LifeSkills Values Education
LifeSkills Values Education has the following goals:
- To assist Mongolian children in developing good character
- To strengthen families through building understanding of good values in children
- To benefit Mongolian wider society through developing a generation of good citizens who will contribute to the development of their country and the establishment of a functioning and prosperous society
- To supplement the Mongolian national education curriculum through providing ethics education
In the communist era there was a focus on good citizenship and working for the common good. However, the economic collapse of the 1990’s fostered an ‘every man for himself’ mentality, where values and consideration for others were abandoned in the struggle to survive. In the 20 years since the economic collapse, families have predominantly been too busy struggling to make ends meet to take time to teach their children appropriate values. As the country regains economic stability, many have become aware that a generation has grown up with no sense of working for the common good, personal integrity or ethical behaviour in business or personal life. This has become a concern for many, including the nation’s leaders, government officials, teachers and family members.
History and current trends show that the development of any country is hindered by corruption and dishonesty. Mongolia has been developing economically, but much of the wealth has been siphoned off. Despite its impressive natural mineral resources, unless there is a change in basic values in society Mongolia is at risk of becoming like many other developing countries whose wealth is squandered through greed and corruption.
In response to this need, the Mongolian national education guidelines, laid down by the Ministry of Education stipulate that ethics be a part of the national curriculum. However, no material or curriculum is provided to teachers to enable them to inculcate values in the children in their care. In 2013, the Upright Citizens Initiative was launched by the Mongolian government; however, a lack of funding has seen the initiative flounder.
The LifeSkills material has been developed by Mongolian teachers to address the issues that they see as most relevant for developing values in children. The character values are modeled on the Judeo-Christian character values, and stories illustrating each characteristic are derived from Scripture.
The programme has already been taught in Mongolian state schools as a part of the curriculum in Non-formal Education Classes. Schools that host Non-formal Education Classes are now requesting that the Values Training material be taught throughout the school.
A two-year pilot project run in Zavkhan and Bayankhongor provinces has been very successful, and school directors in those provinces are requesting that the project be extended to cover all classes. Interestingly, teachers using the material have commented on the benefit it has had for them personally, as well as the children they teach it to.
Since 2013 LifeSkills has been taught in Nalaikh township, a commuter suburb of Ulaanbaatar city. The Ministry of Education and the Municipal Education Department have been very supportive of the project because it complies with their guidelines for the Upright Citizens Initiative. Parents of the children attending LifeSkills classes are also supportive of the programme, as they see the benefits of it in their own children and family life.
From September 2015 the LifeSkills programme in Nalaikh has expanded to include all Grade 5 students in the town. The programme has also been introduced into Ulaanbaatar's school. Over 1000 children are enrolled in the programme for the 2015 - 2016 academic year.
In November 2014 the project was launched in Darkhan city - Mongolia's third largest city - where it is running in four schools with the support and co-operation of local authorities and World Vision Mongolia.
