Democratic School Development

The work on school development in Ukraine is a continuation of the Schools for Democracy Programme (2015-2017), a successful national programme in education for democratic citizenship. It supports 240 schools in their democratic institutional development aiming at creating a safe and inclusive learning environment that could better foster democratic competences of students.

Project activities are designed to support introduction of sustainable and systematic democratic changes in three areas of school life: school governance and learning environment, teaching and learning, and cooperation with the community. The Project is implemented in close cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and in partnership with the Center of Education Initiatives (Lviv). It is operated via a network of trainers organized into eight regional hubs each supporting up to 30 schools.

The project provides guidance, support and mentoring to schools through: 

• intensive trainings for school teams – teachers, school heads, parents and community actors;
• follow-up workshops at schools involving all key stakeholders – students, teachers, parents, school administration and local community actors;
• school projects in one of the three areas of school development (teaching and learning, school governance and learning environment, and cooperation with the community);
• national conferences and regional dissemination seminars for peer-learning and experience sharing with 800 more schools;
• mini-grants scheme for strengthening local and regional cooperation between schools.

More Interactive Teaching and Learning

New methods applied in the classrooms help to make teaching & learning process more interactive and interesting for all. Teachers of Ternopil school №14 and Khorol specialized school №1 from the EWC Schools for Democracy in Ukraine, provide inspiration.

Involving students in decision-making

Radivilivsky lyceum and Konotop Secondary School №10 are both participating in the EWC Schools for Democracy and are good examples of changes which should be made to assure participation of students, parents, teachers along with the school administration and community representatives in school governance and culture.

Cooperation with the Local Community

Participating in finding solutions for the challenges of local community development can be the core driver of democratic changes at schools.

Students took the lead

Students at Ivan Trush Gymnasium in Brody, Ukraine, were tired of being passive participants of school events organized by the teachers, having no real impact on school life. To change things they launched their own version of TED-Talks: Almam Talks.

Successful marathon of online trainings in Ukraine

“We have just successfully completed a one-month long marathon of 8 thematic trainings online”, exclaims Olena Shynarovska, Programme Coordinator for EWC’s Schools for Democracy in Ukraine. 32 trainers conducted 96 training sessions over a total of 144 hours involving 115 school teams with a total of 220 participants.

Learning Democracy through Play

A festival of learning democracy through play – In a world which had yet to learn what Covid-19 was, Marhanets school #3 held the mini-festival “Country of Democracy in Ukraine.

Schools for Democracy alumni wins prestigious title in Ukraine

EWC is happy to congratulate Schools for Democracy Alumni Vasyl Diakiv on winning the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine 2020. Starting at almost 3000 nominated candidates Vasyl was announced the winner in Kyiv October 3rd, a truly great achievement!

Online National Schools for Democracy Conference in Ukraine

Around 240 participants gathered for the online national conference “Schools for Democracy” in Ukraine June 24.

Schools for Democracy moved online

EWC’s Schools for Democracy in Ukraine moved the training of 120 schools online due to the current outbreak of the corona virus. Work has also been intensified on a Massive Open Online Course on «How to build a democratic school», which will hopefully be launched in June.

Schools for Democracy Project Report 2017-2019

The following report summarizes the EWC’s work in Ukraine in 2017 – 2019 within the programme “Schools for Democracy: Supporting Education Reforms in Ukraine”. The report was prepared for the programme’s donors and partners, but it contains the information relevant
for all stakeholders

Stronger partnerships with the community

Before joining the Schools for Democracy Programme Bilozirya secondary school did not experience close cooperation with parents and other members of the local community. The school followed its own routines without involving outsiders. Most decisions were made by the administration.

Motivated and more responsible youth at Dniprovokamyanka school

A small village school from Dnipropetrovsk region stopped demanding pointless obedience from their students and instead encouraged active participation, bringing up responsible pupils.

Students worked with City Council

Konotop City Council members and gymnasium students decided on the future of “Dignity Land” together. According to the rules of an educational game, students and local officials from Konotop in Ukraine became members of a parliament of an imaginary country

Teacher training modules and materials

Tool for Democratic School Development

This EWC publication gives an introduction on how the whole school approach can help schools develop democratic competences.

Schools for Democracy Civic Responsibility Manual for Teachers

Manual for teachers developed upon the request from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine in order to support the renewed National Curriculum for K5-9 in Ukraine.

Living Democracy

Living Democracy is a unique educational resource promoting democracy and human rights in school. It combines ready-made lesson plans with ideas for action in the classroom

Our partners