The Summer Institute 2018, organized by the International Educational Coordinating Council (IECC) of the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC), will begin its work in Lviv, Ukraine, on 3 July 2018. The Summer Institute is coordinated by its Chair, Oksana Wynnyckyj-Yusypovych, who is also a Community Advisor to the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine.
During the Summer Institute 2018, which will be conducted 3-14 July 2018, participation will be by teams of educators representing their schools. Each team will include the school principal, the vice-principal, a science teacher, a Ukrainian language teacher, a foreign language teacher and the school psychologist. Additionally, instructors from the Lviv Regional Pedagogical Development Institute (LRPDI), as well as, Consultants from the City of Lviv Educational Centre will participate. The focus will be on meeting the needs of teachers who work with grades 5-9 students.
The Summer Institute tradition is an integral part of the Institute for the Professional Development of Teachers (IPDT) and was created within the IECC in 1992. The aim of the IPDT is to disseminate among Ukrainian educators contemporary teaching methods and principles of democratic school leadership; to assist in the development of skills necessary to work during periods of transition, change and information warfare; and, to develop life-long learning skills. The director of IPDT-IECC is the former Chair of the IECC, Nadia Luciw.
In August 2017, during Ukrainian Diaspora Days in Lviv, Oksana Wynnyckyj-Yusypovych organized a meeting of IPDT-IECC members. During this meeting, in connection with the changes and reforms envisaged by the New Ukrainian School, it was proposed to resume the work of the Summer Institute. Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Pavlo Khobzey, who was present at this meeting, supported this initiative.
In April 2018, in preparation for the Summer Institute 2018, the Chair of the IECC held a series of meetings in Lviv with the Director of LRPDI, Roman Shyyan and colleagues, Olena Hartzula and Katerina Horokhovska. In May 2018, in Toronto, Canada, the Chair of the IECC met with the Canadian teachers who will be travelling to Lviv to participate as instructors of the Summer Institute 2018 in order to update, plan and discuss implementation issues.
“Today, as the new National Learning Standards are being developed and fundamental change is being implemented in Ukraine’s educational sphere, the revival of the Institute for Professional Development of Teachers and the Summer Institute tradition is very timely,” said Oksana A. Wynnyckyj-Yusypovych, Chair of the IECC.
In the photo from left to right: O. Wynnyckyj-Yusypovych, P. Khobzey, K. Horokhovska and N. Luciw
