Restricted Technical Report PP/1981-1983/1/5.3/03 SAUDI

ARABIA Participation and co-operation for development programmes

Day Welfare Centres established and supervised by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

by Hala J. Hammad

Serial N o . F M R / E D / E P P / 8 4 / 1 4 2

11 [ [ ' | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Paris, 1984

S A U D I A R A B I A

DAT WELFARE CENTRES ESTABLISHED AND SUPERVISED BY THE MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

by Hala J. Hammad

Report prepared for the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco)

U N E S C O

The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Unesco or the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Technical Report PP/1981-1983/1/5.3/03 FMR/ED/EPP/84/142(Hammad) 12 June 1984

© Unesco 1984 Printed in France

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

I . Introduction 1

II . Methodology 2

III . Findings 4

IV. Recommendations 6

V. Conclusions 9

VI. Appendices :

1. Names of persons and. institutions visited 10

2. Summary-outline or training workshop in pre-school activities.... 12

3. Summary of outline of proposed specifications of the Directorate for Childhood (Translation from Arabic ) 14

INTRODUCTION

1. At the request of the Government of Saudi Arabia, the Director-General of Unesco arranged under the Organization's Participation Programme for 1981-1983, for a consultant to visit Saudi Arabia from 1 December 1983 to 7 March 1984, with the following terms of refer­ence : -

In collaboration and cooperation with the National Authorities of Saudi Arabia, develop programmes for children (3-6 years old) at the day welfare -centres administered by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

2. In carrying out the mission, the consultant was assigned to vorkin Riyadh, ât the Office of the Women's Social Supervision for the Central Region under the directorship of Her Highness Princess Sarah Bint Muhammad Bin Saud. All pre-school and day care centres at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs are either run or super­vised by the Office of Women's Social Supervision, which also super­vises all social institutions for the welfare of women and children of all age groups.

3. After several meetings with Princess Sarah and her assistants the terms of reference "develop programmes" were described as follows :-

The consultant was to:

a. assess the needs of pre-school/day care centre teachers and principals in Riyadh and its environs in order to identify areas of greatest need and weaknesses;

b. set up and train selected pre-school/day care centre teachers for two weeks as a follow-up to (a) above;

c. train the social supervisors at the Office of Women's Social Supervision on the planning and running of similar • workshops in order to build a system for follow-up;

d. design national proposal specifications for a new body at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to serve present and future needs of Saudi Arabia's children with the possi­bility of including the plan in the Saudi Economic Five-year Plan.

e. train on-the-job for one day a week personnel at the Social Nursery, an institututional 24-hour day and night care centre for children from broken homes in the Central Region. The training was to be based on modelling group-teaching and curricula as needed;

f. provide continuous advice, counsel, critique, feedback to the Office for Women's Social Supervision as the needs arise in areas pertaining to early childhood education (the pre-school years) for th.e duration of the mission.

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4. As Unesco had. assigned from 12 December 1983 another consultant, Ms Najwa Mroueh, for similar terms of reference as requested by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, it was decided by Princess Sarah Bint Muhammad and both consultants to cooperate and collaborate on all matters of the mission in order to reach goals with maximum benefit at standards of excellence.

5. The immediate objectives of the mission were to serve the urgent and immediate needs of the various levels of personnel working with pre-school day care children at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

6. The long-term objectives were to introduce and provide models of quality, at standards of excellence in the education of 3-6 years old children in order to upgrade the standards of training, planning, programming, care and teaching of Saudi Arabia's pre-school children.

II. METHODOLOGY OF WORK, ACTIVITIES AND OUTPUT

Methodology of work

7. The Office of Women's Social Supervision for the Central Region in Riyadh under the leadership of Her Highness Princess Sarah Bint Muhammad Bin Saud assigned an office at the Social Nursery for both consultants ', to serve as a centre for operations. The four social supervisors of the Princess: Mrs. Nawal Abu Hlega, Mrs. Batul Lary, Miss .Nawal Al Mhawas, and Mrs. Aisheh Subki were assigned to accom­pany the consultants interchangeably on all visits to institutions. Furthermore, they attended the daily sessions of step-by-step plan­ning of activities and meetings for the purpose of on-the-job train­ing and follow-up procedures.

8. Princess Sarah was briefed daily by her supervisors about pro­cedures and plans. When the need, arose a meeting with Her Highness was arranged to discuss issues of concern. Furthermore, the schedule of work in time-table form and content outline was approved by His Excellency the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Mr. Muhammad Al Malek, with the recognition of the Director of Social Development, Mr. Yassin Anderkiri .

Activities and outputs

9. The consultant collaborated with Ms. Najwa Mroueh on the follow­ing tasks :

a. Field visits to pre-school institutions in Riyadh and environs.

b. Needs assessment of 84 pre-school/day care centre teachers and principals.

c. Meetings with different level personnel involved with care and teaching of 3-6 years old children.

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Output : Report on Services for Children with an Emphasis on the Pre-school Child as Presented by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in the Central Region, January 1984. (Previously sent to Unesco). Names of persons and institutions visited are given in Appendix 1.

Training of four social supervisors in planning, organizing, implementing, follow-up, and evaluating workshops for pre­school/day care teachers by planning, in cooperation with them, forthcoming workshops, running activities, daily evaluations and final evaluation and follow-up of teachers in schools.

Organization and implementation of a two-week experienti-ally-based workshop for 25 pre-school/day care teachers and supervisors.

Output : Five one-week unit pre-school programmes were de­veloped in Arabic by 5 groups of pre-school teachers and their supervisors, to be published by the Office of Women's Social Supervision and distributed to all pre-school/day care centre teachers. Each one-week unit programme rotates around a theme and includes planned activities in the following areas: stories, songs and rhythmic activities, games and play activities. A summary outline of the work­shop programme is presented in Appendix 2.

Supervisors were assigned to follow up trained teachers and guide them in activity areas.

Drawing up the national specifications proposal for the Directorate of Childhood at the Ministry of Labour and Soc­ial Affairs. The original copies of the proposal in Arabic were submitted to Her Highness Princess Sarah Bint Muhammad Bin Saud to be shared with Their Excellencies the'' Minister and Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs. The translated summary outline version is presented in Appendix 3.

Providing continuous advice, counsel, critique, and feed­back on the following subjects:-

floor plans, architectural and landscape designs of out­door amusement playground to be attached to the Social Nursery School in Riyadh. The architects promised to take the critique into consideration when."building: starts.

preparation of lists for the Office of Women's Social Supervision, of English and American Journals in early childhood education helpful to existing and future career needs of Saudi pre-school teachers.

- review and analysis of English, American, and UNICEF equipment and toy catalogues for further .purchase.

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- preparation of a list of essential indoor and outdoor equipment and toys to be purchased in relation to future funds and goals.

- assistance in the purchase of indoor toys and equipment from stores in Riyadh to suit immediate needs of the Social Nursery in Riyadh.

- establishment of lines of communication for future co­operation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) by recommending and actually arranging appoint­ment for a woman liaison (Ms. Khawla Allawi) between the Office of Women's Social Supervision and UNDP;

- setting up a system of mutual cooperation between the Riyadh International School Administration as well as the Girls' Study Centre at King Saud University and the Office of Women's Social Supervision.

10. The consultant separately trained three social supervisors and three pre-school teachers at the Social Nursery once a week for two months. She held discussions on subjects varying from discipline and guidance/ value clarification and ethics of the profession to methods of story-telling, the use of audio-visual materials, making toys and equipment from materials in the children's environment. Practical training was planned and discussed with elassrobm teachers one day before actual modelling. The following morning it was de­monstrated. In the afternoon evaluation of the daily activities was made and recorded. Prior to this the teachers had not undergone any on-the-job training.

11. The consultant prepared a list in Arabic of toys for infants and toddlers (0-3 yrs.) to be purchased for the Social Nursery school children.

III. FINDINGS

It was found that in Saudi Arabia:

12. Multiple authorities at the national level direct and run diffe­rent pre-school programmes for children from 3-6 years of age. These are :

a. The Ministry of Education b. The General Presidency for Girls' Education c. Universities or the Ministry of Higher Education d. Private sectors e.. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

13. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is the only authority with primary responsibility to the overall development of the child i'. e. , in areas of health, nutrition, family welfare, and education. Furthermore, it serves the socially and economically disadvantaged child. Therefore, in reality, it is the most important authority concerned with children in the Kingdom.

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14. Several authorities at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs direct, supervise, and run pre-schools, day care centres, and nurser­ies for children from birth to six years of age. (See report on Services for Children, with an Emphasis on the Pre-School Child as presented to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs by Unesco con­sultants Mroueh and Hammad, January 1984).

15. Owing to the existence of multiple agencies and authorities no one body at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs holds total responsibility or would answer for the affairs of the Kingdom's three to six year old children.

16. Educational objectives and goals of pre-schools/day care centres visited are neither clearly formulated nor operationally specified.

17. There is a lack of national long-range and short-range planning to reach all children at all levels in all areas for urban, rural, and nomadic pre-schoolers.

18. There are complete gaps in services for the nation's 3-6 years old children especially in areas of parent- (mother) education and training of teachers (pre-service and in-service).

19. The misconception of pre-school as an academic set-up where learning relies on rote memorization is prevalent in all the pre-schools/day care centres visited. Accordingly, pre-school/day care centre services are of very poor quality.

20. Scientific research on 3-6 years old children to help describe, diagnose, or experiment with methods and curricula suitable to their needs is non-existant.

21. Pre-schools and centres visited had the following characteris­tics :

a. non-existence of minimal standards and criteria concerning quality, safety, and security measures;

b. non-existence of formal early childhood training for principals, teachers, supervisors, and assistant teachers;

c. non-existence of appropriate equipment, furniture, toys, books, suitable to the developmental and physical charac­teristics and needs of the 3-6 year olds ;

d. non-existence of experientially-based, balanced long-term curricula and programmes suitable to the needs of the 3-6 year olds;

e. inability of exisiting pre-school/day care teachers to implement effecitvely and meaningfully the existing pro­grammes .

f. lack of understanding and application of developmental characters and needs of the 3-6 year olds by all pre­school/day care centre teachers, principals and supervisors.

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g. lack of tools and knowledge of testing and measurement of children's readiness, capabilities, and skills, and there­fore, no planning for development assessment of giftedness or retardation or curricula, remediation;

h. weaknesses of parent-teacher or home-school relationships;

i. lack of services directed at the individual child within his particular background;

j. haphazard television and video intrusion in the daily routines of pre-schools and day care centres, without attention to quality programming for the 3-6 year olds' social, psychological, emotional, and cultural development;

k weaknesses in the supportive system of pre-school/day care education, in particular, poor quality in organization (secretarial and clerical areas), machinery for production of materials, maintenance, and transportation;

1. low salaries and low level recognitiation of progressional workers at pre-schools/day care centres.

22. The personnel - the social supervisors - at the Women's Office for Social Supervision are overburdened with work that ranges from social affairs of women, the mentally and physically handicapped, welfare society affairs, to the supervision of the education of the 3-6 year old children. Each social supervisor has to divide her energies in all these areas. Despite the fact that none of the supervisors specializes in children's affairs, and none has the edu­cational and professional training to work with children, each of them has shown capability in working in the field of pre-school edu­cation .

IV. RECOMMENDATIONS

23. The consultant wishes to suggest that Saudi Arabia should con­sider a comprehensive, national plan for pre-school education and care based upon the combination theory of prevention, treatment, and development, especially where the needs of families and children of the lower social economic echelon are concerned, in order to upgrade the standard of services offered and to create new services where needed.

24. The consultant believes that a new directorate for childhood affairs should be organized in order to plan, direct, and administer the affairs of children with emphasis on the years from birth to six years old.

The proposed New Directorate for Childhood as requested by Her Highness Princess Sarah Bint Muhammad Bin Saud and outlined by Hammad-Mroueh to be administered under the Ministry -of Labour and Social Affairs, has the potential to be the governing body designated, through legislation, to administer all social-educational programmes for the 3-6 years-old pre-schoolers among other programmes..

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26. The proposed Directorate is planned to serve pre-school Saudi children independently and with the assistance of national and inter­national organization(s) . This plan includes the development of :-

a. curricula and programmes b. human (physical and material) resources c. regulations, by-laws, standards, criteria, and

specifications d. training and retraining of professionals, parents,

and auxiliary personnel in the field of pre-school education.

27. The proposed Directorate shall set standards for the hiring and upgrading of professional staff, for group care and education of children, and shall provide the necessary funds and support staff to enforce these standards.

28. The proposed Directorate should work on two levels:

a. offer quality services for all children under its patronage, and

b. collaborate and cooperate with other government and private institutions to serve present and future needs of the Kingdom's pre-schoolers.

29. The human power necessary for organization and administration of the proposed Directorate should have professional education and knowledge about programmes for pre-school children. Therefore, field visits to various early childhood centres noted for their goals and services is recommended. Since the Department for Childhood is ex­pected to be directed by Saudi women professionals, it is advisable that they meet with early childhood women leaders, in particular, those working in the fields of planning, evaluating, training, or­ganizing, and curricular development of on-going programmes.

30. The Ministry.of Labour and Social Affairs should either start a model pilot pre-school/day care centre or upgrade one or two of the existing ones to become a model for the rest. The Day Care Centre at Malaz and the Social Nursery are two such examples of children's centres with present and future potentials if directed and run by well-trained professional principals and teachers.

31. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs should also consider starting a training centre for in-service training alone or in colla­boration with an established training centre. A Saudi University or Training Centre can also-specialize in pre-service training of exist­ing and future teachers for 3-6 years old children.

32.' Several intensive one or two-year professional pre-school train­ing programmes should be established for different professionals in the field:

a. teachers b. assistant teachers' or aides c. principals d. supervisors

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e. school board members, or parent members of the schools' cultural committees.

f. social supervisors

33. Closer and more active coordination should be mintained with all government or private agencies serving pre-school children. The proposed Directorate for Childhood should have the power and funds to achieve this coordination in planning, training, programming, and legislating, and resources with other designated government or pri­vate agencies.

34. The proposed Directorate for Childhood should be actively in­volved in all matters concerning policy and legislation affecting pre-school children and child supervision.

35. The Saudi Government could seek the assistance of high-calibre expert(s) and consultant(s) in the field of pre-school education to assist, for a designated time only, in the building of stong pre­school/day care multifunction services serving the needs of urban, rural and nomadic pre-school children and child supervision.

36. The nation's long-range goals and short-term objectives for the 3-6 years old children need to be clarified, operationally defined and incorporated within the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs' long-range and short-term planning.

37. It would be useful if the national Commission for Unesco could have greater involvement in the proposed Directorate for Childhood, in all stages of planning and implementation.

38. In addition there should be a specialist in the field of early childhood development and pre-school education with knowledge and experience in curriculum development, training of teachers, parents, and supervision of on-going children's programmes.

39. Pre-school education of the economically, socially, and/or culturally disadvantaged children needs to be planned for even ear­lier than the third year of life to combat elements of social and cultural deprivation. Therefore, pre-school education in Saudi Arabia needs to reach the potential and existing deprived mothers prior to pregnancy. Furthermore, education and care need to be the dual target of planning for development, implemented by all govern­mental branches under the guidance of the proposed Directorate for Childhood. Examples of such care and education are in specially designed radio and television programmes for mothers and children, changes in high school curricula for boys and girls in child develop­ment, parent education training at child care and development centres, more dialogue with children's homes and designing of pro­grammes to fit specifically the needs of the working classes of urban centres, and rural and nomadic children's needs.

40. Children who attend pre-schools need to be tested for readiness, capabilities and skills, in order to plan programmes to serve their immediate needs and follow their personal progress.

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41. Special children with learning disabilities and emotional dis­turbances are completely forgotten among the 3-6 year olds. There needs to be tests for assessment of problems, as well as remedial measures within programme to combat special problems.

42. Further recommendations are more explicitly proposed in Appen­dix 3, Summary of Outline of proposed specifications of the Directo­rate for Childhood.

V. CONCLUSIONS

43. The aforementioned findings suggest that field of pre-school/ day care education is in need of a well-planned, balanced, and long-range reassessment. The Office of Women's Social Supervision, and in particular, Her Highness Princess Sarah Bint Muhammad Bin Saud and her Social Supervisors are aware of the existing situation. The problem proves larger than the existing personnel in-charge can handle. There is a total shortage of Saudi women trained in the fields of early childhood education - pre-school education, child development, curriculum development in pre-school education, super­vision and/or training of teachers in pre-school education, media or instructional technology for this level of education. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to assess the matter from all levels and reconstruct the new short-term and long-term plans for the develop­mental needs of th-e children of Saudi Arabia.

44. The Training Center in Deriya could immediately establish a pre-school training programme for at least the duration of one academic year to begin training existing pre-school/day care teachers At. the same time scholarships could be offered for the training of Saudi women in the field of pre-school education in Arab or non-Arab countries for undergraduate and graduate degrees. Furthermore, the leadership of the proposed Directorate for Childhood needs an effi­cient short-term orientation in the field through a visit to one (or more than one) country, where visits can be made to multi-purpose centres for children and child supervision. Women leaders in the field can be met and questioned and visited as the needs of Saudi Arabia necessitate.

VI. A P P E N D I C E S

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Appendix 1

Names of Persons and Institutions Visited

Dr. Hind Al-Khuthailah Dean of Women Women's Centre for University Studies King Saud University, Riyadh.

Ms Raj a' Bakhit Director for Training Deriya Training Centre Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Deriya, Riyadh.

Dr. Farida Al-Allaghi UNICEF and AGFUND, Riyadh

Dr. Derrill Rüssel Superintendent Saudi Arabian International School, Khureis, Riyadh.

Mrs. Sarah B. Al-Turk Adviser Jamiat Fatat al Khaleej (Training Centre - Nursery School) Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia.

Mr. Srivastava Unesco consultant Data Center, Ministry of Education, Riyadh.

Nursery School of King Saud University Deriya, Riyadh,

Madares Al-Riyadh Nursery Schools, Private pre-school, Riyadh.

Al-Manarah Pre-schools Private-School, Riyadh.

Al-Wafa 'Social Welfare Pre-schools (3) Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Riyadh and Environ.

Al-Nahdha Social Welfare Pre-schools (2) Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Riyadh.

The Day Care Center Al-Malaz, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Riyadh.

Center for Social Development Pre-schools (3) Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs,. Riyadh.

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14. The Social Nursery, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Eleisha, Riyadh.

15. The Saudi Arabian National Commission for Unesco Ministry of Education, Riyadh.

16. The Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme, Riyadh.

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Appendix 2

Outline of Workshop

Name Work

Subj

of shop

ect :

Children's Activities

Planning of pre-school programme based on organization of children's activities - an experientially-based workshop.

Place : The Social Nursery, Riyadh

Duration : Three hours and a half, five days a week for two weeks in the afternoon and daily morning observations of trainees at their places of work.

Participants : Saudi pre-school teachers of 3-6 year olds at pre-schools/day care centres of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

No. of Participants : 2 5

Output : At the end of the workshop every teacher should have planned a weekly programme for instruction based on activities centering around one theme of their choice.

Goals ; 1. Training participants to develop quality pre-school programmes in consideration of the developmental -characteristics of 3-6 year age group.

2.. Development of teachers' skills by actual . teaching of selected activities from programme.

3. Development of instructional materials suitable for use with selected activities for children's pro­grammes .

Methods and Styles of 1. Whole group activities Instructions ; 2. Small group activities

3. Conceptualization training 4. Discussion sessions

All methods of instruction are based upon instructor's modelling positive methods, seeking participant's imitation; experientially-based workshop, where parti­cipants were asked to go through experiences planned for children, followed by analysis and synthesis sessions for all. Therefore, extremely detailed pro­gramming and preparation of each activity selected in step-by-stap procedures with instructional aids, learn­ing environment and outcomes was accomplished.

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SCHEDULE

Day One Introduction Purposes and Goals of Pre-school education

Organizational matters; activities for orientation; whole group discussion.

Day Two. Characteristics of Pre-schools, 3-6 years old

Lecture-discussion using overhead projector; small group discussions; demonstra­tions .

Day Three: Planning and Writing Behavioral Objectives

Exercises; examples» small group workshop; demonstra­tions .

Day Four : Story-telling Demonstration of several kinds of story-telling; demonstration and modelling of children's stories; participant demonstrations.

Day Five Visual Arts and Handicrafts

Small group workshops and discussions; experiences and models; participant demonstrations.

Day Six Creative Movement and Music Experiences

Demonstration of skills, equipment and instruments; whole group discussions; small group experimentations; modelling and demonstrations.

Day Seven : Play Experiences in games and processes of play; general discussion of play charac­teristics and functions; participant demonstrations,

Day Eight: Science Experiences First-hand experimentation, deduction and logical think­ing exercises; discussion of science experiences suitable to age group of pre-schools; participant demonstration.

Day Nine : A Weekly Programme of Activities

Small group workshop for writing; synthesizing; summing-up; discussing all subjects previously discussed.

Day Ten Evaluation Whole group, exercies in evaluation procedures; small group exercises in self and other evaluations; evalua­tion of workshop.

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Appendix 3

Summary of Outline of Proposed Specifications

of the Directorate for Childhood

(Translation from Arabic)

Table of Contents

Preface and Introduction

First : Goals and Objectives

Second ; Functions

Third : Organization

1. Organizational Chart

2. Professional Job Specifications

3. Advisory Committee

Fourth ; Description of Operations and Roles

Fifth: Short-term Plan

1. Preface

The proposed plan of the Directorate for Childhood was developed at the special request of Her Highness Princess Sarah Bint Muhammad Bin Saud, Director of the Office of Women's Social Supervision at the Central Region.

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3. Translation of pages 6 and 7.

The proposed Directorate shall be treated as an independent and separate unit administratively and technically.

It shall follow the organizational and legal structure of the Mini­stry of Labour and Social Affairs.

It shall be attached to the Agency for Social Welfare but shall serve both Agencies.

It shall be part and parcel of all the Ministry's Agencies in plan­ning, cooperation, and services for children from birth to six years of age.

It shall be constituted of four divisions working cooperatively among themselves but each within its own functions.

It shall be recognized as a developing body. Planning, development and growth should be the driving forces in making changes within it.

It shall serve all Saudi children in all geographical regions and of all cultural backgrounds.

1. Priorities dictate kind and quantity of services.

2. Each geographical region needs to be studied empirically and assessed carefully, to be considered with all its characteristics for educational and social planning.

An open communication system shall be the process of communication of information from and to the Directorate.

4. Translation of pages 7, 8, 9 and 10.

Prodedures for Organization: (Recommendations)

A number of Saudi female students, graduates and undergraduates, need to be sent on scholarships abroad for specializations in various fields related to the proposed Directorate.

A permanent model centre for training pre-school teachers at the professional and semi-professional levels should be established.

Short-term on-the-job training should be commenced immediately for all new personnel in technical and administrative know-how.

Channels of communication and cooperation with other government and non-government agencies serving women and children should be established, i.e.:

Ministry of Health for medical services Ministry of Information for media services Ministry of Education for educational services Ministry of Industry for industries for children Ministry of Commerce for import specifications

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Ministry of Housing for children's buildings and constructions Municipalities of cities for parks, gardens, zoos, streets, etc. Universities for pre-service training The Presidency for Girls for educational agreements; informing merchants and businessmen on specifications for children's clothes, toys, educational equipment.

The proposed Directorate needs to assign consultant(s) in the various specializations in the field of childhood in order to assist, for a limited time,in the early stages of development of the new Directorate. The consultants) shall work as temporary counterpart(s) to national Saudi women in all stages of planning and implementation.

The proposed Directorate needs to hire specialists in the follow­ing fields, some of them on a temporary basis, until Saudi special­ists are well trained«

The following fields of specializations are suggested, all in relation to Pre-school or Early Childhood Education

Instructional Technology Laws, Regulations, and Accreditation Systems Curriculum Development Teacher Training Designing and Making Instructional Materials Play, Games, and Toys Chilärsn'^3 Theatre and Dramatics Children's Visual Arts (Drawing, Sculpture, and Photography) Islamic-Arab-Saudi Culture and Civilization Family Studies Human and/or Child Development Physical and Health Development and Education Musical Education Teaching of Arabic Teaching of Sciences

- Teaching of Modern Mathematics - Teaching of a Second Language (preferably English)

Educational Supervision - The Teaching of Adults : Parenthood Education

Educational T.V. and Radio Any other field of specialization that becomes part of planning for goals.

5. Translation of page 11

The following organizational and technical positions shall be the nucleus of the proposed Directorate:

A woman Director - Chairwoman of curricula and programmes - Chairwoman of training

Chairwoman of educational resources Chairwoman of regulations (laws)

Every position is described in detail under: personal qualifica­tions, years of experience, and educational qualifications.

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6. Translation of pages 18 and 19

The Advisory Committee

An Advisory Committee shall be appointed by the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs to meet periodically and plan, study, and discuss proposed projects and long-range goals.

The members of the proposed Advisory Committee shall be the leaders in thought - men and women concerned with human development affairs in general, Saudi family and children issues in particular, and offer to the Committee their views.

Members of the proposed Advisory Committee shall be the follow­ing categories:-

Parents whose children are of all age groups - Experts in planning

Experts in affairs of women and children Experts in Modern Saudi culture and civilization

- Experts in Human and Biological Sciences Professionals in charge of services for women and children

- Professionals in charge of industry and labour - Professionals in charge of human development projects

Person(s) interested in children's and women's affairs - The Director of the proposed Directorate for Childhood

The Director is a permanent member of the Committee and is respons­ible for transmitting information and feedback to staff. He is also responsible for the administration of the Committee.

7. Translation of pages 20 -30

Functions -and Roles of. the Prapo.sed Directorate

The Directorate for .Childhood;

Direct Administration of Services under the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

Leg islation and en forcement

Planning and evaluation

Organization and implementation

Hirin

Ob ?

seryation/regulation

Licensing I

Building/development

Establishment of model centers I

Planning and running experimental programmes

Cooperation and Collaboration with other Agencies in Ädminis-tration of Children's programmes

Coordination

Sharing

Consultancy

Guidance and counselling

Supervision

Initiation

Education (information)

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Description and definition of the functions of the proposed Direc­torate in detail:

1. Legislation and enforcement

- Regulating - Observation and licensing

2. Planning

- Comprehensive planning for proposed Directorate - Comprehensive planning for institutions and children's

centres at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs - Comprehensive planning for special programmes in co­

operation and collaboration with other agencies.

3. Evaluation

- Comprehensive evaluation for all responsibilities and functions of proposed Directorate

- Comprehensive evaluation for institutions and children's centres at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

- Comprehensive evaluation for special programmes of all kinds, in collaboration and cooperation with any other agency(ies) concerned: innovative, remedial, emergency, preventive, or long-range developmental.

4. Organizatin and administration

- Organizational charts for all institutions and child centres under the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

- Present and future organizational chart for the proposed Directorate

- Definition of functions and roles of all positions (task and goal oriented) at institutions and child centres under the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

- Coordination and balance of functions of institutions and centres

- Organization of financial affairs of the proposed Direc­torate within the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

- Organization of financial affairs of the proposed Direc­torate with other agencies for shared projects and pro­grammes .

5. Supervision of institutions and child centres under the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

- Organizational-administrative - Technical supervision on construction, materials, and

equipment - Technical supervision on administrative staff - Technical supervision on teaching staff - Technical supervision on curricula and methods of

instruction - Technical supervision on the growth and development

of children -Testing and measurements.

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Information/Media

- Data bank (information processing and archives) - Information (production, processing, film-making) - Teaching by radio and/or T.V. (directed to parents,

teachers and children).

(Parenting) Mother-training

- Mother curricula - Child development curriculum for middle school and

high school students of both sexes. - Mother training on various subjects as needed.

Teacher training

- Short-term, in-service - Long-term, in-service - Specific subject (single area) training - All-rounded training - Training on-the-job (in the same school) - Training on-the-job (for a group of teachers in one

neighbourhood of the same socio-economic-cultural background).

Curricular development

- Preventive curricula - Remedial curricula - Experimental programmes - Materials for curricula

Research and experimentation

- Descriptive research - Comparative research - Experimental research

Translation of pages 31 - 34

Short-Term Plan for Proposed Directorate

Applicable immediate recommendations in four areas:

Training of personnel Curricula and programming for children Resources for information to serve children Legislations and regulations for children's protection in areas of safety, health, security and quality.

1; - Defining framework of services for pre-school children, offered by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

- Defining quality of problems dealt with.

- Defining preliminary professional and job specifications Of each service •

- Defining geographical location and particular need(s).

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Step 2. - Combining all pre-school children's services under one organization (the proposed Directorate) in order to coordinate between planning and implementation.

Step 3. - Hiring a technical group of personnel to work administra­tively and professionally in order to upgrade levels of services for pre-schoolers. Members of personnel initi­ally work at the following departments : curricula and programming, educational resources and legislation and regulation. The four cooperate, coordinate and collaborate together.

Step 4. - An organized working plan for two years is to be devised by pesonnel at the proposed Directorate.

Step 5. - The use of foreign technical expertise and know-how for the period of initiation (two years initially) to prepare local human power to take responsibility.

Step 6. - The new academic year 1984/85 should be the time to start the proposed working plan.

9. Translation of pages 35 - 43

Goals and Responsibilities of Each Section at the Proposed Directorate for Childhood

Personnel in need of immediate training and areas for training

Personnel Areas

1. Teaching 1. Planning activities 2. Organizing children's programmes 3 . Preparing, teaching aids 4. Evaluating progress 5. Observation of children's growth

and development 6. Follow-up and planning for children's

growth and development 7. Coordinating and balancing work with

colleagues.

2. Principals of 1. Organizing financial affairs Children's Centres 2. Filing

3. Organizing health and nutrition programmes

4. Planning and organizing work at the centre.

5. Holding periodical meetings with staff .

6. Organizing programmes outside the centre.

7. Developing home-school relationships;

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8. Inviting children's parents to share and cooperate.

9. Writing periodic reports.

Social workers 1. Planning and running working meet­ings with Principals

2. Organizing information programmes (educational) for parents

3. Analysis and description of every new child.

4. Following up of development of every new child with teacher

5. Observation of child's activities at centre.

6. Recommendations for every new child 7. Home visits.

The Office for Social 1. Guidance and counselling for staff Supervision "Social 2. Following up of training Workers" 3. Planning and writing periodic re­

ports 4. Planning workshops for teachers 5. Recommending and advising on total

picture 6. Holding periodic meetings with all

personnel.

Translation of page 44

Proposed Time Schedule for Proposed Directorate

Defining framework for proposed Directorate: March - May 1984.

Establishment of proposed Directorate: June 1984.

Hiring nucleus technical specialist staff, 3 members: July 1984.

Formulating a two-year working plan: August 1984.

The use of unavailable specializations from Non-Saudi resources: September 1984 - September 198S,

Implementation of working plan:

- Department of educational resources and legislation: October 1984.

- Department of educational training (Phase 1): October 1984 -May 1985.

- Department of curricula and programmes: October 1984.