Tbilisi:Â Giorgi Amilakhvar Georgian Minister of Education and Science opened a recently held conference. The conference was held under the title of “Research in Support of Education Policy”. At the conference, the National Center for Educational Research apprised the attendees of the results of large-scale research in general education.
It is to be added that during his speech, Giorgi Amilakhvar said it is especially important that every decision made in the policy planning process at all levels of education is based on cogent evidence. It was for this purpose that the National Center for Educational Studies was established which provides large-scale research in the field of education in various fields.
Giorgi Amilakhvari further said, “Our main goal is the adoption of international best practice the educational policy planning process which will be based entirely on research. That was the reason the Ministry created a National Center for Educational Studies.
The Center conducts internal research on every major challenge being faced by the education system of the country. These researches are primarily for the improvement of the educational sector .
Minister Giorgi Amilakhvar stated further, “We are going to present to the community at today’s conference on two fully completed studies. These studies are related to the implementation of the national curricula in schools and teacher professional development schemes along with teachers’ salary policies.Â
Meanwhile, one textbook study is in progress, which is not quite complete yet, but the basics still need to be shared with the public today, and a detailed report of this study will be fully presented a little later.
Under the framework of the event, representatives of the National Center for Educational Research made a presentation to the public about the results of the studies, which included three main areas.
The First one is the Evaluation of the process of implementation of the third-generation national curriculum in Georgia. The aim of the study was to refine the results and challenges of implementing the third-generation national education plan in Georgia. The study has united many experts in the field of education.
In the past series of discussions and interviews took place in the summer of 2023 which included more than 100 respondents in total. Preliminary findings and recommendations formed during that discussion were verified with over 10000 teachers and over 600 school principals.
The second area is the Assessment of Teacher Professional Development and Career Advancement Scheme. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the teacher professional development and career advancement scheme in the country, identify its strengths and improvement aspects, offer solutions to various challenges to stakeholders, and provide an informed, evidence-based solution as well as promotion of getting it Done.
Almost 18 interviews were held within the framework of the specific research. At the same time, 662 schools were selected for a quantitative survey through a multi-step selection process. 6814 teachers and 286 principals also participated in the Study.
The third main area included Evaluation of school textbooks based on teaching practice. The aim of this study was to identify the challenges associated with textbooks and syllabi and study how much the existing textbooks meet the high standards of quality as per the present-day requirements, compliance and inclusion. 24 069 teachers participated in the quantitative survey across Georgia.
 The National Center for Educational Studies was established in the year 2023 and its main purpose was to support educational policy systematically.
The activities of these centres further include the conduct of scientific and applied research, and large-scale assessments at all stages of the education system starting from basic education to higher education and workforce readiness.
