Projects Approved for Schools with Best Practices

At the end of January this year, the Open Society Fund BiH announced a call for primary schools to nominate examples of good practices they have developed and implemented in their communities. The aim of the call was to collect, promote and present to the public innovative and sustainable school practices that improve the quality of primary education in BiH, reports the Patria news agency.

A total of 156 schools applied to the competition, with projects related to improving school-parent cooperation, promoting social justice, and encouraging students to think critically, be creative and conduct research.

The jury for the selection and choice of the best projects consisted of: Dženana Husremović, member of the Management Board of the Open Society Fund BiH and professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo, Beba Šarkinović, principal of Džemaludin Čaušević Primary School (one of the 10 best schools from 2014), Zinaida Ilaria, director of the Public Relations Agency ZPR, and Dženana Trbić, coordinator of the Education Program of the Open Society Fund BiH.

The criteria used by the jury were: completeness and clarity of the application; compliance with the principles of the given area; relevance of the practice; scope (whether the practice is applied at the level of one or several grades, or the entire school / multiple generations); sustainability (whether it is a one-time or repeated activity, or integrated into the overall work of the school and teaching practices); innovativeness; and quality.

The schools with the best projects come from all parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Brčko, Breza, Konjic, Goražde, Prijedor, Prnjavor, Sarajevo, Semizovac, Trebinje, Tuzla, and Vogošća.

The selected projects will be implemented during the 2015/2016 school year.

- The Open Society Fund BiH supports and implements projects that contribute to the professional and democratic development of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian education system, and advocates that it be based on the principles that education is a public good, interculturalism in education, respect for human rights and social justice - stated Dobrila Govedarica, executive director of the Open Society Fund BiH, adding that "quality education places the student and his/her needs at the center of attention, and at the same time long-term strives for the improvement of the entire society".

Fundamental values in education imply a responsible approach by all educational actors in creating curricula, ensuring high standards that guarantee quality education, and equal treatment of all children during schooling.