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Implementing the Project Approach in an Inclusive Classroom: A Teacher’s First Attempt With Project-Based Learning (Voices)

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Thoughts on the Article | Barbara A. Henderson,  Voices  Executive Editor

Stacey Alfonso was teaching in an inclusion preschool in New York City, serving children with a range of special learning and developmental differences when she conducted this research. As she strove to embrace the child-centered inquiry that is at the heart of the project approach, she struggled with general expectations within her school culture that curriculum and instruction be teacher directed instead of cocreated with the children. Her teacher research makes a valuable contribution to the literature because she provides clear and believable examples of how the project approach worked for the children with special needs and examples of the challenges she faced due to the newness of her approach, her lack of mentors, and the varied learning strengths of the children. Stacey is especially effective in communicating the voices and work products of the children, showing how they are fully capable and eager to undertake inquiry and direct their own learning. Her trust in the children and her joy at their discoveries provided a turning point in her career that informs her current teaching in a forest school.

One of the biggest challenges I faced during my years teaching in an inclusive prekindergarten classroom was differentiating instruction. I was constantly searching for methods to engage all children because their wide range of abilities and needs required me to offer varied outlets for learning. My school held to a theme-based curriculum with a strong backbone of structure that guided classroom activities and children’s learning. I held to this approach as well, until, as I gained experience as an educator and learned more about child development, I began to question what I was doing and to seek alternative methods.

I wanted the children in my classroom to be motivated, authentically engaged, and excited to learn. I wanted them to take hold of their learning and drive their own experiences. The children were learning; still, I felt that their experiences should be more personal than I had been able to provide using a teacher-derived curriculum. I thought this could be best accomplished in an open-ended environment where children are free to explore and follow their interests. But how could this be done within my school’s current approach? I found my answer when I discovered the project approach.

The literature I read presented a pedagogy that would motivate and engage children with a diverse range of abilities, allowing them the freedom to explore their own interests, yet still provide enough structure to fit into my school’s current culture (Harris & Gleim 2008; Beneke & Ostrosky 2009; Katz, Chard, & Kogen 2014). My research question for this study was, How can I implement the project approach in my inclusive classroom in a preschool that has a history of structured, teacher-driven curriculum?

Review of literature

John Dewey was among the first to suggest that an ideal way for children to learn is by planning their own activities and implementing those plans, thereby providing opportunities for multilevel instruction, cooperative learning, peer support, and individualized learning (Harris & Gleim 2008). Today, many teachers find that project-based learning meets Dewey’s goals (Beneke & Ostrosky 2009; Yuen 2009; Brewer 2010). Overall, the project approach is viewed as empowering to children because they are active participants in shaping their own learning (Harris & Gleim 2008; Harte 2010; Helm & Katz 2011)

The project approach: A brief overview

The project approach seemed to be a good fit with my goal of finding a new way to engage and intrinsically motivate the children in my classroom, while meeting a wide range of needs. My research also suggested this approach would produce a well-organized curriculum that was straightforward to implement. The project approach involves children’s in-depth investigation of a worthwhile topic developed through authentic questions (Mitchell et al. 2009; Katz & Chard 2013). The teacher’s role is to support children through their inquiry. Teachers help children become responsible for their work, guide them to document and report their findings, and provide opportunities for choice (Katz & Chard 2013; Katz, Chard, & Kogen 2014).

I was encouraged that the project approach uses a specific three-phase design, because this structure seemed compatible with my school’s culture. During phase one,  selecting a topic , teachers build common experiences by talking with children about their personal experiences to determine interests and helping children articulate specific questions as a topic emerges (Mitchell et al. 2009; Yuen 2010; Helm & Katz 2011; Katz & Chard 2013).

Phase two,  data collection , emphasizes meaningful hands-on experiences. Children are researchers, gaining new information as they collect data to answer their questions. This phase is the bulk of the project investigation and takes place through direct and authentic experiences such as field trips, events, and interviews with visiting experts (Harte 2010; Katz & Chard 2013). Children can also gather data through secondary sources, including books, photos, videos, and websites.

Phase three,  the culminating event , is a time to conclude the experience, usually through a summarizing event or activity (Mitchell et al. 2009). The children’s role continues to be central and the class often holds discussions on what they have learned to create a plan to share their insights (Harte 2010).

Methodology and research design

After reading extensively about the project approach, I felt ready to implement it in my classroom.

Setting and participants

I conducted my study in a small private preschool on the Upper West Side in New York City. The school has a decades-long history in the neighborhood, and families have come to trust and love the educators there. The school’s traditional curricular model of teacher-driven, thematic-based learning is well established and, as far as I know, had not been previously challenged or adapted.

Study participants included 13 pre-K children, my two coteachers, and myself. The children had a diverse range of abilities. Seven children had significant sensory processing issues, two had severe cognitive and language delays, and four had mild language delays and/or mild sensory processing issues. Most children who enroll at the school can attend and participate independently, although some require one-on-one support with a therapist.

Data collection and analysis

Throughout the study, I collected and analyzed data through field notes, a reflective journal, children’s work, and anecdotal records that included photos, videos, and audio recordings. My primary source of data was field notes, which I used to provide a day-to-day recollection of how the project-based curriculum affected the children. The Teacher Notes app on the iPad and iPhone helped me collect and analyze the field notes. I kept project planning journals using a notebook and the Evernote app on my iPad. The software provided me with flexibility because it was accessible via iPad, iPhone, and computer; therefore, I was able to take ample notes and continually reflect upon my plans and implementation.

Helping children understand that they could find answers to their questions made a difference.

I collected work samples from the children—their writing, drawing, and artwork. The samples helped me assess children’s progress, and they became an additional source for documenting the growth in children’s participation throughout the project. Finally, I used videos, audio recordings, and photographs to document children in the process of working.

At least weekly, I read and reflected on my field notes to identify emerging themes. At least twice a week during prep time, I reflected on my Evernote journal to help with planning. Additionally, I continually reviewed and organized children’s work using Teacher Notes and listened to and watched audio and video recordings as they accrued, noting themes such as children using research terms or working independently to find answers to their questions.

Organizing and maintaining this ongoing analysis helped tremendously with my summative data analysis. Using Teacher Notes ,  I pulled up applicable field notes and data sources in many different arrangements. I then printed and sorted the notes by hand, which provided me with a means of discovering the themes that best captured the scope of my findings.

As I had hoped, I saw the children happily engaged and enthusiastic about learning as we developed our project—a study of the neighborhood. However, the journey also came with challenges and surprises not recorded in the literature I had reviewed. My findings are organized into three themes: (1) children as researchers, (2) learning and growing through research, and (3) challenges with the culminating event.

Children as researchers

To allow the children to get to know their new school and to provide some practice with research skills, we began the school year with a mini teacher-initiated project about the school before starting our child-initiated project. My coteachers and I introduced the words  research  and  investigate . Soon, the children adopted this new vocabulary. For example, a question about our school kitchen led a child to excitedly report, “I investigated the kitchen, and I found ice cream!”

The children responded well to my intentional efforts to honor their questions, including those that were not directly related to the project content. For example, shortly after starting our neighborhood project, a group was working on a craft using glue sticks. One girl asked, “Why are there lines on this glue stick?” I took her question seriously and responded, “I don’t know, let’s find out.” She was completely engaged from that moment, and we made a plan to research her question. We decided to open her glue stick and look inside. She hadn’t expected me to embrace her question, much less suggest a firsthand experience of discovery in which I allowed the destruction of the glue stick to honor her curiosity.

After a couple weeks, I found that children started to use the research vocabulary and inquiry approaches more independently. For example, we read a book and then discussed the similarities and differences between our neighborhood and the one in the story. One girl stated, “We don’t have a Laundromat, I think. We don’t have it here because my mommy does it at home.” Another girl disagreed. Then a third child said, “We can take a walk and look.” I was elated to find the children’s independent conversations included a foundation of inquiry. The emphasis we had placed on helping children understand that they themselves could find answers to their questions had already made a difference.

In addition to finding answers from firsthand experience, the children learned that they could find answers from books. They initially needed guidance and leading questions to help them locate secondary sources, but their abilities developed over time. For example, the children wondered what vehicles were in the neighborhood. So in mid-September, a group of children sat in a park and tallied vehicles, including cars, taxis, buses, bicycles, trucks, and ambulances. Upon returning from this research endeavor, a child wanted to build a bus from clay. Without teacher prompting, a friend went to the bookshelf to get a book that depicted a bus. They looked at the book together to understand the parts of a bus and then recreated them with clay. This shift was important, as it was becoming clear that children were conducting a form of research and doing so independently. Indeed, beginning in September, research had already become an important part of our classroom, and the children’s skills and range of approaches grew throughout the fall. 

Learning and growing through research

One instance in which this inquiry was evident occurred when two girls independently extended an activity to create a large drawing of our neighborhood. The children’s initial goal was to determine whether the neighborhood contained things like signs, fire hydrants, specific businesses, and trees, and we were able to verify those questions on one of our walks. After the walk, the class collectively summarized what we had found by completing our previously created checklist. When I made the list available so the children could add drawings of things they had seen on our walk that were not included on their list, the two girls took this activity to the next level. They began making little drawings on the chart, and then, realizing they were going for something bigger, they turned the paper over to “draw our neighborhood.”

Another example came from the children’s growing interest in the metal scaffolding they observed around buildings. After an earlier walk during which we saw a building surrounded with scaffolding, one boy returned to the classroom and enthusiastically drew a picture of the “worker building.” On our next walk, we paid close attention to the scaffolding and encouraged the children to touch and explore it closely. The next day, the same child who had drawn the worker building created buildings with scaffolding all around themin the block area. He talked with a peer as they built collaboratively, and they both incorporated the new word  scaffolding  correctly. They balanced the blocks and talked about symmetry as they completed their structure. Weeks later, when we discussed how to make a model of our neighborhood for our culminating event to showcase what we had learned, the children noted that we would need scaffolding because “we have a lot of it.”

I found that the active, hands-on experiences common to the project approach also helped some children stay on task. One child had a great deal of enthusiasm and eagerness to participate, but it was challenging for him to contribute successfully and stay focused in the classroom. This boy loved our research walks through the neighborhood; he was able to stay on topic as we discussed the buildings while he was touching and looking at them. For example, he made many on-topic contributions to conversations as we peered into store windows. Later, he was even able to produce a drawing of the school, saying, “This is our school. There is a top and a door and a window.” The drawing was one of the most detailed he had ever created, and he completed it right after we had investigated the building in which our school is located.

Challenges with the culminating event

Throughout our study, the children showed excitement as we went on our research walks, and they were consistently focused and serious when working in the classroom. It became clear, however, that we should begin to wrap up the neighborhood study when, in late October, the children’s interests shifted toward leaves and a nearby field where they could run through the accumulating piles. They were less excited about investigating our neighborhood, and I knew that to keep true to the project approach, we needed to conclude our study and share what the class had collectively learned (phase three). However, the culminating event presented some major difficulties I had not anticipated.

When I suggested to the children that we conclude our project, they showed little to no interest. Forging onward, I began a class discussion by saying, “We learned so much about our neighborhood, it would be wonderful to share this with the other class, the administration, and even your parents.” When I asked for ideas, I received a carpet full of blank stares. One girl responded, “I don’t know.” When I mentioned that parents would love to learn what we had been doing, another child responded by talking about his family. Finally, after much teacher prompting, we decided to build a model of our neighborhood and have the children’s families come in to see it.

The next day I held a short planning meeting with the children to figure out how we could build our neighborhood. I brought out materials for them to consider, including pipe cleaners, paper plates, straws, streamers, boxes, and drawing materials. I hoped that the variety would give them something concrete to work with to ignite their ideas, but the lesson felt forced, and the children were not authentically engaged. One child said, “We need a lot of buildings,” yet could not generate suggestions for how to make them. A girl noted we needed to make bicycles, which we had seen and talked about during discussions about vehicles in the neighborhood. When I asked her how we should make them, she said that we should draw them, and this then became her default response for how we should represent all aspects of the neighborhood. It was also hard for the children to focus on the idea of the culminating plan. For example, one boy spoke only about the dinosaur bones we had seen at the American Museum of Natural History.

Later in the week, I began working one-on-one and in small groups with the children to expand on and execute some of their admittedly sketchy plans for our neighborhood display. One boy told us we needed trees in the neighborhood. After talking one-on-one about trees, we made a plan to create trees by using paper towel rolls for the trunks and tissue paper for the leaves. With support, he was able to successfully and proudly participate in constructing the trees.

Working mostly in small groups throughout the week, we ended up with a complete and attractive neighborhood model built inside one of the sensory tables. Our end product was nice, but the process was not authentic because it required so much teacher direction.

According to project approach literature, the culmination is a time for the children to be creative and involved in the planning process (Harte 2010; Katz & Chard 2013). I had read about many successful culminating events, so why was the conclusion of the project so difficult for us? Perhaps I had waited too long. By the time I realized we should plan our culminating activity, the children’s interest in the neighborhood project had already faded. Maybe the idea of a culminating event was too abstract for this group, particularly since I was the first in the school to try the project approach. We were without examples—either as displays or as events that the children might have experienced. Although my underlying assumption is that these children are competent and capable, I wondered how the mix of children’s abilities in this inclusion class might have made the student-initiated planning of a coordinated final event harder than I expected.

Ultimately, I realized that they had accomplished many complex tasks during the project. Between the group of children I taught that year, myself as a novice with the project approach, and whatever other factors played into our difficulty at the end of the project, the planning and execution of the project’s culmination was challenging and a bit frustrating.

Discussion and recommendations

This teacher research study provides an example of a teacher attempting the project approach independently in a small pre-K inclusion setting, without formal training or support. I faced some resistance from the administration and doubt from colleagues because they were unsure whether this approach would be appropriate for some of the children with special needs in our care. The experience revealed to me that moving from a completely teacher-derived curriculum to an emergent curriculum such as the project approach is a big shift. The project approach can be very engaging for children, but it would have been helpful to have a mentor guide me through the difficulties and questions I faced.

Most of my experiences mirrored what I had come to understand about the topic. As the literature suggests (Beneke & Ostrosky 2009; Yuen 2009; Harte 2010), I saw the children get excited about learning, based on questions they were asking and topics that interested them. Also in line with the literature, the children showed strong motivation to conduct their own investigations to find answers. Further, I felt the project was an empowering experience for the children. When we used the children’s questions to ignite a study, or when we simply followed through on their questions and helped them find answers, they felt respected and proud. The children now know they have the power to find answers and conduct research. They know that not just teachers and other adults can answer real questions; they can, too.

Beneke, S., & M.M. Ostrosky. 2009. “Teachers’ Views of the Efficacy of Incorporating the Project Approach Into Classroom Practice With Diverse Learners.”  Early Childhood Research & Practice 11 (1).

Brewer, R.A. 2010. “The Canada Goose Project: A First Project With Children Under 3.”  Early Childhood Research & Practice  12 (1).

Harris, K.I., & L. Gleim. 2008. “The Light Fantastic: Making Learning Visible for All Children Through the Project Approach.”  Young Exceptional Children  11 (3): 27–40.

Harte, H.A. 2010. “The Project Approach: A Strategy for Inclusive Classrooms.”  Young Exceptional Children  13 (3): 15–27.

Helm, J.H., & L.G. Katz. 2011.  Young Investigators: The Project Approach in the Early Years.  2nd ed. Early Childhood Education Series. New York: Teachers College Press; Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Katz, L.G., & S.C. Chard. 2013. “The Project Approach: An Overview.” In  Approaches to Early Childhood Education , 6th ed., eds. J. Roopnarine & J.E. Johnson, 268–84. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Katz, L.G., S.C. Chard, & Y. Kogen. 2014.  Engaging Children’s Minds: The Project Approach . 3rd ed. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.

Mitchell, S., T.S. Foulger, K. Wetzel, & C. Rathkey. 2009. “The Negotiated Project Approach: Project-Based Learning Without Leaving the Standards Behind.”  Early Childhood   Education Journal  36 (4): 339–46.

Yuen, L.H. 2009. “From Foot to Shoes: Kindergartners’, Families’ and Teachers’ Perceptions of the Project Approach.”  Early Childhood Education Journal  37 (1): 23–33.

Yuen, L.H. 2010. “A Valuable Experience for Children: The Dim Sum and Chinese Restaurant Project.”  Early Childhood Research & Practice  12 (1): 23–31.

Voices of Practitioners: Teacher Research in Early Childhood Education , NAEYC’s online journal, is a vehicle for publishing teacher research.

Visit NAEYC.org/publications/vop to learn more about teacher research and to peruse an archive of Voice of Practitioners articles.

Photographs: 1 © iStock; 2, 3, courtesy of the author

Stacey Alfonso, MSEd, is a lead teacher at Fiddleheads Forest School, a completely outdoor nature-based preschool program in Seattle, Washington. Stacey continues to search for inquiry-based methods to teach young children and help them develop a love for learning.

Vol. 72, No. 1

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Call for proposals: Knowledge and innovation for inclusive early learning and school readiness

​Table of Contents​ 

1. Introduction  

2. Challenges of inclusive early learning and school readiness

3. Grant types, funding scope and duration  

4. Eligibility criteria: General and specific to grant types  

5. Expectations of projects  

6. Proposal submission details  

7. Proposal evaluation criteria  

8. Submission and review process  

9. Inquiries 

10. Call timeline  

11. Additional considerations  

Annex A: List of Eligible Countries: GPE partner countries 

Annex B: Integrating GEI in research proposals and projects  

1 1. Introduction 

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) invite proposals for applied research projects to generate and mobilize evidence in support of contextualizing and scaling the impact of innovative approaches to strengthen inclusive early learning and school readiness in GPE partner countries. 

The GPE Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX) is a joint endeavor of GPE and IDRC. KIX supports countries to have and use the evidence and innovation they need to accelerate access, learning outcomes and gender equality through equitable, inclusive and resilient education systems fit for the 21st century. KIX achieves this by facilitating direct knowledge sharing across GPE partner countries through four regional hubs and by funding applied research on their priorities. KIX is part of GPE’s strategy to support transformative change for education in low- and middle-income countries.  

Several KIX projects are examining early learning innovations, especially in East, West and Southern Africa, that focus on play-based learning and pedagogies. KIX seeks to build on emerging findings to strengthen the evidence base on inclusive early learning and pedagogical interventions that ensure school readiness for smooth transition to primary school. 

Thematic focuses for this call were developed through a series of consultations with GPE partner countries and through discussions with GPE. The results of these consultations are captured in a scoping study working paper, “ Early Childhood Care and Education” .

The objectives of this call are to do the following:  

• Generate knowledge and evidence on how to scale the impact of innovative approaches to promote inclusive early learning and school readiness.  
• Strengthen the capacities of relevant stakeholders to use that knowledge and innovation.  
• Mobilize the knowledge and evidence on innovative approaches to improve policy and practice in education systems.  

The deadline for the submission of proposals is January 15, 2024 (23:59 EST) . 

2 2. Challenges of inclusive early learning

GPE partner countries identify early childhood care and education (ECCE) as one of their top priorities. ECCE is critical because it equips children during a key phase of their lives with the cognitive, motor and social-emotional skills they need to lay the groundwork for lifelong learning and success. Children who experience high-quality ECCE are better prepared for primary education, exhibit improved cognitive abilities and demonstrate enhanced social and emotional skills. These early experiences play a pivotal role in determining a child's trajectory through school and beyond, making access to quality ECCE a predictor of school readiness and educational attainment.  

A comprehensive systems approach that aligns curriculum development, developmentally appropriate pedagogy, teacher training and support, and community engagement is critical. The scoping study working paper shows that equity-oriented early childhood education programs that specifically target children who are marginalized, displaced, and with disabilities have the potential to promote holistic child development and a love for learning. The study further revealed that GPE partner countries are seeking evidence to help them adopt and sustain inclusive early learning programs that promote a smooth transition to primary school. This call for proposals focuses on two core issues in early childhood care and education for children aged three to eight years:  

• inclusive early learning pedagogies  
• foundational skills for a smooth transition to primary school 

The challenge   

To generate and mobilize evidence to contextualize and scale the impact of innovative approaches that promote inclusive early learning pedagogy and smooth transition from ECCE to primary school.   

To address this challenge, two main research sub-themes have been identified under this call.   

Sub-theme 1: Inclusive early learning pedagogy 

For marginalized children, children with disabilities and those living in low-income and vulnerable situations, including conflict-affected countries, access to quality early childhood education remains elusive. Yet these groups of children benefit the most from good quality ECCE services. In refugee, and fragile, conflict and violence (FCV) contexts with high rates of poverty and often nascent and over-stretched ECCE systems, further challenges hinder access to quality ECCE. These challenges include a lack of teaching and learning materials, overcrowded classrooms and unmet training and support needs of teachers and other staff. Age-appropriate teaching and learning strategies are fundamental as they encourage and promote a child’s autonomy, active engagement, discovery and self-regulation.  

Numerous studies across GPE partner countries have highlighted the positive impact of play-based learning on children's executive functions and overall cognitive, social and emotional development. Appropriate training and support for teachers can equip them with skills to effectively incorporate play-based pedagogies in ECCE settings to maximize their benefits. This also includes creating a stimulating and responsive classroom environment with sufficient space for children to move around, and with access to play materials, including locally sourced and culturally appropriate tools and toys.  

It is important to strengthen teacher capacity in gender-responsiveness and in tackling gender norms and bias, to revise learning materials so they pay attention to gender, culture, context and disability, and to supplement teacher training with mother-tongue materials and training for ethnic minority teachers.  

Areas of research to scale the impact of promising or proven approaches for this sub-theme include the following: 

• Integrating gender-responsive or transformative curriculum and pedagogy into ECCE teacher training, removing gender biases and stereotypes from teaching practices and learning materials.  
• Promoting engagement of families and communities to improve access and quality of ECCE services. 
• Developing successful approaches to ECCE for refugee and displaced populations that include play-based methodologies, interactions that prioritize socio-emotional support, community and family engagement, and the creation of culturally responsive learning environments.  
• ECCE that supports early interventions for cognitive, motor, social and/or emotional development of children with disabilities.  
• ECCE teacher support programmes that include community preschools (where teachers may lack adequate training).  

Sub-theme 2: Foundational skills for smooth transition and school readiness 

Foundational skills act as a springboard for a child's trajectory through the education system and have a profound impact on their overall educational success. ECCE plays a pivotal role in developing children's foundational skills that serve as the building blocks for their future academic success. Foundational literacy and numeracy provide the tools children need to engage with more complex subjects in later years, enabling students to comprehend and communicate effectively across various disciplines when they are older.  

Foundational literacy involves the development of early reading and language skills, such as decoding, phonics and phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency and reading comprehension, all of which enable young learners to make meaning of different types of text and media. Foundational numeracy focuses on basic mathematical concepts, helping children develop numerical fluency, logical reasoning or problem-solving abilities. Social-emotional learning emphasizes the development of crucial inter- and intra-personal skills like self-regulation, teamwork and conflict resolution, which are vital for establishing healthy relationships and emotional well-being.  

A challenge in education systems in GPE partner countries is often the disconnect between curriculum and learning objectives at the ECCE and primary levels, creating obstacles for young children as they transition out of the early years and continue their learning journey. Across contexts, school readiness through foundational literacy and numeracy needs to be balanced with play-based pedagogies and the development of socio-emotional learning.   

Areas of research to scale the impact of promising or proven approaches for this sub-theme include: 

• ECCE that prioritizes the development of foundational skills, including socio-emotional learning that sets the stage for holistic growth and success in learning. 
• Existing ECCE assessment tools and approaches that can be adapted and used across countries to measure foundational skills in early primary years. 
• Standards, regulations, frameworks and pathways for ECCE teacher training that draw on foundational skills and play-based pedagogy. 
• Early learning strategies for linguistic and ethnic minority learners, displaced and Indigenous children, who may be particularly disadvantaged in the ECCE years, depending on language of instruction. 
• Approaches that enhance the coherence in learning environments and cultures between pre-primary and early grades of primary schools.  

Research questions   

Proposals should generate knowledge in response to the challenge by addressing the following overall research question and three sub-questions:  

How can we scale the impact of innovative approaches addressing inclusive early learning and school readiness for all children?   

• What promising or proven innovations address inclusive early learning pedagogy and school readiness?   
• How can these innovations be adapted, scaled and implemented in effective, equitable and sustainable ways?   
• What factors enable, incentivize or impede the scaling of these innovations?  

3 3. Grant types, funding scope and duration 

KIX will allocate up to CAD $10 million through this call.  

Proposals may be of any of the following three types:  

Both multi-country and regional/global grants facilitate inter-country learning. The main difference between these two grant types is the targeted impact. Multi-country grants focus on creating an impact in three or more countries by directly addressing specific priorities within those countries. In contrast, regional/global grants have a wider reach, aiming to make an impact at the regional or global level. They involve work in at least three countries and primarily generate and mobilize valuable public goods such as toolkits and platforms for use by other countries.   

To promote inter-country learning, multi-country and regional/global grants are encouraged. Single-country grants will be considered where multi-country work is difficult and/or when the proposal provides a compelling and unique opportunity for learning from a single-country case. 

Proposals must target, and be grounded in, GPE partner countries (see Annex A for the list of countries).  

IDRC reserves the right to fund additional proposals from this call if/when more funding becomes available.  

IDRC is under no obligation to issue any funds prior to the applicant returning a fully executed grant agreement to IDRC. 

All grants are subject to sufficient funds being made available to IDRC by the Parliament of Canada or under a donor partnership agreement with a particular external funder. 

IDRC reserves the right to cancel this call for proposals at any time without prior notice and/or to not issue any grants under this process. 

4 4. Eligibility criteria: General and specific to grant types 

Only proposals that meet the eligibility criteria will be considered.  

General eligibility criteria for all grant types 

Proposals must be submitted by nationally/internationally registered or incorporated organizations. These could include, inter alia, research institutions, universities, think tanks, network secretariats, associations, civil society organizations, non-profits, or the private sector.  

Applicants must have independent legal status (or “legal personality”), be capable of contracting in their own right and name, receiving and administering funds, and have the authority to direct proposed project activities. Applicants must be able to demonstrate their legal status through written documentation. Legal status will only be reviewed if and when applicants are selected following technical selection. 

Proposals may be submitted by individual organizations, or by consortia of up to three organizations. Proposals from consortia must name one lead organization, which can subgrant to the others. Proposals from, or that include, private sector partners should demonstrate how private sector resources – financial or technical knowhow - will contribute to the project. Organizations/consortia must have a strong presence and track record of work in the education sector of GPE partner countries. 

Who is NOT eligible? 

• Individuals. 
• Government ministries and agencies are not eligible for funding but can be involved in projects. 
• For-profit providers of core education services. 

Specific eligibility criteria for the three grant types 

KIX will prioritize funding to organizations based in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).  

Single-country grant proposals must be submitted by eligible national organizations based in the country of focus. They may apply as individual organizations or lead a consortium that includes other organizations from within or outside the country.   

Multi-country grant proposals must be submitted by an organization based in a low- or middle-income country. Other consortium members may include organizations from within or outside the region; national, regional, or international offices of multi-lateral organizations; or international NGOs.   

Regional/global grant proposals may be submitted by any organization that meets the general eligibility criteria, as an individual organization or leading a consortium.  

5 5. Expectations of projects  

Linkages to education policy priorities and key stakeholder endorsement 

Proposals must demonstrate clear links with education policy priorities and define plans for effective engagement of key stakeholders such as the ministry of education. This could be through a letter indicating approval or interest from an appropriate authority in the ministry, or evidence of clear alignment with current official documents such as the partnership compact, the education sector plan, or other similar strategic plan documents. Proposals should demonstrate that the organization applying for the grant is working in and has relationships with relevant education stakeholders in the target countries.  

High-quality research for development   

Funded projects will be expected to undertake research for development, which is designed to build knowledge, innovation, and evidence, strengthen capacity, and mobilize knowledge for policy and practice. They should be problem-focused and action-oriented. They should creatively identify and engage with relevant users of the knowledge and innovation. They should involve education system stakeholders throughout to ensure that research is relevant and positioned for use in policy and practice. They will also be expected to meet the quality standards expressed in IDRC’s Research Quality Plus (RQ+) framework . They must be methodologically rigorous, original, and relevant. They must be ethically sound, address gender equality, equity, and inclusion (GEI) dimensions, and be well-positioned for use by different stakeholders. 

Research for scaling innovation, using a critical approach 

Proposals are expected to focus on existing promising or proven innovative approaches that have potential to be scaled and facilitate transformative change in GPE partner countries. Innovations may include, but are not limited to, tools, practices, policies, programs, technologies, frameworks, methodologies, or any other interventions that can be used to address the challenge, sometimes in combination.​ The innovative approaches may come from within or outside GPE partner countries. Issues of scaling impact should be built into the research questions and methodology.  

KIX will not support the large-scale implementation of identified innovations. Nor will it fund the development of new innovations. It will only fund applied research to generate evidence in support of scaling the impact of promising or proven innovations that applicants are expected to present in their proposals, along with the evidence of their effectiveness. This scaling research may include:  

• adapting and refining the innovations to the contextual needs of the selected countries;  
• developing and testing means and models to scale them;  
• supporting capacity strengthening of stakeholders who will adapt, adopt and scale the innovations;  
• conducting a cost analysis of the innovations; and  
• assessing results.   

Proposals will be encouraged to take a critical approach to scaling. Scaling is not only about making something bigger or increasing the coverage of an intervention. Scaling is the process of improving the reach, breadth, quality, equity, and sustainability of the changes, benefits, and solutions that innovations bring to education systems. Projects should use the research process to determine an optimal scale for their innovation (see more in Gargani and McLean, 2017 ).   

Gender equality, equity, and inclusion (GEI) 

Proposals should demonstrate how GEI will be promoted, using an intersectional approach, with respect to both (i) team composition and organizations comprising the research team; and (ii) the design and implementation of the proposed research, including monitoring, evaluation and learning, and knowledge mobilization processes. Gender-blind proposals will not be considered. Annex B provides a series of questions to help guide the integration of GEI in research proposals and the implementation of projects.  

Being part of the Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX) 

The projects funded out of this call will become part of KIX. They will be invited to participate in joint learning and synthesis activities with other projects, and to share their knowledge mobilization strategies with regional hubs. They will be invited to participate in the KIX-wide project called Research on Scaling the Impact of Innovations in Education (ROSIE). They will be required to link their results to the KIX-wide results framework and track some common results in their monitoring, evaluation and learning strategies. Proponents should anticipate allocating necessary personnel and at least 30 days to these KIX-level activities in their plans and budgets.  

6 6. Proposal submission details 

All applications should be submitted in English, French, or Spanish using the online application form link . 

The online application will ask applicants to provide: 

• The project title. 
• Countries of focus. 
• Project duration. 
• Project summary in plain language. 
• Contact information of the project leader and co-applicants (if applicable). 
• The rationale for the consortium (if applicable). 

Problem identification and background (max. 1,500 words) 

• Clearly state the problem or opportunity to be addressed in your project; how it addresses an important knowledge gap relevant to the identified policy challenge, including GEI considerations; how the project responds to education priorities of chosen GPE partner countries, including their education sector plans or partnership compact priorities.
• Present a review of relevant literature in relation to the proposed project.  
• Provide a justification for the selected innovation(s) to be adapted and further tested, including available evidence of its effectiveness. 

Research purpose and anticipated results (max. 1,000 words) 

• Clearly state the project objectives1 in response to the call objectives.   
• Present the project’s research questions in reference to the guiding research questions and addressing the challenge and one or more of the subthemes.   
• Describe the project outputs and outcomes, and the intended impact to which it will contribute; explain how it will add to existing knowledge for education systems.   
• Describe how the project will address and promote GEI issues.   

Project Design and Methodology (max. 1,500 words)   

• Describe the study design, conceptual framework, methods, and type of analysis. Outline the scaling approaches and delivery mechanisms to be tested. 
• Outline how GEI considerations will be incorporated in all elements of project design and methodology.  
• Outline how relevant stakeholders will be involved in fair and equitable partnerships  during the project.  
• Describe the project’s adaptive management approach, and how it will manage and address potential risks. 

Knowledge Mobilization Strategy (max. 700 words) 

• Provide an overview of how the activities and outputs of the project will engage potential knowledge users (including ministries of education) on an ongoing basis, the strategies to ensure that research results are used by relevant stakeholders, and what the outcomes of the project might be for policy making and capacity building. Proposals should consider plans for leveraging the platforms provided by relevant KIX Regional Hubs in their knowledge mobilization strategy. 

Research Ethics (max. 500 words) 

• Provide details of the potential ethical issues in relation to the proposed research and what steps will be taken to ensure the highest ethical standards and the greatest protection of research participants. Refer to the Canadian Tri-Council Policy Statement on Ethical Conduct of Research Involving Humans.   
• Identify which institutional or national research ethics body will provide ethics review and oversight. Note that prior to commencing research, applicants will need to obtain approval from an official institutional or national research ethics body and will need to comply with the terms and conditions of the Grant Agreement.  

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (max. 700 words)  

• Outline the project theory of change, along with intended results that focus on knowledge generation, capacity strengthening of project relevant stakeholders and knowledge mobilization of project results.  
• Describe the processes that the project will use to monitor progress, adapt, achieve results, and report.  

Project Team Capacities (max. 1,000 words) 

• List the project team members, their roles, and expertise relevant to the project (research, gender equality, equity, and inclusion in education and/or more broadly, scaling, monitoring, evaluation and learning, and knowledge mobilization).   
• Provide a brief overview of the organization’s (or the consortium’s) track record relative to its proposed role in the project.  
• Explain how GEI principles will be upheld with respect to the project team members.  
• Describe project governance and coordination arrangements to produce high-quality work and support fair and equitable partnerships.  

Additional Documents 

In addition to the proposal, applicants are expected to submit:   

• Contact information of the lead applicant and members of the consortium if applicable.  
• Institutional Profile Questionnaire (IPQ) to be completed by the lead applicant and submitted along with a copy of the organization’s legal registration. 
• Estimated budget, with a cost breakdown by categories using the   IDRC budget template . Complete all the tabs except the Summary tab, which will be generated automatically. Save the completed and duly signed budget as a PDF document and attach this to your application. For a list of eligible expenses, please refer to the IDRC  Guidelines for Acceptable Project Expenditures . For general information, refer to the General IDRC Funding Guidelines .  Please add information on any matched funding, or additional leveraged resources, that are relevant to this proposal under the “Donor contributions” and “Local contributions” tabs. 
• Two-page CVs of the lead applicant with relevant experience and key contact individuals from other organizations in the case of consortia.   

By submitting this proposal, the Applicant confirms that their acknowledgment of the applicable Terms and Conditions for the Grant Agreement, acknowledged and accepted, form an integral part of the funding application. The Applicant also agrees to abide by GPE's Policy on protection from sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment , by IDRC Corporate Principles on Research Ethics , IDRC Open Access Policy and IDRC Open Data Statement of Principles to proceed.   

7 7. Proposal evaluation criteria 

An independent expert panel will assess proposals using the evaluation criteria and criteria weighting (in percentages) outlined below.   

8 8. Submission and review process 

Eligible proposals must be submitted no later than January 15, 2024 (23:59 EST). Proposals received after the deadline or incomplete proposals will not be considered. All applications must be submitted using the online application form . An acknowledgement of receipt of proposal will be sent following the timely submission.  

Responding to this call is the first step in the application process for potentially securing funding for your proposal. The review process will consist of the following steps, conducted by IDRC program staff and external reviewers with relevant expertise.  

• Verification of eligibility requirements and proposal completeness: IDRC will review all submitted proposals to ensure they meet eligibility requirements and include all necessary application materials. Ineligible, incomplete and irrelevant proposals will not be considered further.  
• Initial shortlisting of eligible proposals: If a large number of proposals are submitted, IDRC will review them based on the evaluation criteria presented in section 7 and send a shortlist of the top proposals to the KIX Independent Assessment Panel (IAP). 
• Review and ranking of shortlisted proposals: IAP members will review eligible proposals using the evaluation criteria under section 7. Each proposal will be reviewed by at least two panelists. Proposals will be ranked on the basis of scoring and subsequent IAP discussion. The IAP will recommend which proposals are of sufficient quality to receive KIX funding.  
• Recommending a cohort of projects: IDRC will identify a cohort of IAP-recommended proposals up to the maximum budget for the funding envelope available for the call. The cohort will prioritize funding to Southern organizations, and balance thematic, geographic and applicant diversity from within this call and across the KIX portfolio. IDRC will also analyze budgets and proposals’ value for money. The cohort will be submitted for approval from the KIX Executive Committee. 
• Final approval: The Executive Committee will provide final approval of the projects funded through this call.  
• Notification of results: Following the selection by the Executive Committee, successful and non-successful applicants will be notified of the results by April 9, 2024.  
• Request for changes: IDRC reserves the right to request successful applicants to make changes based on feedback from the IAP, IDRC and GPE, if necessary. IDRC may also facilitate additional interaction with KIX representatives in GPE partner countries to further hone the selected proposal to country realities. 
• Inception Phase: Upon selection and the signing of the Grant Agreement, grantees will be oriented to KIX objectives and processes over a period of three months called the Inception Phase. During this period, KIX program officers will work with grantees to align projects with the overall KIX theory of change and results framework and provide support and guidance on important requirements such as scaling research, GEI, knowledge mobilization, and MEL reporting.  

9 9. Inquiries 

One webinar, hosted in English, French, and Spanish, took place on November 29, 2023 (7:30am – 8:30am EST) to answer questions about this call for proposals. A recording is available for all 3 languages and can be found here .

Any inquiries that affect all applicants will be posted anonymously online on the KIX Call FAQ page . Applicants are strongly encouraged to monitor this website for any information updates regarding this call. 

10 10. Call timeline  

11 11. Additional considerations 

• As a Canadian Crown Corporation, IDRC is subject to Canada’s Access to Information Act. Consequently, any submissions in response to this Call for Research Proposals will be held by IDRC in a manner consistent with the Access to Information Act, including IDRC's obligations to disclose documents requested by members of the public. 
• By way of submitting an application under this Call, applicants consent to the disclosure of the documents they submit to IDRC and external reviewers who are involved in the assessment and selection processes of proposals. If selected for funding, applicants further consent to the disclosure of their name and the title of the proposed project in any announcement of selected projects. Unsuccessful proposals will be destroyed within 180 days after the close of the application period. Proposals deemed as high quality by the IAP, but which do not receive funding from this round, will be retained for an additional 12 months, based on applicant permissions. 
• Applicants must publish research findings in the public domain in accordance with IDRC’s Open Access Policy .  
• The technical selection of a proposal does not constitute a formal commitment by IDRC to fund the project. Applicants whose proposals are selected for a recommendation for funding will undergo an institutional assessment. This step assesses the potential risk of material loss of IDRC funds due to weaknesses in the capacity of an applicant’s institution to manage or report on the financial aspects of project activities, or because of economic and political conditions relating to the institution's operating environment. IDRC needs to review three broad areas in its assessment of what measures should be applied to minimize such risk: the materiality of the investment; the management capacity of the applicant’s institution; and the wider environment within which the organization operates. IDRC will have no obligation to issue any funds prior to the applicant returning an executed Grant Agreement issued to them by IDRC. The process for finalizing the project proposal, budget and administrative documentation is expected to take place between April 2024 and June 2024. 
• IDRC reserves the right in its sole discretion at any time to withdraw support for a project or recipient where the i) implementation, ii) monitoring of, or iii) access to a project is not possible or would jeopardize the safety of staff, contractors or anyone affiliated to IDRC. Additionally, where it is determined that a project or participation of an institution or individual would or could reasonably violate laws, sanctions or other obligations with which IDRC and or the applicant must comply, support for the project may be withheld or withdrawn. 
• Country clearance requirements: IDRC has conducted general agreements for scientific and technical cooperation with a number of governments. These agreements establish the framework for IDRC cooperation with that country by defining the rights and obligations of both IDRC and the government. As such, the applicant institution may be required to obtain country approval in accordance with these agreements prior to receiving funding from IDRC. This requirement applies only to selected applications. IDRC reserves the right to not pursue the funding of a selected project if the country approval is not secured within six months after IDRC officially announces approval of the project, as this would jeopardize the timely completion of the initiative. 
• Applicants whose proposals are selected to recommend for funding will be required to provide additional documentation (see additional documents under Proposal Submission Details) prior to confirmation of funding of their projects. IDRC reserves the right to rescind its selection of a project if it is deemed that the information provided in the application is false or misleading.  

A Annex A: List of Eligible Countries: GPE partner countries 

Afghanistan  Indonesia  South Sudan  Albania  Kenya  Sri Lanka  Angola  Kiribati  Sudan  Bangladesh  Kyrgyz Republic  Tajikistan Belize  Lao PDR  Tanzania  Benin  Lesotho  Timor-Leste  Bhutan  Liberia   Togo  Burkina Faso  Madagascar  Tonga Burundi  Malawi  Tunisia Cabo Verde  Maldives Tuvalu Cambodia  Mali  Uganda Cameroon  Marshall Islands  Ukraine  Central African Republic  Mauritania Uzbekistan Chad  FS Micronesia  Vanuatu Comoros  Moldova Vietnam Congo, Democratic Republic of  Mongolia Yemen Côte d'Ivoire  Mozambique Zambia Djibouti  Myanmar Zimbabwe Dominica  Nepal     El Salvador  Nicaragua    Egypt Niger    Eritrea  Nigeria    Eswatini  Pakistan    Ethiopia  Papua New Guinea   Fiji   Philippines    The Gambia  Republic of Congo   Georgia  Rwanda   Ghana Saint Lucia    Grenada Saint Vincent and the Grenadines   Guatemala  Samoa    Guinea    Sao Tome and Principe    Guinea-Bissau   Senegal    Guyana Sierra Leone    Haití  Solomon Islands   Honduras  Somalia    B Annex B: Integrating GEI in research proposals and projects   IDRC’s Equality statement says “We support the generation of knowledge—including by individuals from diverse genders, communities, histories, and experiences—that tackles the systems that perpetuate inequalities on the basis of identity.” Integrating GEI in all stages of research projects is essential for producing research that is fair, equitable, and inclusive, and ultimately promotes equal opportunities and treatment for all people regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or any other identity.   When a project integrates GEI considerations across its design as well as methodologies, outputs, outcomes and organizational practices, the project is gender-responsive or gender-transformative (see IDRC’s Guide to integrating gender in your proposal ). Even for a call that specifically targets GEI issues, proposals should consider how to orient projects to be either gender-responsive or gender-transformative in all aspects:   Problem identification and background  Including GEI in the problem identification and background contextualizes the research problem within the broader sociocultural and historical context. It helps to explain how gender and inclusion-related challenges in education have emerged and how they are perpetuated.   To what extent does the problem identification and background section discuss the contextual factors that contribute to GEI challenges?   What does the existing research say about the issues in focus with respect to GEI?   To what extent does the problem identification and background section clearly articulate the specific GEI needs or challenges to be addressed in the project?   Does the proposal include an intersectional approach to understand how gender intersects with other aspects of identity, such as age, ability, race, ethnicity, geographic location, sexuality, and wealth status?  Research purpose and anticipated results  Including GEI in research objectives, research questions, and project results helps to focus the project on GEI and ensure that it works towards addressing identified GEI challenges.  To what extent do the research objectives and questions incorporate GEI issues?   To what extent do the results - outputs, outcomes, and intended impact - address GEI issues and their underlying causes?   Project design and methodology  Including GEI in the research design and methodology helps to incorporate a diversity of perspectives, including those of marginalized groups who may be underrepresented in the research.   To what extent are GEI considerations reflected in the project design and methodology?  Are different groups involved in the research process in a meaningful, participatory way? To what extent do they represent the diversity of target groups, including the most marginalized?  How does the design accommodate for the effective participation of all stakeholders?  Knowledge mobilization strategy  Including GEI in knowledge mobilization activities helps to ensure that GEI issues are raised and addressed beyond the project.   Are GEI considerations included in the knowledge mobilization strategy?  How will GEI-specific findings be documented and shared?  Are you considering involving relevant key stakeholders or change makers (government, NGOs and others) that work on and influence gender-based discrimination and inequalities in the knowledge sharing process?   Monitoring, evaluation, and learning  Including GEI in your monitoring, evaluation, and learning plan ensures that there are GEI targets set, their progress is monitored, and learnings are documented and reported.   To what extent is GEI integrated into the project's monitoring, evaluation, and learning plan?  Does the proposal outline mechanisms to monitor and report on GEI-related results?  Project team capacities  Including GEI expertise and ensuring GEI representation in the composition of the team is important for ensuring diverse perspectives and experiences, addressing gender and inclusion-related challenges, conducting ethical research, engaging stakeholders, and disseminating findings to diverse audiences.   Do you have a person responsible for leading GEI integration?   Does the project team include a balanced mix of people of different genders? What roles do they have?   How might you strengthen the capacities of the research team regarding GEI?   Have you highlighted the expertise within the team needed to conduct rigorous gender analysis and to analyze data by sex and other relevant indicators? Along with Stanford news and stories, show me: Student information Faculty/Staff information We want to provide announcements, events, leadership messages and resources that are relevant to you. Your selection is stored in a browser cookie which you can remove at any time using “Clear all personalization” below. Chris Lemons, associate professor of education, talks to a student in the small-group work area while paraeducator Vijayalakshmi Samraj and Stanford researcher Lakshmi Balasubramanian work individually with students. (Image credit: Lisa Chung) At a meeting before the start of the school year at Abram Agnew Elementary School in San Jose, special education aides shared the strategies they planned to use to boost their effectiveness. One of Maria Ochoa’s goals was to initiate regular communication with classroom teachers. “I want to make sure we’re on the same page, and I’m going to be keeping notes about our work with students,” she said. In August, Ochoa, along with 15 other aides or paraeducators, completed their final session of Para Pro Academy, a collaboration between Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education and the Santa Clara Unified School District, where they learned techniques and strategies for a role that Associate Professor of Education Chris Lemons describes as an underutilized and important link to student success. “Schools infrequently devote sufficient professional development or coaching to this group.” —Chris Lemons Associate Professor of Education “The reason we are targeting paraeducators in this work is because they are some of the most critical staff in schools – they are where the rubber meets the road for improving outcomes for learners with disabilities,” Lemons said. “Schools infrequently devote sufficient professional development or coaching to this group.” Unlike teachers, paraeducators are not required to have teaching credentials or even bachelor’s degrees, and they often receive little, if any, training on the job. And teachers, including those trained to provide special education services, often don’t receive guidance for working with paraeducators. The vision for Para Pro Academy is to empower paraeducators and facilitate their work with teachers to improve student learning. The project is the first initiative in a research-practice learning partnership between Stanford and Santa Clara Unified District that will enable both Stanford faculty and educators to try ideas in real classrooms, improve on the ones that work, and then share them more widely. Graduate School of Education Professor Elizabeth Kozleski , the faculty co-director of the Learning Differences Initiative at the Stanford Accelerator for Learning, said the partnership was designed to create a cycle of frequent communication and mutual learning. “A community of practice is where everyone is asking the questions,” she said. Through their interactions, everyone can be curious and ask, in different ways, “How does learning happen?” Seed funds from the Stanford Office of Community Engagement made it possible for paraeducators to attend the training sessions and receive coaching and educational materials, which will be available in the school’s library for use by other classroom aides. While students take an activity break, Stanford researcher Lakshmi Balasubramanian talks with Agnew School paraeducator Alyssa Morris, and Chris Lemons looks over classroom work with Sandra Velásquez, the liaison from Santa Clara Unified School District. (Image credit: Lisa Chung) The shift toward inclusive classrooms Federal law has mandated since 1975 that students with disabilities be educated alongside their nondisabled peers to the extent possible. But for many years, in California and across the country, special education meant separate classrooms, separate teachers, and even separate sites. As the move toward providing special ed services within inclusive classrooms gains momentum, paraeducators are key to supporting the students who in years past might have been placed in separate classes, Kozleski said. At Agnew, where students with learning issues in 13 recognized disability categories learn side by side with other students, Principal Joe Young said the training program helped the school’s paraeducators focus on what they wanted to accomplish with their students – and with their own professional development. “Clearly identifying goals during the Para Pro Academy has really supported their intentional efforts to improve their practice,” he said. The program has elevated the profile of paraeducators within the school as part of the team contributing to student learning, he said, and “it has really given them a greater sense of their impact.” Reflecting on the first few months of the school year, Ochoa said that progress can be hard to measure with individual students because she changes classrooms regularly, working with students across the district. Detailed note-taking and close collaboration with teachers and other paraeducators have helped. “Luckily, my team keeps very open communication about the students we work with, so if we find techniques that work well for the student’s progress, we try to maintain that progress when we rotate working with the same students.” Welcome to Microsoft Forms! Create and share online surveys, quizzes, polls, and forms. Collect feedback, measure satisfaction, test knowledge, and more. Easily design your forms with various question types, themes, and branching logic. Analyze your results with built-in charts and reports, or export them to Excel for further analysis. Integrate Microsoft Forms with other Microsoft 365 apps, such as Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive, so you can collaborate with others and access your forms from anywhere. Explore templates Template gallery Community volunteer registration form Employee satisfaction survey Competitive analysis study Office facility request form Vacation and sick leave form Post-event feedback survey Holiday Party Invitation River City Live Newsletters WEATHER ALERT A river flood warning in effect for Columbia County Dcps counters superintendent’s compensation proposal, offers $70k less in yearly pay, no monthly car stipend, dr. chris bernier asked for a $350k salary, $1,000 monthly car stipend, $15,000 in moving expenses. Travis Gibson , Digital reporter/editor Anne Maxwell , I-TEAM and general assignment reporter JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After backlash over the high salary and perks sought by incoming Duval County superintendent Dr. Chris Bernier , the Duval County School Board has come back with a counteroffer. The board’s offer, which is significantly less than the offer first put forward by Bernier, comes after his initial proposal garnered strong reactions from the teachers union president and the public. In his first pay proposal, which is part of ongoing negotiations, Bernier asked for a $350,000 per year salary, the maximum advertised for the job, a $1,000 monthly car stipend, up to $50,000 a year for a paid mentor, and monthly retirement contributions equivalent to 25% of his monthly base salary, which would equal $87,500 a year for a $350,000 per year salary. MORE: ‘Ridiculous’: Teachers union leader blasts ‘excessive’ compensation requests by new Duval superintendent In the board’s counterproposal, obtained by News4JAX on Thursday, it is offering Bernier a $280,000 annual salary, but did not offer some perks he proposed, including a car stipend, money for a mentor, and massive monthly retirement contributions. The district’s offer is less than the $300,000 a year the last superintendent, Dr. Diana Greene, was making. The contract proposed by Bernier included a performance bonus of $30,000 for a rating of “highly effective” or $25,000 for “effective” that Bernier would distribute to his cabinet members at his discretion. Under the board’s proposal, Bernier would be eligible for up to $20,000 in bonus pay if he meets goals set out by the school board each year. The board said Bernier can use a district vehicle or get reimbursement for mileage on his car, but the distinct vehicle can’t be used for personal use. The board said it would also pay $15,000 per year into a voluntary retirement account for Bernier and he can participate in the Florida retirement system like everyone else in the district. However, the district did agree to offer up to $15,000 in moving and transition expenses, as Bernier had proposed, with the added caveat that it serves as reimbursement. Tammie Brooks-Evans, president of the local union Duval Teachers United, said she thought the perks Bernier first sought were ridiculous. On Thursday, News4JAX asked her about the district’s offer. “Parts of the offer are more of what we would expect. [I] have concerns about the amount of life insurance and the double retirement that he would be receiving,” Brooks-Evans said. The district offered $750,000 in life insurance, which was less than the $900,000 Greene received. “This is kind of how negotiations go. You come in high, they come in low and you end up someplace in the middle,” Brooks-Evans said. Bernier would officially start on the date the contract is signed until June 2028, with the possibility of an extension. Bernier was unanimously approved by the board as the next superintendent last month, but his compensation package has not been settled. News4JAX was flooded with comments after details of the first contract proposal were first reported on Tuesday. There were more than 220 comments on News4JAX.com and close to 700 comments on Instagram, where one account posted, “What if actually we raised the salary for teachers and school staff instead.” The pay negotiations come as the district faces financial difficulties due to rising construction costs, aging infrastructure, and dropping enrollment in the face of expanded school choice options. Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX - All rights reserved. About the Authors Travis gibson. Digital reporter who has lived in Jacksonville for more than 25 years and focuses on important local issues like education and the environment. Anne Maxwell I-TEAM and general assignment reporter Click here to take a moment and familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines. Recommended Videos 291 COMMENTS An Example Sample Project Proposal on "Strengthening Inclusive We propose a project focused on strengthening inclusive education in marginalized communities. The goal of this project is to ensure equal educational opportunities for all individuals, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds. By enhancing the inclusivity of educational systems and providing targeted support, we aim to empower marginalized communities and create a more equitable society. 52103-001: Support for Inclusive Education Project Small grants for civil society organizations: A request for proposals for small grants was announced through local and social media. 8 small grants will be selected and implemented for 6-12 months. ... Support for Inclusive Education Project: Audited Project Financial Statements (November 2020-December 2021) Audited Project Financial Statements : PDF Strategies for Creating Inclusive Schools Considerations Packet Considerations: Strategies for Creating Inclusive Schools 5 T/TAC W&M Updated July 2015 School teams may also use the guiding questions in Table 1 for self-assessment. The questions are adapted from a T/TAC William and Mary tool based on a similar instrument prepared by the Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education (2011). "Yes" PDF DOCUMENT RESUME ED 354 712 EC 301 897 AUTHOR Rogan, Pat; Davern, Linda Handicaps in the Context of Regular Education Settings. Proposal Title: Inclusive Education Project: A Building based Approach to Developing Classroom and School Models that Include Students with Severe Handicaps. Grant Number: H086D90019. Submitted By: Pat Rogan, Ph.D., Project Director Assistant Professor of Special Education and Rehabilitation Implementing the Project Approach in an Inclusive Classroom: A ... Therefore, I believe when concluding a project within an inclusion classroom, I need to find a better balance between structured and child-initiated ideas. Conclusion. ... Early Childhood Education Journal 36 (4): 339-46. Yuen, L.H. 2009. "From Foot to Shoes: Kindergartners', Families' and Teachers' Perceptions of the Project Approach." PDF Programme proposal The Moray House School of Education . Board of Studies . 9 September 2015 . Programme proposal - MSc Inclusive Education . Brief description of the paper [50-100 words should normally suffice] Action requested [e.g. For comment . For information . To consider recommendations (summarised or cross-referenced to the paper) To note formally . etc. PDF Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction Project Administration Manual The project will support inclusive education based on functional difficulties per the international classification of functioning as described in the November 2018 Guidelines for the Provision of Comprehensive Development Assistance for Children with Disabilities, issued as Joint Decree A/304, A/699, and A/460 by the Ministry of Labor and ... Inclusive teaching: preparing all teachers to teach all students The project has led to the development of a proposal for a systematic inclusive education policy, submitted to the Ministry of Education, which focuses on resource rooms as a means of teacher training (European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, 2020a). ... tends to have a greater effect on inclusive teaching practices (OECD ... Special Education Project Proposal Template ClickUp's Special Education Project Proposal Template is here to save the day. With this template, you can: Define your project goals, objectives, and budget with ease. Outline your project scope, activities, and timelines in a clear and concise manner. Demonstrate the impact and effectiveness of your proposed interventions. Project Proposal Project Proposal - Free download as Word Doc (.doc / .docx), PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. This document discusses the benefits of diversity and inclusion in the classroom. It argues that a diverse classroom environment where all students feel included and respected can lead to improved educational outcomes. A diverse classroom fosters creativity and better problem ... PDF Inclusive Education Inclusive education means all children learn together in the same schools. No-one. should be excluded. Every child has a right to inclusive education, including children with disabilities. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) recognizes the right . to inclusive education for all persons with disabilities. PDF A Reserch Project Proposal Prepared for The University of Pretoria The new approach to inclusive education arises out of the need for changes to be made to the provision of education that is responsive and sensitive to range of the diverse learning needs. nclusive educationI was confirmed in Salamanca, from 7 to Spain, 10June 1994, towards theobjective of Education for All . Inclusive education will give PDF Sikai Inclusive Education Project was designed with the following goal of: 'Most vulnerable children access and participate equally in education and achieve equitable learning outcomes in basic education in the target district'. The project focuses on three main outcomes: improving school structures to encourage inclusive education (IE); changing Research about inclusive education in 2020 Elaborated theory. Whereas, research about, for example, the attitudes to and effectiveness of inclusive education has been largely concerned with relationships between variables, there is a lot of research into inclusive education that has been grounded in very elaborated theories (cf. e.g. Allan Citation 2008).Skrtic (Citation 1991, Citation 1995) is an example of an early theorist who has ... PDF Education Out Loud This Call for Proposals is only related to OC1: Strengthen national civil society engagement in gender responsive education planning, policy development and monitoring. 2. WHO CAN APPLY FOR THIS CALL FOR PROPOSALS? The present Call for Proposals falls under Operational Component 1 that provides support for National Education Coalitions (NECs). PDF Inclusive Education Capitalization of experiences in the Bridging-the-Gap Project Inclusive education 5 1 Introduction Inclusive education is a process contributing to achieving social inclusion, yet barriers to participation and learning are numerous for many children, particularly children with disabilities. Children are missing out on the opportunity to learn due PDF Primary Schooling for Children with Disabilities: the local context should inform inclusive education policies for schools, teachers, and decision-makers. Economic and social policies should respond to the realities in which inclusive education policies are implemented, thereby adopting a "holistic approach" to inclusive education. Research shows the need for greater regional knowledge sharing Call for proposals: Knowledge and innovation for inclusive early 11.Introduction . The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) invite proposals for applied research projects to generate and mobilize evidence in support of contextualizing and scaling the impact of innovative approaches to strengthen inclusive early learning and school readiness in GPE partner countries. Program trains aides to support inclusive classrooms The vision for Para Pro Academy is to empower paraeducators and facilitate their work with teachers to improve student learning. The project is the first initiative in a research-practice learning ... Microsoft Forms Microsoft Forms is a web-based application that allows you to: Create and share online surveys, quizzes, polls, and forms. Collect feedback, measure satisfaction, test knowledge, and more. Easily design your forms with various question types, themes, and branching logic. Analyze your results with built-in charts and reports, or export them to ... DCPS counters superintendent's compensation proposal ... In his first pay proposal, which is part of ongoing negotiations, Bernier asked for a $350,000 per year salary, the maximum advertised for the job, a $1,000 monthly car stipend, up to $50,000 a ... Project 2025 Project 2025, also known as the Presidential Transition Project, is a collection of right-wing policy proposals from The Heritage Foundation to reshape the U.S. federal government in the event of a Republican victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Established in 2022, the project aims to recruit tens of thousands of conservatives to the District of Columbia to replace existing federal ... assignment essay homework paper phd report resume review speech thesis