Scope and Sequence Curriculum Product Brief

The Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program (the Program), funded by the United States Agency for International Development, designed the Uzbek Language Arts (ULA) and Mathematics Teaching and Learning Material (TLM) Uptake Study to learn whether and how teachers and students in grades 2 and 4 are using the new materials. The Program used the Phase 1 results and ensuing recommendations to inform the development and finalization of materials and ongoing teacher professional development (TPD) efforts.

The goal of this study was to learn whether and how teachers in grades 2 and 4 were using the new ULA and Mathematics TG and STBs and applying the SCSs therein. The study consisted of two phases. The Program used Phase 1 results and ensuing recommendations to inform the development and finalization of materials and ongoing TPD efforts. Phase 2 results served to determine whether teachers became more proficient over time in their application of the SCSs embedded in the TGs.

In November 2018, the Republic of Uzbekistan Ministry of Preschool and School Education (MoPSE) announced its Information Technology Nation initiative, which is aimed at producing graduates with the ability to work in cyber security, software development and testing, network administration, graphic design, animation, and game design. To achieve these outcomes, the public education system began addressing a series of critical constraints, including access to information and communication technology (ICT) hardware and broadband access at the school level, time allocated to ICT classes, and outdated standards and curriculum for ICT education, which should better reflect assessments of ICT skills and current labor market and university demands.

The U.S. Agency for International Development’s Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program supported the Ministry to review the standards and curriculum, a supportive teacher professional approach, and piloting to enhance ICT instruction. The Program mobilized local experts from the Republican Education Center and international experts from Mississippi State University’s International Institute and Center for Cyber Education to begin the process by developing standards for grades 1–11 for ICT education. ICT standards development is a major step toward Uzbekistan’s vision of producing graduates with critical thinking, problem-solving, and practical skills that will enable them to succeed. This brief provides an overview of the development and review of ICT student learning standards and scopes and sequences.

With a modern, robust new curriculum carefully prepared by local and international experts to meet the needs of Uzbekistan’s students, how would the Ministry of Preschool and School Education (MoPSE) ensure the effectiveness of textbooks and teacher guides in the classroom? The new teaching and learning materials (TLMs) created and customized by the USAID-funded Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program in partnership with the MoPSE were developed through a multi-step, participatory process. Input from international experts and Uzbekistan primary teachers and academics grounded the modern methods and practices in the local context. To evaluate the use and value of these TLMs for students and educators, the Program led an extensive pilot initiative.

The Uzbekistan Ministry of Preschool and School Education (MoPSE) spearheaded an initiative to reform its curricula based on international best practices. The USAID-funded Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program brought together a diverse cohort of international and local experts to help revitalize the country’s public school curricula under the leadership of RTI International. Together with MoPSE staff, the Program addressed the challenges of increasing student engagement and critical thinking by developing standards-based textbooks and teacher guides for Uzbek Language Arts (ULA) and mathematics.

A national curriculum and its learning materials are the backbone of an education system. At their best, they reflect student needs, a country’s aspirations for its youth, and a realistic path to gaining the knowledge that will bridge them. The Government of Uzbekistan Ministry of Preschool and School Education (MoPSE) is investing in a strong education system for the long-term success of students and the nation. Uzbekistan boasts an impressive adult literacy rate of over 99 percent and the country’s support for education is evidenced in the policies and executive decrees of recent years. Yet, challenges persisted in the national curriculum and educational materials,which were not well integrated and did not consistently reflect current evidence on how children learn nor the unique context of Uzbek youth.

Central to the Ministry of Preschool and School Education (MoPSE) reform agenda is the shift to a modern standards-based education approach that aligns instruction and outcomes to specific competencies or standards. Such an approach includes student learning standards — the knowledge, concepts, and skills that students need to acquire — and materials, assessments, instructional practices, and teacher professional development that align to the student standards. In 2019, the Republican Education Center defined learning objectives for each subject in the benchmark years and stated that improvement was needed to develop well-defined, wellarticulated, and grade-level appropriate standards for language arts skill areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing for each grade. A move to a standards-based approach required that instructional materials aligned to standards and that teachers were equipped with the resources they need to bring standards-based instruction to life in their classroom.

Leveraging the significant contributions made by MoPSE partners, the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program was strategically designed to enhance and support mathematics quality enhancement initiatives. Specifically, the Program crafted high-quality, research-based standards. Student learning standards are the foundation or core of an educational system, and every component of each subject is based on these standards. Once complete, student standards inform the development of scope and sequences, textbooks, and assessments