Day 5: Ministry Madness

Hi everyone! Apologies for the blogging delays...we had a few days of really touch-and-go (at best) internet access there that weren't at all conducive to photo uploading and blog posting. However, we arrived back in the states last night and the blog posts should be coming fast and furious for the next few days, in shaa'Allah.

We started our first early morning with a fast breakfast before heading out to grab five taxis (not the easiest task) to take us to our first meeting. After meeting up with Rita, we headed into an absolutely beautiful new building overlooking Rabat, which they were still in the process of putting together, painting, and furnishing. We were greeted by a large contingent from Rabat's AREF, or Academic Regional Office of Education and Training, an organization responsible for helping to decentralize the education system of Morocco and place more power in the hands of local school districts. The director is a women, first one we've met in a position that high, and she was very gracious in greeting us and launching into her presentation. It was also the first presentation in a room with heat, which was much appreciated on this very cold morning.

There was still shrink wrap on the sign!

The reform (decentralizing control) is not easy, and is taking time to implement. There is a national strategy, but each AREF has the ability to mould it to meet the needs of their particular area. The AREFs, created in 2000 and operational in 2003, are tasked with working towards national educational decentralization and deconcentration of power, transferring control from the MoE to local ownership. The AREFs are financially independent, and each has a director that is in charge of planning, budgeting, and recruiting teams, as well as aligning local goals with the overall strategy of the MoE.

Mark asked if, in light of recent political changes including a new constitution and Minister of Education, they expected the government to become more or less willing to relinqush control and truly follow through with the decentralization plan. The director said that decentralization has taken place more in the MoE than other ministries. Current MoE officials will say that they have decentralized 85% of the budget, however from the AREF's point of view, the power hasn't really shifted. Even though the money has been channeled through them, it comes with strings and they are told how to spend it. Different cities have different priorities, and should be allowed to determine how best to spend their money. One example that was given was that of school building. After the Emergency Plan was put into place, the process of building schools was greatly slowed down because other priorities were defined by the MoE that hindered progress. When things are done at a national level instead of a local one, it often takes a much longer time and cannot be done as efficiently. The director described the decentralization process like cutting apart the pieces of a person (any other horror fans out there?) rather than creating a new person in each area that is independent and fully functioning. While they hope that the recent changes will reflect positively, no one is ever quite sure what the future holds.

Early morning meeting with the AREF.

The challenge is not simply getting all students into school, but creating "schools of success," or schools of high quality. Morocco has made great progress in enrollment, however it created an issue of reduced quality that now need to be addressed. In Rabat there is almost 100% enrollment for primary school and very high in secondary school. It is important for Rabat to not only prepare students for academic success, but also instill within them with the 21st Century skills necessary to be successful in life and business. It is the goal of the AREF to support students in their development of a love of learning and a desire to continue their education both in and out of traditional educational institutions.

In 2008 there was a report from the Council for Higher Education that revealed both the progress towards goals and continued weaknesses evident in the Moroccan education system. It was this report that spurred the Emergency Plan. One of the identified weaknesses is drop out, of both students and teachers. The director feels that some teachers do not take their job seriously, even though it is a noble profession. There is also a problem of orientation for students, meaning they don't always know their options for the future, or how to attain them. Limited pedagogy is also a problem, as teachers need more strategies to share information with students. Finally, the government remains hesitant. Although there was a great deal of public pressure for decentralization and everyone expected it would be implemented, the government seems unwilling to relinquish power fully, which stifles the autonomy and flexibility of AREFs across the country. 500,000 students, 23,000 teachers and administrators.

The Director (right) explaining their programs.

Completion rates for high school dropped a few years ago because the policy changed, and now it is harder to graduate (if you get a grade lower than 10/20) you cannot graduate, because they don't simply want to graduate students who are unqualified. This is part of the plan to strive for excellence within schools. Below is some recent data that sheds interesting light on the issues facing Moroccan education:

Drop out rates: 
                                 National             Rabat
Primary                      3.3%             0.023%
Middle school             12.9%             2.08%
High school                  13%               2.03%

Repetition Rates: 
                                 National           Rabat
Primary                       12%              5.8%
Middle school             16.1%             20%
High school                18.8%             16%

Completion Rates:
                                 National            Rabat
Primary                     87.3%            91.01%
Middle school            53.8%            48.67%
High school               42.5%            55.53%

The Emergency Program brought much change, including the creation of schools with a common identity (how buildings look or common colors). The AREF of Rabat has used government provided funding to greatly improve facilities in many schools that sorely needed it. AREF's first step was to evaluate buildings and facilities, so they evlauated the condition of school facilities. They also made partnerships with organizations which provided them with money and materials to update existing infrastructures to make them safer and more attractive. In order to encourage schools to maintain themselves, a competition was created that awards prizes to schools that are clean, great, etc. It has proven very effective.

They focus on the artistic division, where they have competitions to inspire creativity in painting, drawing, music and theater. Students are encouraged to use their identity and experiences to create art. Science and technology is also extremely important to the AREF of Rabat. They provide technology and resources to all schools, including those in rural areas, to encourage students to learn about science. Citizenship is cultivated in each school, with students creating their own charters for schools that outline rules and expectations for their peers. Schools and students themselves are very invested in these programs, and are quite enthusiastic. These programs allow students to learn in different ways and find things that make them excited about education. This AREF is focused on "goose philosophy" where everyone works together to support eachother and, in doing so, is more efficient.

Student art illustrating the goose philosophy.

Sophia and Rachel asked about how (if) the different AREFs worked together with each other as well as outside organizations. The different AREFs work within the same frameworks, with the same goals and projects. However each one is independent and picks a focus area. The director feels that Rabat gets kind of a raw deal, because everyone assumes that the capital city has everything they need and does not require extra support. This is not true, of course, which makes this difficult. At this point there is not much collaboration between the AREFs, however hopefully things will change in the future. Sometimes programs start in one AREF, and become national, like a poetry competition and movie competition that both began in Rabat.

The region of Rabat has the highest concentration of students with special needs, and has many organizations that work with them, including NGOs and international aid organizations. I asked about programs for students with special needs at the nonformal education division last week, and they told me to speak to the director of the AREF. I was given a great segue into the subject so I jumped on it. They have 70 classes for students with special needs in Rabat. Only 30% of all children with special needs are enrolled within this district. The classes at different schools are managed by different associations, and training of teachers is often provided by international organizations. Special schools are formed for students with Down Syndrome and cerebral palsy. The local AREF does adaptitive tests, and this year they even had a few students who were able to complete their baccalaureates in even very difficult subjects. Three students graduated this year, with CP, Down Syndrome, and autism. They were granted an audience with the king who ensured that they will be able to continue their education beyond high school. There is also a project underway to build a center for students with special needs. The director of a the project had personal experiences with a professor in a wheelchair that changed his perception of people with disabilities, and made him a passionate advocate for the rights of students with special needs. It should be ready at the end of 2012, so I have one year to learn French and Moroccan Arabic if I want a job there, haha.

Getting a tour of other facilities.

Although I have found all of our meetings truly fascinating, I must say that this department was a favorite. Perhaps because it was headed by a woman, it felt as though they were the most collaborative, supportive group out of anyone we met with. She was also the only director to take the time to specifically thank her team, which I really appreciated. They really seem to live the "goose philosophy" and I think it would be a pleasure to work in an environment like that in the future.

Also, they gave us delicious cookies.

Our next meeting was across down with the Office for Quality, an incredibly important part of the trip if we are to understand the way Moroccans measure the quality of their education system. Since the aim of this trip is to investigate quality, we were all extremely excited for this session and were very upset when it had to be cancelled last week when a meeting ran over time. Luckily, we were able to reschedule. Fun fact: This is the first presentation we have had in Arabic, all the rest have been in French. I found it a little harder to focus since I couldn't get a single word (I understand at least a little of the French), but Rita continues to impress with her incredible translating skills. She was listening to Moroccan Arabic, translating it to English, and asking questions back in French. Incredible.

At the beginning of the meeting, Rita introduced us all, and I couldn't help but be impressed by the broad range of international experience represented in this group of 15 students. Together we have lived in Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, China, Guinea, India, Japan, Liberia, Mali, Morocco, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States. That is pretty sweet! Gatherings like this give me hope for the future as our world becomes increasingly globalized; we can get together, do important work, and HAVE FUN!

Sameera, Veronika and Brian ready to talk quality.

The director of the quality department began by pointing out the fact that Morocco was the first country to recognize the US as a sovereign nation, which has led to a long, supportive relationship between the two countries. Education teaches values, and can promote peace. In the National Charter, there were six main pillars on which schools were to focus, one of which was quality of education. This includes preparing students for their future. Quality education is provided by the schools, and this department was created to support the quality learning at high standards. Morocco has been participating in TIMSS and PIRLS since 1991, and unfortunately, the evidence suggests that Moroccan students do not perform very well on these internatioanl tests. In order to improve this, special attention must be paid to the quality of schooling and teachers must be supported.

Rachel diligently taking notes at the meeting.

This department aims to increase the quality of learning and the quality of academic content. Three main factors afect quality: inputs, processes, and outcomes. The dpearmtne of quality looked at the Japanese model, and American and European frameworks as benchmarks for how to develop a local system to evaluate quality. The work's foundations are in the creation of a quality system, implementing the system within educational institutions, and maintaining sustainable strategies to keep work going. There are various levels of quality systems, which include schools, regional organizations, national level etc. The division grants accreditation to schools that follow and enact quality standards.

Learning about quality!

The Moroccan Framework for Quality (MFQ) has nine criteria: commitment to vision and values, leadership and strategic planning, human resources management, resource allocation, standardization and innovation, development process efficiency, just satisfaction of stakeholders, results and performance, and improvement and future plans. There are a lot of implications of the framework. It hopes to raise awareness about how important quality education is for society, involve different stakeholders, and create a culture that supports educational quality. Different methodologies are used to measure quality in different institutions. Quality audits are used to compare performance to international standards. The process starts with an initial meeting where the process is explained. A follow-up visit allows everyone to define the steps and measures used to evaluate. The third step is to create an evaluation and distribute it among the auditors. Finally, a report is composed detailing the results and this is shared with the organization. Projects are changed depending on the evironment, and different things are required of different schools. All of this is refered to as the National Strategy for the Quality of School Projects. It is part of the ongoing process to empower schools. Proximity is also important as schools are evaluated in a locally applicable way.

Challenges to quality implementation include principals with varying performance levels, limited scope of evaluation at participating schools, a lack of stakeholder commitment, and a limited capacity for coaching and supervising classroom instruction (especially in rural areas). Principalship requiers management skills, budgetting, monirtoring and evaluation, each of which requires its own training, leading to the creation of training teams for each topic. These courses work to prepare teachers to meet international standards. One problem with training is the difficulty ensuring that the skills are sustainable and able to be applied in all settings. Equity must be present in all levels (from individual schools through the ministry) in order to get the highest quality schools.

Quick group photo in the lobby before heading out.

We snuck in a quick lunch and perusal of some local newspapers and magazines on our way to our final meeting.

Keeping up with the latest news! Well...sort of.

Our last "real" meeting of the day was with the department of higher education. I was so tired (they put us in a warm room with low lights and I was a goner) and my notes are absolute crap, so Kana and Mike (our resident higher ed afficionados) are going to do a guest blog on the higher ed system here in Morocco.

This room begs to be napped in...

Before heading to dinner, we took a spin by the preschool that had been lending us their bus for the week. We were met by the extremely gracious head of the school and his assistant who showed us around the absolutely beautiful school. It was colorful, and open, and really supported young learners. The school teaches students aged 3-5 and when they first come into the class they are taught in the language spoken at home (either French or Arabic). As the year progresses the languages are blended more to increase proficiency in both. The walls are covered in student art/work and it just seems like exactly the kind of place I would want to send my preschooler. We were very very impressed.

The wonderful director of the center.

Fun kid artwork!

Open, colorful, exciting classrooms.

I think this mountain backdrop (completed by the preschoolers with teacher help) was totally awesome. The preschool visit was a great way to end the day

After saying our goodbyes and profusely thanking them for the use of their bus, we headed off to dinner at the Carrefour food court (overpriced but tasty "Asian" food at Bangkok Cafe for me) where we ate incredibly delicious cake and sang Afi into her 25th year on earth. Then it was time to go home and crash in preparation for an early morning.

Mad Libs: (Analyzing) the (Policies) of (Quality) Education (Systems)

Policy of decentralized management – AREF Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaers

This morning we woke up bright and early to make-up the Quality Workshop that we missed last week. Fortunately, our hosts at the Academy for Education and Training (AREF) were gracious enough to meet us earlier to accommodate our busy schedule. As I’m sure Meaghan will provide more details, the short version is that in the process of decentralization, Morocco created regional entities known as AREFs. Each AREF branch operates as an autonomous, independent organization, and we were meeting with some of the staff at AREF-Rabat.

The first thing that I noticed upon arriving was that the building was very much a work in progress. There was still talking plastic on the walls, dust on the stairs, masking tape on the door knobs, and the scent of fresh paint permeated the air. There were even a handful of handymen on ladders completing last minute projects.

Moroccan who got Tom Sawyer-ed

As we were climbing up four narrow flights of stairs, I wondered whether the elevator was functional yet. That said, it was clear that the end product was going to be beautiful, as evidenced by the killer view on the top floor. Additionally, despite the “Please excuse our appearances” downstairs, the office was well-equipped with what appeared to be a lab, whiteboards, and a desultory assortment of computer equipment. Everything about the place screamed modern, contemporary, and open.

A view from the top floor

This spacious environment seemed to reflect the wide influence and leadership style of Mme. Tijania Fertat, the sassy but inspirational female director who gave a wonderful presentation about some of the ongoing reform projects in Rabat. The initiatives to promote art, culture, and science in Rabat schools struck me as particularly progressive and innovative. In past meetings, we heard a lot about the pedagogy of integration and 21st Century Skills, but it was great to see actual examples of programs that were implemented successfully.
In the case of AREF-Rabat, it seemed that competitions were a particularly successful method of fostering school culture, whether it was a “Cleanest School Contest,” an art exhibition, or a filmmaking contest.

A unique characteristic of Rabat is its reliance on partnerships with local NGOs and private businesses. Although the MoE provided a yearly budget, this AREF had taken it upon itself to subsidize its operations with outside private funding (I got the impression that a large part of its success in fundraising stemmed from Mme. Fertat’s gumption). She mentioned, somewhat exasperatedly, that since they were still in the process of transitioning to a decentralized system, the MoE still exercised quite a bit of control over the budget and contracting decisions. The concept of government money “with strings attached,” immediately reminded me of Race to the Top, in which states compete for federal grant money. Although the AREFs don’t seem to be in direct competition with eachother for funds, there does seem to be an issue regarding the equitable distribution of resources. According to the director, the perception of Rabat as a privileged and urban region has resulted in less government assistance. As such, they have been forced to rely on outside sources, and they were fortunate enough to be within close proximity to several corporations or NGOs within the community. These partnerships have given way to successful projects such as renovating schools, a center for innovation, and science equipment. It does raise the question, however, about more AREFs in areas that may lack the support of private companies or nearby organizations. As I was enjoying the warmth of the brightly-lit conference room (this office was the first Moroccan building where we have experienced an electric heater), I was convinced that there is no way all AREFs enjoyed such beautiful facilities. Where does decentralization leave them? Sometimes I wonder whether the overexcitement for deregulation or regionalization often leads to missed opportunities for information sharing or creating a common knowledge base. This is true at the macro national level, but it’s even true at Harvard University, in which there is little communication or collaboration between schools.

Office of Quality Management
We were all eager to return to the MoE for our make-up session with the Office of Quality. As you know, the unifying theme among all three IEP trips is Implementing Quality in Education, and we wanted to emphasize it on this trip. Not to mention that we also just felt awful for missing our original Friday meeting, since Moroccans are just so darn kind and welcoming. This panel was no exception, as the Director of Quality opened with a beautiful and poignant reference to Jefferson’s “Pursuit of Happiness” which actually elicited a rare mid-presentation round of applause.

The Office of Quality Management was only established in 2009, so the structure and framework of the organization is quite impressive, given its relative newness. We were fortunate enough to have the participation of several departments, specializing in various sectors such as Manuals, Evaluation and Auditing, and Teacher Quality Training. It was a remarkably well-organized presentation that featured representatives from various departments.

One section that I found particularly fascinating was their use of international frameworks (from Europe, North America, and Japan) as references. They discussed the process of selecting aspects which were appropriate for the Moroccan context, while being sensitive to the particularities of Moroccan culture and history. It was a page straight out of Fernando Reimers' Lessons in Educational Equality regarding the framework of contextual transfer. The Moroccan bright spots were chasing international bright spots. It’s all very meta.

This photo is also very meta

One point I will make is that in education policy, it is so easy to fall into the trap of jargon quicksand. As an English major, I’ve been trained to be as concrete and precise as possible, so abstract, undefined terms such as “systems,” “assessment,” and “learning” kind of annoy me. At some point, “implementing system,” “maintaining systems,” and “sustaining systems” become either interchangeable or meaningless to me. What does an “education quality evaluation system” actually look like? Apparently I wasn’t the only one who was grasping for something concrete throughout the presentation, since Mark took it upon himself to create a word bank for “Education System Mad Lib.” We’re playing it next game night. So to future education practitioners: Complicated flowcharts and Redundant, Abstract Vocabulary = bad. Visual collateral (videos, brochures, manuals, etc) = good.

Azeituna Preschool
On a closing note, I wanted to give a shout out to the wonderful people at Azeituna preschool. In addition to generously lending us their school bus (and driver!) to cart us around the streets of Rabat, they were kind enough to meet us late in the evening to take a tour of their school. After sitting through a series of formal meetings and presentations, it was very refreshing to visit an actual school where all the policy and theory comes together. This particular preschool seemed to do a great job in staying abreast of issues regarding early childhood education. Everything from the language of instruction to the architectural design were deliberate decisions to further the school philosophy and mission. I know Meaghan is going to gush about that experience, so brace yourself for some visually stimulating, colorful photos!

P.S. Happy Birthday to my Moroccan Roommate Afi!
P.P.S. Did I mention that we saw the King of Morocco? Because we did. 

Quality Control: Our Mission in Morocco

Hi everyone! I am currently reporting from the library of the teacher training center where our crew is lodging in Rabat, Morocco. I am sitting next to my compatriot in arms, Meaghan, who is blogging away furiously at my side. I was taking a much overdue shower when she started, so I am going to assume that she has already described in vivid detail the not-so-sordid details of our plane ride from JFK to Casablanca, the bus that shuttled us to our gorgeous lodgings in Rabat, the monstrous three course behemoth that was destined to become our first Moroccan meal, our bleary-eyed but no less engaging meetings at the Ministry of Education (MoE), silly pictures in front of colorful mosaics, our precious mint tea pick-me-up, and stuffing our faces with McDonald’s tajine, from the Megamall food court. If not… well, at the very least, she took more pictures than me.

Most of our colleagues are already tucked in bed trying to readjust their circadian rhythms, so I just wanted to provide a brief reflection of some of the more salient themes that I noticed before heading upstairs myself. Although we were all exhausted from the overnight flight, everybody was excited and eager to greet our hosts at the Ministry. Today, we met with representatives from the Department of Cooperation; the Department of Communication; and the Department of Strategy, Planning, and Statistics. The representatives from the MoE were nothing short of gracious and surprisingly candid about the current state of their education system. We learned this afternoon that we had arrived during an atypical moment of massive transition. As of yesterday, January 4, a new Minister of Education took office. Additionally, on a more macro-level, Morocco has also been affected by the global events such as Arab Spring and the financial crisis. As such, the administrators reported having to tread lightly in order to navigate a tumultuous and unpredictable political environment, despite aspiring to push through an ambitious reform plan known as “Programme d’Urgence” or the “Emergency Plan.”

Despite these difficult conditions, I was immediately struck by the consistency of the message across the various departments.  In both of the meetings, the directors acknowledged some of the real challenges and dire needs of the education system. Nonetheless, there seemed to be an air of optimism and anticipation that seemed to pervade underneath the surface. Given the relative instability and newness of some of the proposed reforms, the officials seemed to see a great opportunity for real progress as well. Each of the representatives seemed particularly proud of the sheer volume and scope of their recent reform plan, which is comprised of 26 projects, subdivided into 136 subprojects, and hiring 2800 project managers alone. Although it was never stated explicitly, the fact that there were so many active projects underway were a great source of accomplishments, as prior to the Emergency Plan, any “reform” lived more in the realm of ideas than real world implementation.

There seemed to be consensus that the “dysfunction” in Moroccan Education was not necessarily negligence or failure to recognize the problems, whether they be dropout, attrition, or illiteracy. Rather, there were strategies and plans in place to remedy them – the flaw lied in the actual implementation stage. One example that kept recurring was the question of quality versus quantity. Most of the officials agreed that past administrations had effectively reduced problems of educational access. Across all fronts (building schools, providing computers, training teachers, etc), they believed that their efforts to increase capacity have been effective. Although they acknowledged that issues such as transportation and poverty continue to affect access, on balance, the implementation of public education has been relatively successful. That said, just because education is available doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good. For this reason, the current administration is putting quality on the top of its agenda.

In the few hours that we spent at the Ministry, we encountered the same paradigm of access vs. quality over and over. One of the most memorable lessons of IEP has been the scandal of Greg Mortenson his Three Cups of Tea. Namely, the creation of several “schools” in Afghanistan, that in actuality, were little more than empty buildings that served more goats than students. As we discussed this phenomenon in class, countless classmates contributed similar examples in which new schools were built in developing countries, but they failed to produce any meaningful educational outcomes due to lack of trained or qualified teachers, oversight, commitment to gender equity, and a host of other essential criteria. Obviously, these are huge ideas that deserve thoughtful reflection, and most of us were probably too exhausted to process the significance of them. For example, absently, I thought about the current America infatuation with increasing access through “school choice” such as vouchers or charter systems. Obviously, this claim requires more substantial development which I don’t have the energy to do now, but needless to say, this mission is shaping up to provide all sorts of insight and nuggets of wisdom to enrich our classroom experience.

Can’t wait to see what mindblowing gems we'll unearth tomorrow!