Educators teaching the subject "Decisions for a healthy lifestyle" in 12 vocational education and training (VET) institutions in the country participate in a distance learning course on new and interactive methods of teaching and interacting with the students. This course is part of a larger training program for teachers, which will take place during the 2020-2021 academic year.
The content of the training program is based both on the modules of the subject and also on the particularities of the adolescents' development. The training program will focus on topics such as the role of values in decision making; decisions to prevent violence; puberty and adolescence / age of change; decision-making steps in risky situations. At the same time, teachers' digital skills will be developed to make the best of the new information technologies in education.
Ludmila Sîrbu, Youth Program Analyst at the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) explained that the international experience shows that life skills development programs are effective if they are integrated into formal education and are systematically taught to students by applying friendly and interactive learning methods. "They have a positive impact on psycho-emotional health, contribute to reducing violence and risky behaviors, develop self-esteem and resilience among young people", she added.
"The training program is an important support to increase our knowledge and skills on working with students and support them in developing healthy and safe behaviors - a very important aspect especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic" , said Maria Bogdan, a professor at "Vasile Lupu" College from Orhei, emphasizing that these training sessions are also a great opportunity to share experiences in teaching the discipline.
Another teacher, Dorina Putina from the Center of Excellence in Services and Food Processing in Bălți, considers these training sessions as an opportunity for teachers. "It allows us to analyze and select those teaching strategies that maximize the student-centred learning approach".
At the end of the training program, teachers will receive a set of supporting materials to help them teach the discipline in an interactive way.
The training sessions for teachers are delivered online as part of the project „Develop life skills and healthy behaviors of students in Vocational Education and Training for their development and job readiness” implemented by the United Nations Population Fund with funding support of Austrian Development Agency from funds of Austrian Development Cooperation in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research.
The final beneficiaries of the project are young people studying at the Centre of Excellence (CE) in Light Industry/ Chisinau, Vocational School in Nisporeni, Vocational School in Rezina, CE in Informatics and Information Technologies/ Chisinau, Polytechnic College in Balti, Cupcini Vocational School/ Edineț, “Alexei Mateevici” Pedagogical College/ Chisinau, “Iulia Hașdeu” College/ Cahul, “Vasile Lupu” College in Orhei, CE in Food Services and Processing/ Bălți, Vocational School no. 2 in Chisinau, Agro-industrial College in Rascani.
According to data provided by targeted VET institutions, about 75% of students from those 12 targeted institutions are from rural areas, 1 in 4 young people is leaving without one or both parents due to labor migration, 40% of students are leaving in dormitories and have more chances to be exposed to risky behaviors related to their reproductive health.
The national statistics show that adolescents increasingly report involvement in bullying, more young people have nutritional disorders, and are the victims of violence, each year more than 2600 young girls aged 10-19 years become pregnant with 80% being from rural areas.
