Trainer Notes:

   “Child-friendly”, “child-centered” , “student-centered” and “learning-friendly” classrooms have become quite the hot topic over the past few years.  The purpose of this curriculum is to first, compile some of the best literature surrounding this topic in order to provide teacher trainers with the information they need in order to have a strong understanding of both the rationale of this approach and the vocabulary and knowledge to facilitate conversation and learning around this approach.  The second part of this curriculum condenses this material even further into a 3-day training that provides teachers with an introduction to the concept, as well as with strategies they can immediately incorporate into their classrooms, schools, and communities.

Definition
    There is a wide range of literature on child-friendly classrooms, schools and communities all with varying definitions of “child-friendly”. 

UNICEF coined the phrase "child-friendly" and provides extensive information on the major tenants of a rights-based, child-friendly school as well as materials for making a school more child-friendly.  UNICEF defines rights-based, child-friendly schools as having two major characteristics, 1) Child-seeking  and  2) Child-centered.  This is further explained through 6 essential characteristics:

identifies the major components of a child-friendly environment as:

1) Being proactively inclusive

2) Advocating Human Rights

3) Being academically effective

4) Being healthy and safe

5) Being gender responsive

6) Being actively engaged with the community. (UNICEF, 2004) 

Orkodashvili (2010) nicely summarizes the Framework for Child-Friendly Schools:

UNICEF has developed a framework for rights-based, child-friendly educational systems
and schools that are characterized as "inclusive, healthy and protective for all children,
effective with children, and involved with families and communities - and children".
Within this framework:

• The school is a significant personal and social environment in the lives of its
  students. A child-friendly school ensures every child an environment that is physically
  safe, emotionally secure and psychologically enabling. 
• Teachers are the single most important factor in creating an effective and
  inclusive classroom. 
• Children are natural learners, but this capacity to learn can be undermined and
  sometimes destroyed. A child-friendly school recognizes, encourages and supports
  children's growing capacities as learners by providing a school culture, teaching
  behaviours and curriculum content that are focused on learning and the learner. 
• The ability of a school to be and to call itself child-friendly is directly linked to
  the support, participation and collaboration it receives from families. 
• Child-friendly schools aim to develop a learning environment in which children
  are motivated and able to learn. Staff members are friendly and welcoming to children
  and attend to all their health and safety needs.

Other organizations have also developed curricula with a child-friendly approach and communicate this approach in various ways.  The Paul Newman Foundation’s internationally renowned Hole in the Wall Camps break down child-friendly action into five components:  1) Fostering of a caring adult relationship; 2) Showing you believe a child can succeed; 3) Creating a “safe bubble”; 4) Focusing on the strengths and successes of the child; and 5) Working in partnership with the child.  (Bergholz et al, 2005). 

UNESCO communicates

“ ‘learning-friendly’ [to mean] placing the child firmly at the center of the learning process.  It also means recognizing that his or her total learning environment includes other actors (such as teachers, administrators, parents, and community leaders) who guide a child’s learning and are learners themselves.  A learning-friendly environment is one in which children benefit not only from learning by themselves, but also from the learning of others whose needs are also taken into consideration.  For instance, a learning-friendly environment gives children a chance to participate in their learning.  It also is an environment in which teachers are helped and empowered to learn, in which they use and adapt new teaching methods, and in which parents and community members are actively encouraged to participate in helping their children to learn and their schools to function (UNESCO, 2002). 

Finally, the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) Healing Classrooms Initiative, recognizes the importance of a classroom

..in which the rights of children and youth are respected, promoted and realized; that is attuned to the psychosocial well-being of children, youth and teachers; that provides relevant activities and learning opportunities; that empowers students and teachers through participation and engagement; that offers safe, health-promoting and gender-responsive environments; that promotes a culture of peace, dialogue, participation and tolerance through both what and how teachers teach; that teaches children and youth the life skills to make informed decisions, communicate effectively and develop coping and self-management skills, helping them to lead productive lives; in which there are opportunities for enhancing teacher skills, commitment and status, with particular attention to teacher capacities to prevent and respond to violence in schools; and that is supported by government authorities, parents and the community at large to ensure the safety and well-being of children and youth (Healing Classrooms Initiative, 2009). 

All of these definitions recognize the interconnectedness of child, teacher and community.  This curriculum will use information from all of these sources, in addition to others, to examine:

The Teacher - His or her powerful role and the challenges that exist to taking on this immense responsibility.

The Student - The wide range of needs that each individual brings to the classroom and the steps teachers can take to support the students' needs in order to foster learning.

The Community - The powerful role the community beyond the walls of the classroom can play in helping both teachers and students to be successful; and how the teacher can be a leader in building this bridge between school and community.

Training Guide - Introduction and Overview

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REFERENCES:

Bergholz, L., Brandwein, M., Porter, J., Nagler, S., Mallow, B., Kabwe, M., Fox, A., & Carlson, K. The      Association of the Hole In The Wall Camps. (2005). Building Blocks Workshop and Training Manual.       The Paul Newman Foundation, Global Partnership Initiative. 

Healing Classrooms Initiative.  (2009).  The Basics.  International Rescue Committee.  Retrieved      September 17, 2010 from http://www.healingclassrooms.com/basics/3/1.2.html.

Orkodashvili, M. (2010).  Quality education through Child-Friendly Schools: resource allocation
     for the protection of children's rights.  Retrieved September 17, 2010 from ERIC.

UNESCO. (2002).  Embracing diversity: Toolkit for creating inclusive, learning-friendly environments      (ILFE).  UNESCO Bangkok.  Retrieved September 17, 2010 from      

     www2.unescobkk.org/elib/publications/032revised/booklet0.pdf.

UNICEF. (2004).  Education in emergencies in South Asia: Reducing the risks facing vulnerable children.      Centre for International Education and Research (CIER), School of Education, University of      Birmingham, UK and UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia.  Retrieved September 10, 2010 from      www.unicef.org/rosa/Report1.pdf.

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