Mother Child Education Foundation (ACEV), Istanbul, Turkey
From the Global Women's Network
| Mother Child Education Foundation (ACEV), Istanbul, Turkey | |
|---|---|
| Logo: |  |
| Street address: | Büyükdere Cad. Stad Han. No:85 Kat:2 34387 Mecidiyeköy |
| City: | Istanbul |
| Country: | Turkey |
| Location: |
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| Location coordinates: | 41° 0' 19" N, 28° 58' 37" ELatitude: 41.00527 Longitude: 28.97696 |
| Contact number: | +90 212 213 42 20 / 213 46 39 |
| Contact email: | acev@acev.org |
| Website: | http://www.acev.org/?lang=en |
| Target: | Girls and Women |
| Organization type: | Foundation |
| Other organization type: | National NGO (operating globally via partnerships) |
| Sectors: | Education, Elder Women, Empowerment, Gender Discrimination, Legal Rights, Reproductive Rights, Violence Against Women |
| Other sectors: | Early Childhood and Preschool Education, Parent Training, Female Literacy, Child Protection |
| Year founded/registered: | 1993 |
Summary
The Mother Child Education Foundation (ACEV) founded in 1993, has vast research, program development, implementation, and advocacy experience in early childhood, parent education and women empowerment.
About
The Mother Child Education Foundation believes that equal opportunity in education must be provided for all individuals, education must begin in the early years and continue throughout the entire lifecycle, and both children and their families need to be supported for lasting positive outcomes. In order to turn these beliefs into reality, ACEV has dedicated itself to reaching those who have limited access to educational and economic resources both on a national and international level.
To date ACEV has:
- trained 7,881 trainers and through them served 670,110 people through long-term, face-to-face education programs aimed at children, parents and illiterate women. All programs are provided free of charge to under-resourced families who do not have access to other services.
- reached 7,500,000 viewers through television programs aimed at children, families, and illiterate women
- reached an estimated 40,000,000 people through publications, research, and mass-media public awareness advocacy activities.
There is strong scientific evidence that the early years (ages 0-6) of a child are times of rapid cognitive, social, emotional and motor skill development. While the brain is built over time, a substantial proportion is constructed during the early years of life. Proper care and stimulation supports and fosters this development. During the early childhood period, the child's developmental needs must be met and supported by his/her immediate environment and parents play an important role as the "first educators" of their children. Therefore it is critical that parents are informed about the importance of early childhood development and education. Children who receive early childhood education are better prepared for school and show lower drop-out rates, therefore receive more years of schooling. Quality early childhood education is also an especially effective means of reducing gender disparity in education. Most importantly, early childhood years are crucial in fostering the values and behaviors necessary for peaceful and democratic societies. Though the importance of early childhood education has been clearly documented, preschool services in Turkey do not reach the majority of children - especially those children who come from socio-economically disadvantaged conditions and are already at high risk developmentally. Due to this context, since its foundation in 1993, ACEV has centered its work around two main areas of expertise: early childhood and adult education. Guided by the principle of equal education opportunities for all, ACEV develops and implements education programs which aim to provide a “fair start” for all children and to improve the quality of life of families and individuals through education and awareness raising. In order to achieve these goals ACEV:
- develops, evaluates and implements intervention/education programs which empower the family
- implements early childhood education, parenting and literacy/women’s support programs using a variety of models and mediums (ranging from face-to-face training modules to distance education via TV and web-based sources)
- delivers high quality trainer training and provides effective and systematic in-the-field support & supervision to trainers in order to maintain quality and consistency while scaling-up its programs
- trains and utilizes thousands of volunteers to expand its women’s empowerment programs
- supports scientific research on early childhood education
- partners with governmental agencies, local and international NGO’s and organizations, universities and private businesses, including most extensively with the Ministry of Education in order to expand its preschool and parenting programs
- works to support existing center-based early childhood education models through programs and campaigns which aim to promote access, family involvement and quality
- works to increase societal awareness about the importance of early education and family literacy and lobbies to change educational policies.
[edit] Activities
Family Programs
- Mother Support Program (MSP)
Target group: mothers of children aged 3-11
Duration: 12-13 weeks, 2 hours a week
Aim: This modular program, which is implemented by teachers, guidance counselors and social workers, aims to impart mothers with the skills necessary to fully support the development of her children. The programs modules are grouped according to the age of the child and age-appropriate topics are discussed weekly with the groups of mothers. The program features topics such as positive child rearing, sexual reproductive health for mothers, creating positive learning environments and the importance of reading and play with the child. MSP is implemented in collaboration with a variety of trainer groups and is especially valued by guidance counselors and primary school teachers seeking to support parents effectively to improve the performance and wellbeing of the children they serve. The Ministry of National Education encourages the implementation and expansion of this program.
- Father Support Program (FSP)
Target group: fathers of 3-11 year olds
Duration: 10 weeks (plus 2 optional weeks), 2 hours a week
Aim: This is a scientifically based training program whose aim is to contribute towards the holistic development of children by addressing the parenting skills and attitudes of their fathers. The FSP was developed in part at the request of mothers attending mother education programs but also in view of the very limited resources that are available to fathers on child development. Specific focus is placed on raising awareness about child-rearing, child development, parenting and communication within the family and health issues pertaining to this age group. Training is provided by guidance counselors and primary school teachers who participate in training seminars conducted jointly with the Ministry of National Education.
- Parental Seminars
Target group: Parents of 0-14 year olds
Duration: Half or one day
Aim: To inform parents about their roles and importance on their children’s development, child-rearing, parenting, communication within the family.
Early Childhood Education Programs
- Mother Child Education Program (MOCEP)
Target group: Socio-economically disadvantaged mothers of 5-6 year olds.
Duration: 25 weeks, 2 hours a week
Aim: Through this home based and low cost preschool program mothers learn how to support the holistic development of their children and how to utilize specific program materials targeting the child’s cognitive and social development. The overall aim is to prepare these children for school and support their development but also to empower the mother with skills and attitudes which will impact both her and her children’s wellbeing for years to come. The MOCEP is implemented by the Ministry of National Education’s General Directorate for Apprenticeship and Non-Formal Education with whom ACEV remains in close consultation.
- Preschool Parent Child Education Program (PPCEP)
Target group: Children attending state preschools and their parents.
Duration: 24 weeks for children, 8 meetings for parents (1 meeting per month)
Aim: This program is a scientifically-based training program whose aims are to strengthen the curriculum of existing state-run preschools while supporting parent-school cooperation. The program materials which aim to support the preschooler’s literacy and numeracy skills are utilized by the teacher everyday. Additional materials targeting the parents are also made available so that parents can also be meaningfully involved in supporting their children’s learning. Finally, the program features discussion topics for the teacher and parents which are utilized during the monthly parent sessions the teacher conducts throughout the year as a requisite of this program. The program is currently run in preschools across the country by the Ministry of National Education’s Preschool Education Directorate. ACEV maintains capacity building, program development and new trainer training responsibilities.
- Intensive Summer Preschools
Target: 5-6 year old children from extremely under-resourced communities or geographic regions in Turkey.
Duration: 9 weeks, 5 days a week
Aim: This program aims to support the holistic development of the child so that he/she will be better prepared for and more successful in school. In as little as nine weeks, the program imparts the skills and attitudes necessary to foster improved educational and social achievement to the children, parents and teachers of these communities. The modules targeting mothers directly, as well as the linguistic support features of the preschool curriculum for bilingual children, make this program especially relevant and effective in the communities served. The Ministry of National Education’s Preschool Education Directorate supports this program by supplying teachers and classroom spaces.
Women’s Empowerment Programs
- Women’s Empowerment and Integrated Literacy Program
Target: Illeterate young and adult women (15 and above)
Duration: 14 weeks, 3 hours three times a week
Aim: The program focuses not only on imparting functional literacy skills but also on supporting women so that they can participate more actively in social life and become aware of the political and social issues directly affecting their lives. Thus, the program focuses on areas such as citizenship, gender equality, human rights, health as well as basic literacy and arithmetic. The first stage of the literacy sessions is structured differently for adult learners, consists of 120 hours of class time. An 80 hour supplementary program is aimed at teaching participants how to use literacy as a way of accessing information and how to make reading and writing integral parts of their everyday lives. The approach combines the use of volunteer teachers who have been trained as adult educators by ACEV and additional guidance and support from ACEV in the form of observation and advice. ACEV is Turkey’s only NGO which is licensed by the Ministry of National Education to offer literacy certification to adults.
- Advanced Literacy- Access to Knowledge Program
Target: Graduates of 1st level basic literacy program or at this academic level
Duration: 14 weeks, 3 hours thrice a week
Aim: To improve the reading comprehension and through this to model the use of access paths to information to strengthen the role of women in society.
- Rural Women’s Support Program
Target: Young and adult women (15 and above) living in rural areas of Turkey
Duration: 8 weeks, 3 hours a week
Aim: Ever since its inception, ACEV has been implementing various education programs geared especially to disadvantaged families living in urban settings. Based on feedback from the field and research studies, the need to carry out education programs geared to women living in rural Turkey became more and more apparent, and efforts to develop a training program to this end were initiated in late 2008. The objective of this program is to enhance the life skills of young and adult women living in rural areas through education. As a result, an easily implemented modular training program featuring visual materials was developed, covering subjects such as Healthy Living; Healthy Pregnancy; Children’s Health and Nutrition; Children’s Growth and Development; Communication and Child-Rearing; Women’s Health; Protecting the Environment; and Rights.
Advocacy and Awareness Raising Activities
- ‘7 is too Late’ Policy Advocacy Campaign
‘7 is Too Late’ is an advocacy and public awareness campaign carried out in order to increase public awareness of the importance of early childhood education and to influence education policy priorities to allow for the expansion of publicly provided pre-school education programs in Turkey. The campaign has produced several research reports, policy briefs and resulted in a major policy change in preschool education in Turkey. It is estimated that around 30 million people in Turkey were exposed to the campaign. A most notable outcome of the campaign is that preschool education for the 4-6 age group in Turkey increased by 107% in 5 years (16% to 40%) and in 2009 the Ministry of National Education made preschool education compulsory in 32 pilot provinces.
- Conferences and Seminars
ACEV organizes various meetings, conferences, workshops and symposiums in line with its projects and programs on early childhood and adult education.
- ACEV Publications
ACEV programs are regularly evaluated by academic experts, wherein the results are published. ACEV also publishes books and research reports on early childhood education and adult education programs on parenting and literacy. All publications are made publicly available on ACEV’s website.
- Distance Education
ACEV has been working to expand its programs across different mediums to reach its target groups and has produced and broadcasted educational and documentary programs.
- “Will you Play with Me?” – an early childhood educational TV program broadcasted by the national TV channel TRT, a total of 360 episodes have been produced.
- “Our Class” – a program to expand functional literacy across Turkey, broadcasted on national channel (Kanal D), with 60 episodes being produced.
- “It’s Good to be a Father” – an 8 episode documentary program on fathers’ role and importance on children’s development, broadcasted on national channel (NTV).
- “Mobile Learning Program” – a pilot implementation (2011) in collaboration with Vodafone Foundation for mothers of preschool aged children
- “Web Based Literacy Program” – an alternative to the dace to face literacy learning model via digital platforms
- “www.acevokuloncesi.org” – an educational website full of resources for parents and teachers
ACEV Worldwide
The expertise in community based parent training and early childhood activities that the foundation has developed in Turkey has been recognized by the international community. ACEV has been invited to consultative groups and networks in the field of early childhood education and received the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Award in 2006, the Institute Amadeus Award in Science, Education and Culture in 2008, and the Qatar Foundation’s WISE Award in 2010.
To date, ACEV has trained 136 trainers for its local partners in Bahrain, Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Jordan, Lebanon, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Switzerland, who in turn reached over 10.000 parents and preschool children.
The programs in Europe are being implemented in Turkish with Turkish migrants, in Arabic countries partially Turkish with Turkish families, Arabic with the local community and in Spanish in Mexico with local communities.
The aim of working international is for ACEV to transfer its professional knowledge and remain in a consultative position. Thus, ACEV is putting forward its professionalism in early childhood and parenting education, transferring the knowledge and supporting the dissemination of the scientific-based programs in different countries and cultures.
Involvement in selected Networks
- Clinton Global Initiative Member (since 2008)
- Consultative Group on ECE Member (since 2004)
- Harvard Child Development Center’s Inernational Founding Member (2008)
- UNESCO Early Childhood Cooperating Center- Central Asia Representative (from 1997 to 2010)
- UNESCO Operational Relations Partnership Status (since 2010)
- UN ECOSOC Special Consultative Status (since 2008)
- UN MDG Annual Reporting on MDG (2010)
- World Forum Alliance Member (since 2008)
