MWAI consultants have been very busy in the Central Eastern Europe/Commonwealth of Independent States region over the last few months, continuing the Quality Basic Education/Child-Friendly Schools (QBE/CFS) Standards Development project in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Moldova, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. In March of 2010, a "Field Guide Manual", highlighting the country-level protocols for interviews, meetings, school visits, and materials collection, was shared with staff from each country office. In addition, MWAI consultants Nils Kauffman, Anne Katz, Nancy Clair, and Shirley Miske conducted country-level field visits from March 15 - May 1, 2010. During these visits, MWAI consultants worked with country office staff to develop an understanding of QBE/CFS standards, ways to monitor progress towards these standards, and opportunities to integrate the QBE/CFS principles into national standards. Subsequently, Deepa Patel (MPP Berkeley, CA) and Senior Consultant Nancy Clair drafted a conceptual framework for standards development for the region. Currently, the MWAI team is developing a roadmap of possible pathways and national strategies for furthering the development of QBE/CFS standards in each country.
