Research and Collaboration
1. The Seminar on the Implementation of CRC-based Teacher Training in Inner Mongolia and the First Teacher Training Network Meeting on CRC in Inner Mongolia
(June 22, 2013)
Since 2003, many leaders and teachers in the field of education in Inner Mongolia have participated in Sweden's international training program “Child Rights, Classroom and School Management”. The advanced international program is funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden and implemented by Lund University of Sweden. It aims to protect children's rights and improve children's awareness and ability to participate in school and classroom activities. Each project group has formulated and implemented its own project plan, completed the report of the project smoothly, and passed the inspection and assessment of the Swedish authorities. Effectively, CRC change agents have conducted classroom teaching reform and introduced participatory teaching into the classroom as well as the whole school. They have applied for courses such as “Protection of Children's Rights and Foreign Language Teaching”, carried out a large number of investigations and studies, published related articles and books, and compiled related teaching materials.
In order to promptly exchange and summarize experience and further promote the sustainable development of children's rights protection in Inner Mongolia, on June 22, 2013, Inner Mongolia Normal University, with the strong support of the Swedish side and the Inner Mongolia Education Department, held the Seminar on the Implementation of CRC-based Teacher Training in Inner Mongolia and the First Teacher Training Network Meeting on CRC in Inner Mongolia, which brought together 18 program participants who are from the Inner Mongolia Education Department, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Tongliao Vocational College, Chifeng University and Hulunbeier University. At the meetings, CRC change agents from each college have made an affectionate review of Inner Mongolia’s participation and implementation of the Swedish international program on child rights on behalf of China in the past 10 years, discussed some issues that the projects faces in implementation, the sustainable development of teachers' training on child rights protection, network construction, sharing of training courseware and the preparation of relevant teaching materials and other valuable resources, the plan of setting up a child rights protection teacher training center, the establishment of a relevant website, annual network meeting and other major issues. After the seminar and network meeting, the participants in the international program were filled with emotion and said with excitement: “I did not think the first regional seminar in Inner Mongolia could be so successful and each individual could have such a big gain.” Through the seminar and the network meeting, CRC change agents have further realized the importance of communication between network colleges and institutions in the program, enhanced the sense of responsibility and mission of scientifically spreading the seeds of child rights protection into schools and classrooms, so as to further promote the dissemination and sustainable development of child rights protection in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
2. The Second CRC Teacher Training Network Meeting in Inner Mongolia
(December 7, 2013)
In order to promptly exchange and summarize experience and further promote the sustainable development of children's rights protection in Inner Mongolia, on December7, 2013, Inner Mongolia Normal University, with the strong support of the Swedish side and the Inner Mongolia Education Department, held the Seminar on the Implementation of CRC-based Teacher Training in Inner Mongolia and the Second Teacher Training Network Meeting on CRC in Inner Mongolia, which brought together many program participants who are from the Inner Mongolia Education Department, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Tongliao Vocational College, Chifeng University and Hulunbeier University.
At the network meeting, CRC change agents from each college have made an affectionate review of Inner Mongolia’s participation and implementation of the Swedish international program on child rights on behalf of China in the past 10 years, discussed some issues that the projects faces
in implementation, the sustainable development of teachers' training on child rights protection, participatory classroom teaching, network construction, sharing of latest training courseware and the preparation of relevant teaching materials and other valuable resources, the plan of setting up a child rights protection teacher training center, the establishment of a relevant website and other major issues. This network meeting has further established the important leading role that the School of Foreign Languages of Inner Mongolia Normal University has played in the training and implementation of the international program in the whole region. In addition, CRC change agents have further realized the importance of communication between network colleges and institutions in the program, and enhanced their sense of responsibility and mission of scientifically spreading the seeds of child rights protection into schools and classrooms, so as to further promote the dissemination and sustainable development of child rights protection in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
3. The International Seminar on Inner Mongolia Child Rights Protection& Basic Education Reform and The Third CRC Teacher Training Network Meeting in Inner Mongolia
(24 and 25 June, 2015)
On 24 and 25 June 2015, The International Seminar on Inner Mongolia Child Rights Protection& Basic Education Reform and Third Teacher Training Network Meeting in Inner Mongolia were successfully held in Inner Mongolia Normal University.
The International Seminar on Inner Mongolia Child Rights Protection& Basic Education Reform was sponsored by the Inner Mongolia Education and Research Center for Child Development and Protection and hosted by the School of Foreign Languages of Inner Mongolia Normal University. Some renowned Swedish experts were invited, including Professor Ann-Katrin Bäcklund, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences from Lund University, Prof. Per Wickenberg, head of the Department of Sociology of Law, Fabian Beijer, director of the Center for Languages and Literature, Maria Bäcke, senior Lecturer in linguistics, Languages and Literature Center. Attending the seminar were Zhang Haifeng, vice president of Inner Mongolia Normal University, Sun Bojun, director of the Inner Mongolia Department of Education and Research, Tuya, official of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region’s Women's Rights and Interests Department, college teachers from Hulunbeier University, Chifeng University and Tongliao Vocational College in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, as well as more than 30 primary and secondary school backbone teachers and research staff,representatives from relevant functional departments and schools of Inner Mongolia Normal University, and representative teachers and students from the School of foreign languages of IMNU. Wu Haiyan, deputy director of Inner Mongolia Education and Research Center for Child Development and Protection, presided over the opening ceremony of the Seminar.
The seminars lasted two days. The agenda included keynote speeches by experts, classroom observation of the participatory teaching approach, group discussions and CRC-related reports, and achieved fruitful results. At the seminars, CRC change agents, who were from the Inner Mongolia Education Department, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Tongliao Vocational College, Chifeng University and Hulunbeier University, played an important role and aroused strong echoes among seminar participants.
Zhang Haifeng, vice president of IMNU, made a speech at the opening ceremony of the International seminar and pointed out that Inner Mongolia Normal University has developed into an important base for training teachers in basic education and ethnic education, and ethnic talents good at both Mongolian and Mandarin Chinese in Inner Mongolia since the university was established more than 60 years ago. It is also a regional secondary school teacher training center, primary and secondary school teachers’ continuing education center, research center for basic education and ethnic education reform and development. As a teachers’ university, we have the responsibility and obligation to disseminate advanced teaching concepts, improve the overall quality of primary and secondary school teachers, enhance the teaching level of teachers, and incorporate the protection of children's rights into the concept of education and teaching.
Sun Baijun, director of the Inner Mongolian Teaching and Research Department, pointed out that the reform of basic education in our district has achieved certain achievements, but it still needs to strengthen the reform of the classroom education model. In course of teaching, teachers should adopt the teaching methods of participation, cooperation and inquiry, and pay attention to the cultivation of students' independence and autonomy. Teachers should also respect students' personality, pay attention to individual differences, satisfy different students' learning needs, stimulate students' learning enthusiasm, and enable every student to get full development.
Approved by the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Education Department, the Inner Mongolia Education and Research Center for Child Development and Protection was established in June 2014. Zhang Haifeng, vice president of Inner Mongolia Normal University, is the director of the center, and the dean of the School Of Foreign Languages, Wu Haiyan, is deputy director. The center is attached to my college of the School Of Foreign Languages of IMNU. This is the first research institution founded in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, with the development and protection of the rights of children as the core. The center, since its establishment, has held a number of seminars and publicity activities on CRC and school education in IMNU and some primary and secondary schools in Hohhot, set up public optional course “children's rights and school education”, and held the seminars successfully.
In the future, the center will utilize and integrate existing resources further, deepen and expand the development and protection of education and research activities based on children’s rights, strive to inject fresh blood and vitality into the region’s basic education reform and teacher education development, and strive to make the center become a leading research institution of child development and protection in the autonomous region and in the whole country.
