KHACHATUR ABOVYAN ARMENIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

The Transforming Teacher Education for Green and Digital Transition in Armenia and Moldova Project (T4GREEN) Project, which is being carried out within the scope of the Erasmus+ Program, kicked off at the Armenian State Pedagogical University (ASPU).

The three-year project will be facilitated by the ASPU, with the participation of 13 universities and organizations from Armenia and other countries, including the Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal, Moldova and more.

Three main areas will be exposed to transformation and review, including foreign languages, special pedagogy and inclusivity and the program approaches in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The expected outcomes are a revised pentagonal plan for Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree Programs, as well as two short-term credit programs based on modern criteria.

ASPU Rector Srbuhi Gevorgyan wished the participants success and expressed gratitude to the European Union for providing the Armenian State Pedagogical University with the opportunity to carry out this Program for the second time.

“The major issues in pedagogy have an important place in the world; we see the transformations that are taking place on a daily basis. Among the key objectives of the Program is to build the capacities of workers at the national, institutional and administrative levels, decision-makers, researchers and professors, allowing for transformation and revision of the policies on and programs devoted to teacher education for implementation of goals that are targeted at general education and the nation in order to support green and digital education,” Rector Srbuhi Gevorgyan remarked and also expressed gratitude to the representatives of the consortium universities of the Program for being involved in the activities aimed at improving teacher education.

Head of the Cooperation Unit of the EU Commission in Armenia Frank Hess doesn’t hide the fact that he is glad to attend kick-off conferences for international programs.

“This time I am twice as delighted because the program is indirectly linked to teacher education and the key issues related to this. Years ago, I was involved in teaching, and over time, I realized the importance of teaching capabilities, most of which are reflected within the scope of the program — for a green and digital education…without it, it will be impossible to ensure sustainable development of the society,” Frank Hess remarked, adding that green and digital education is not only about ecology and technologies, but is also aimed at ensuring inter-disciplinary ties and is devoted to a number of issues related to that.

Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan congratulated on the launch of the Program and, as President of the ASPU Board of Trustees, attaches importance to the Program from the perspective of large-scale reforms in education and the development of a concept paper on teacher education.

“Reforms in teacher education are strictly pivotal. Schools and a lot of things are changing, but one thing remains unchanged — teachers remain the most important people in schools, and their impact on children and educational outcome and content is invaluable. It is important that the quality and content of teacher education is in line with the modern challenges that exist,” Minister Andreasyan remarked, adding that the reforms in the general education sector must definitely be reflected in teaching education.

Zhanna Andreasyan attached importance to the Transforming Teacher Education for Green and Digital Transition in Armenia and Moldova Project also from the perspective of transformation of the content of higher education, that is to say, the concept, adding that it has to become competitive, internationally recognizable and likeable. The Minister assured that in the axis of reforms, higher education is of pivotal significance, and so the concept paper on teacher education, which is being developed through the Project, may become a benchmark document in Armenia and abroad.

Zhanna Andreasyan expressed her willingness and the willingness of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport throughout implementation of the Project and voiced hope that they will jointly notice also the successes and achievements.

Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Araksia Svajyan notes that there are many expectations from the end results of the Project and is certain that the final product will be of major significance in regard to reforms in teacher education. “The ongoing reforms should be reflected in teacher education. We have no alternative to implementation of education in line with the demands of the 21st century; teachers who provide education to a generation living in an era of technological revolution must manage to go after the changes,” the Deputy Minister remarked and recalled that pedagogy is in a stage of challenges and that it is our duty to change the form of education that we have worked with for years in order to ensure education that will be more in line with the requirements of education of our days, in spite of the years of practice and great results.

Coordinator of the Erasmus+ Office in Armenia Lana Karlova presented the programs for capacity-building, noting that, based on the Project, teacher education is viewed as a major sector. The issues being considered will contribute to sustainable development of society based on the 17 criteria defined. Karlova is of the opinion that such programs are for seeing the successes and end results through exchange of experience and qualitative interactions. Lara Karlova gladly noted the fact that Armenia has been recognized as winner of such projects, and this has helped double the involvement in such programs and projects.

“Through this Project, importance is attached to teacher education as a major sector. Not only the participating universities and organizations, but also European partners are engaged in the discussion of the issues for qualitative changes. We fully hope that the changes will have an impact on teaching methodology, pedagogical issues and the daily lives of teaching specialists,” Lana Karlova remarked and urged the participants to help spread the word about the methodological and substantive reforms among the universities that are not participating in the Project.

Coordinator of the Project, ASPU Vice-Rector for HR Management and International Cooperation Marianna Harutyunyan greeted the participants and presented the goals and objectives of T4GREEN Project. She emphasized that the goal of the Project facilitated by the ASPU is to reform teachers’ education in Armenia and Moldova by providing an opportunity to make the transition from conventional to future-oriented teaching programs and methods and to implementation of national goals for general education, for assisting in the transition to green and digital education.

“Five universities of Armenia and Moldova will introduce 2 short-term general teaching credit programs (available and newly developed) for transition to green and digital education, based on the standards of STEM, instruction of foreign languages and special and inclusive education, as well as the existing standards. The National Concept for Teacher Education (NCTE) 2027-2035 will be developed to promote the transition from traditional to future-oriented, green and digital-oriented educational programs and methods for training will also be developed, which will help modernize teacher education at the national levels,” Vice-Rector Harutyunyan mentioned and touched upon the activities that will be targeted at the transformation of the policy on and programs for teacher education and at implementation of national goals for general education in order to support the transition to green and digital.

The plenary part of the Project was followed by a panel discussion entitled “Opportunities and Challenges for Teacher Education in the 21st Century”. The participants touched upon the importance and challenges of the teaching profession, talked about the advantages and disadvantages of digital technologies in education. The methods for overcoming the challenges were also identified during the discussion.
The working day of the conference ended with a concert that was hosted by the ASPU Faculty of Culture and featured performances by the students of various departments.