International Consultant to provide technical support in review and update national preschool curriculum “Ilk Kadam”

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Application deadline 2 years ago: Wednesday 16 Jun 2021 at 18:55 UTC

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Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

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Background:

Early Childhood Development and Education is one of the priority areas of the UNICEF Uzbekistan Country Programme. UNICEF has been providing technical assistance to the Government of Uzbekistan in its efforts to improve access to quality Early Childhood Education (ECE) services. One of the key achievements of the Ministry of Preschool Education (MOPSE) and UNICEF joint efforts last Country Programme for 2015-2020 was revision of the Early Learning and Development Standards (ELDS) of Uzbekistan and development of the new curriculum for preschool education in line with ELDS, using a competency-based approach. To ensure efficient and effective introduction and implementation of the newly developed ELDS and Curriculum, UNICEF provided technical support in capacity development activities of preschool teachers by training of Master Trainers at the National and Regional levels as specialists capable of expanding the training to cover all teachers. In support of the curriculum implementation UNICEF supported development of six Teacher Guidebooks to enhance quality teaching and learning and support preschool teachers with methodological guidelines in different areas.

A number of policy and legal developments have happened during last couple of years. The “Law on Preschool Education” was developed with UNICEF’s technical support to MOPSE and passed by the Senate in December 2019. The Law advocates for equal rights of boys and girls to preschool education. The Law defines the rights of children to ECCE and the directions of state policy in ECCE. The Law guarantees the right of every child to receive compulsory one-year preprimary education in state-run preschools before entering school.

UNICEF supported the government to develop a National Education Quality Framework (NEQF), based on various existing models, and particularly UNESCO (2005) framework. Taking this forward in 2019, UNICEF supported the government in designing the Education Quality Assurance Framework (EQAF) including quality standards and performance indicators, that are in line with NEQF, at the preschool and basic education levels. Following the development of EQAF, in 2019, UNICEF provided support to government to design instruments and guidelines for (a) reflective self-evaluation to be carried out internally by preschools and schools; and (b) more objective external quality review to be implemented by designated inspectors/supervisors. The draft instruments for both school self-evaluation and external evaluation were piloted and are now being finalized.

In 2019, UNICEF supported the government in drafting new Teacher Qualification Frameworks and Teacher Professional Standards for preschool and general secondary school teachers. Teacher professional standards represent the characteristics of high-quality teaching for the twenty-first century, including subject knowledge, pedagogical expertise, ethical values and wider understanding of the systemic issues in education and teacher professionalism. The framework and standards are going to be the basis for the revision of pre-service training programmes, for in-service professional development and for teacher appraisal and finally contribute to overall improving the quality of teachers.

Taking into account all mentioned developments, MOPSE has requested UNICEF to provide support to review and suggest revisions of the preschool curriculum to reflect recent developments.

Purpose:

The purpose of this assignment is to provide technical support to the Government of Uzbekistan (specifically to the Ministry of Preschool Education) to review and update the national preschool curriculum “ilk Kadam”. The specific focus objectives are:

  1. To do a gap and needs assessment with regard to the use of preschool curriculum and its actual execution/ implementation in preschools in the current context.
  2. Based on the need’s assessment as well as a desk review of the best international practices, provide recommendations on the areas for improvement, and develop an outline /work plan for the tasks with regard to the revision of the curriculum.
  3. Support the experts in MOPSE in the revision of the curriculum with all necessary updates.

Description of the Assignment and Tasks:

The assignment is expected to start in June 2021 and should be finalized by October 2021.

The Consultant is expected to implement the following activities and provide following deliverables:

  1. To conduct needs assessment regarding preschool curriculum use and implementation:
    • Develop a survey tool for teachers to find out their opinion to curriculum, challenges and areas for improvement, etc.
    • Conduct survey.
    • Focus groups discussions, both with Methodists and experts, to obtain an external alternative assessment of the needs of teachers and their difficulties in the implementation of curriculum, proposals for improvement, etc.
  2. Analysis of the data obtained from needs assessment, desk review of the best international practices and development of the recommendations of the areas to improve and outline of the work.
    • Desk review of the international experience and locally produced laws, by-laws, normative and legal documents.
    • Analysis of the data received, preparation of an inception report with a categorization of problems, needs, proposals.
    • Development of recommendations and a package of proposals for the renewal of Ilk Kadam, which also teaches the requirements of the law on preschool education
  3. Revision of the Curriculum with all necessary updates
  • Establishing the working group
  • Conduct workshop for the working group to present an analysis of the needs assessment and proposals for the curriculum update.
  • Development of the work plan for the group and identify roles and responsibilities
  • Supervising and mentoring the work of the working group work
  • Presentation of the updated version for different stakeholders, collecting feedback
  • Completion of work and delivery of the final Ilk Kadam.
  • Provide Process Documenting report

Management:

International Consultant will work under direct supervision of ECD Officer. The International Consultant will be working in consultation with national partners and government officials.

Resource requirements:

According to UNICEF policy, the final fees will be set up based on the “best value for money” principle. Total thirty five (35) working days are allocated for accomplishment of all tasks and deliverables within the period of June – October 2021. Payment will be made upon satisfactory completion of the assignment and provision of reports of accomplished tasks and deliverables approved by the supervisor.

The candidates are requested to submit their financial offer consisting of fee for the services to be provided. in case of travel to Uzbekistan all travel arrangements will be done based on the UNICEF rules and regulations.

The Consultant will receive direct payment to his/her indicated bank account.

Required qualifications and areas of expertise:

The candidate should have following qualifications and expertise:

  • Advanced University degree in education, or in any other relevant Social Sciences with a focus on ECD/E (validated by qualifications);
  • At least 10 years of professional and relevant experience in education, preferably in ECD/E in curriculum development, development and delivering training activities, preferably in CEE/CIS countries. Work experience in Uzbekistan would be an asset (validated by CV);
  • Good analytical and writing skills, with a specific focus on development of curricula, teaching-learning materials for preschool education (verified by examination of evidence from previous assignment deliverables).
  • Excellent written and spoken skills in Russian and working knowledge of English will be an asset (verified an interview).

Procedures and Working Conditions

UNICEF will reserve copy right of all developed materials and own primary data collected through this assignment. The materials cannot be published or disseminated without prior written permission of UNICEF. UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify materials produced at any time.

The consultant must clearly identify any potential ethical issues arising from the fulfilment of her/his tasks and duties in the framework of this assignment and ensure that s/he performs the assignment in a manner that does not expose UNICEF to any such risks. This last sentence contains a very important point.

The Consultant is expected to work independently and respond to feedback from the supervisor in a timely and professional manner, to be results driven, and to have the ability to work under pressure and meet required deadlines. You again used parallelism (to work/to be/to have) to connect your ideas.

UNICEF undertakes no liability for taxes, duty or other contribution payable by the consultant on payments made under this contract

Reservations.

UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if the performance is unsatisfactory, if deliverable(s) are incomplete, not finalized or for failure to meet deadlines. UNICEF will reserve copyright of all developed materials and own primary data collected through this assignment. The materials cannot be published or disseminated without prior written permission of UNICEF. UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future. The contractor must respect the confidentiality of the information handled during the assignment. Documents and information provided must be used only for the tasks related to these terms of reference.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: unicef.org