ECNAIS

1. ECNAIS THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS OF INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS CONSEIL EUROPEEN D’ASSOCIATIONS NATIONALES D’ECOLES INDEPENDANTES Berlin, GERMANY | 19th November 2010 The independent School in Europe today – and the role the national organizations are playing Anna Dobrinevski | www.ecnais.org | Ny Kongensgade 10, DK 1472 Copenhagen K, DENMARK | secretariat@ecnais.org | ECNAIS is na international association for collaboration between national associations of independent schools in European countries. It was founded in 1988 and is registered as a company limited by guarantee not having a share capital under the English Companies Act. ECNAIS The activity of Belarussian Association= Innovations in Education has some specific features, that is why it`s difficult to follow the suggested structure of the presentation. The fact is that there are very few private educational institutions in the republic and their number is getting even less.It is caused by the economic situation in the country. You have the possibility to start your own school, there is no prohibition, though it is not easy either, but to run it without any state support is next to impossible. Such schools become too expensive for parents, only few of them can afford it, so the most part of pupils attend free public schools. Especially as the level of teaching in such schools is rather high. Nowadays the problems of quality of education are among the priorities of the state policy. The Perspective Lines for Social and Economic Development of the Republic for 2011-2015 mention that " Education and training is considered to be a long-term investment in the future of the nation. It is planned to intergrate the national educational system  into European environment, to create the national system of evaluation based on international principles. Thus it should be admitted that the process of democratisation of educational system in the republic is in progress and there have appeared more signs of independence in public schools. The most independent figures in the educational process have become teachers and pupils. Teachers` independence comprises their choosing their own programmes, using new approaches and methods of teaching. It is possible for them to create different courses. As for the pupils and their parents-they have independent choice of the school types, of further development and broadening of their abilities and knowledge. They can influence the process of teaching at schools being representatives of pupils` and parents` committees. So taking into consideration all these facts the Association has aimed its work at democratization of educational space at schools. Some schools are chosen as innovation centers, the most professional and initiative teachers demonstrate new models of teaching, new approaches. The seminars, consultations, conferences held at such schools gather enthusiastic teachers from different parts of the republic. Not long ago the members of the Association took part in the 3d International Festival of informal education. It gave the participants every opportunity to share opinions on various spheres of school life, to discuss achievements and failures on the way to the democratization of our schools. Holding seminars, workshops the Association provides the teachers with guidance and advice, collects and systemazes practical materials and makes this knowledge accessible for every teacher. As for the pupils- the Association helps to bring them up in the spirit of democracy. The pupils are motivated for participating in different projects which teach them to obtain the necessary qualities of a democratic conversation discussion " Debate" which have appeared in many schools. They prepare the pupils in decision-making, responsibiliy, rights and duties in the society. The pupils are informed about the international competition under the title " Genius Logicus" and some schools are active participants in this project. Our Association is small in number but " rich in ideas and enthusiasm". We act locally and the results are not seen vividly but we are trying to widen the educational horizons for our teachers and pupils giving them a global European  vision. We need the European experience and we`d like to become a part of European educational environment to develop our national educational space in the most effective way.