international competency
frameworks that focus on multiple learning pathways (formal and non-formal). In addition, the consultancy shall take
stock of the available information and inputs from the piloting process of the skills building programmes implemented
in selected schools and draw upon evidence-based recommendations for programmatic approaches to fully
operationalize the development of these programmes in school setting.
Scope of Work: The purpose of this consultancy is to conduct the analytical mapping of UNICEF skills building programmes (Upshift,
Ponder and Podium) with the life skills, citizenship education and other relevant competency frameworks to identify the
skills provided by the programmes, gaps and potential entry points for strengthening specific competencies necessary
for the Kosovo context. In addition, the consultancy aims to take stock of and analyse modalities of operationalization
of UNICEF skills building programmes as part of the formal upper secondary education.
The key objectives of this consultancy include:
- Map skills building programmes with competency frameworks focusing on UNICEF Global and MENA Life Skills and Citizenship Education Framework, EU Digital Competence Framework, EU Competency Framework for Green Skills, Kosovo Competency Framework and other frameworks as relevant. The mapping should identify the relevant skills and competencies provided by the programmes, as well as gaps and entry points to strengthen specific competencies necessary for the Kosovo context.
- Identify programmatic approaches to operationalize the implementation of skills building programmes within the formal education, including the analysis of potential modalities for application as curricular, co-curricular and/or extra-curricular activities.
- Articulate the working definition of transferable skills and develop the theory of change and outcomes that define the contribution of transferable skills development and scaling up within the formal and non-formal education.
- Develop the indicator framework for measuring the results and impact of UNICEF’s skills building programmers in skills acquisition and learning.
The international consultant shall provide a detailed methodological approach to collect and process information
which should include the following.
- Desk review of the relevant documents and resources related to the Kosovo context, education system, relevant international competency frameworks and UNICEF skills building programmes.
- Mapping of competencies: Mapping and identification of competencies provided by the UNICEF skills building programmes (Upshift, Ponder and Podium) vis-à-vis the Kosovo Curriculum Framework and the UNICEF Global and MENA Life Skills and Citizenship Education Framework, the EU Digital Competence Framework, the EU Competency Framework for Green Skills and other frameworks that may be identified during the inception stage. The mapping should also identify any competency gaps and potential entry points for integration of skills relevant to the Kosovo context.
- Primary and secondary data collection: Analyze the secondary data collected on the piloting process of the implementation of accredited skills building programmes in upper secondary schools, alignment with the competency framework as well as, collect qualitative information through key informant interviews and focus group discussions with education officials, teachers, and students to analyze the potential modalities for operationalization of skills building programmes within the formal education – for example as curricular, cocurricular and/or extra-curricular activities.
- Develop the theory of change for skills building programmes: Articulate the working definition of transferable skills and develop the theory of change and outcomes that define the contribution of transferable skills development and scaling up within formal and non-formal education. This should include a detailed indicator framework and means of verification for measuring the results and impact of UNICEF’s skills building programmes in skills acquisition and learning.
The analyses should place a specific focus on gender components and identify the gender responsive transferable skills
and competencies that are provided and/or would be relevant to the skills building programmes.
****Work Assignment Overview
Tasks/Milestone:**** Develop the inception report which includes a comprehensive desk review analysis of relevant materials, the methodological approach, the measurement tools for primary data collection and the plan for data analysis.
******Deliverables/Outputs:****** Inception report developed and submitted
****Timeline:**** July 2022
****Tasks/Milestone:**** Conduct the analytical mapping of UNICEF skills building programmes with the international and Kosovo curriculum competency frameworks.
****Deliverables/Outputs:**** Mapping analysis developed ****Timeline:****
July 2022
****Tasks/Milestone:**** Collect and analyse primary and secondary data from the piloting of accredited UNICEF skills building programmes in formal education (upper secondary school)
******Deliverables/Outputs:****** Qualitative primary data collected and analysis of secondary data from the piloting process completed
****Timeline:****
August - September 2022
****Tasks/Milestone:**** Articulate the working definition of transferable skills and develop the theory of change and outcomes that define the contribution of
transferable skills development and scaling up within formal and non-formal education, including a detailed indicator framework for measuring the results and impact of UNICEF’s skills building programmes in skills acquisition and learning.
******Deliverables/Outputs:****** Theory of Change and results framework developed
****Timeline:**** September 2022
****Tasks/Milestone:**** Develop the draft report based on the mapping and analysis of piloting process
******Deliverables/Outputs:****** Draft report developed and submitted
******Timeline:****** October – November 2022
****Tasks/Milestone:**** Develop the final report and presentation of assessment findings
******Deliverables/Outputs:****** Final report developed and submitted
****Timeline:****
November 2022 Minimum Qualifications required:
PhD
****Minimum Qualifications required:**** - Advanced academic degree in social science or relevant fields - Extensive knowledge and expertise in the field of education, competency frameworks and skills building programmes. - Proven knowledge and expertise in conducting mapping analysis and qualitative data collection and processing. - Working experience with the Governments, UN and international agencies. - Excellent inter-personal relations and consulting skills. - Ability to work in a multi-disciplinary team and establish harmonious and effective working relationships. - Fluent in English language
Added 1 year ago
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Updated 1 year ago
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Source:
unicef.org
