How tutors help Ukrainian students overcome educational losses
Published: Nov 27, 2024 Reading time: 2 minutes
Russia's war in Ukraine has negatively impacted schoolchildren's progress. Long breaks in education, the lack of a familiar learning environment and live communication with teachers have left gaps in children's knowledge. To help students overcome these difficulties, we launched a tutor training programme that complements the nationwide ecosystem of educational recovery.
About the programme
The Tutor Training Programme helps children from the regions most affected by the war to return to full-time education. We conducted a three-day training for 12 tutor trainers as part of the project, followed by training. Later, the training continued for 154 tutors from Dnipro, Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Sumy oblasts.
Teachers from 40 educational institutions enhanced their knowledge as part of the international social, emotional and ethical education programme. They also created a route sheet to help Ukrainian schoolchildren overcome their main challenges. Upon completing the training, the tutors will work with over 1,500 students to help them improve their Ukrainian, English, and mathematics skills in the 5th and 9th grade curriculum.
"Currently, we do not have approved methodological recommendations on how to deal with educational losses at the national level. However, tutoring programmes focus on specific problems and have better results. I believe that this is a salvation for Ukrainian education," says Svitlana Bondar, a tutor of the first wave.
Benefits of the programme for learners
One of the programme's key benefits is the individual approach to each schoolchild. Tutors focus on gap diagnostics, allowing them to identify students' needs more accurately. Psychosocial support, an integral part of the programme, contributes to the emotional well-being of children, creating a safe environment for learning.
"Tutors should be prepared not only to teach but also to support students in their emotional development. This will help create an environment where students feel comfortable and confident," says Hanna Troshyna, one of the programme's trainers.
First results and plans for the future
As part of our pilot project in Sumy Oblast, we helped 363 students from five cities improve their maths and Ukrainian language skills. The children noted that the additional free lessons were exciting and productive, unlike regular classes.
"I am in the top three students who know Ukrainian the best. We write, study and play here. It's so interesting here that sometimes ordinary lessons seem boring," says fifth-grader Sofia.
The initiative continues to develop, covering new institutions and regions. We are confident this programme will allow Ukrainian schoolchildren to catch up on their knowledge, maintain motivation, and prepare for a successful future, even under challenging circumstances.
