Applying educational psychology in a changing World: Some lessons from Mongolia

Abstract

This article describes the evaluation of a project designed to provide in-service training for teachers in rural schools in Outer Mongolia in techniques of independent and co-operative learning. Difficulties faced by Mongolian teachers in implementing a new national standards based curriculum were identified by the Mongolian State Education University responsible for teacher training. In conjunction with an EU funded UK team of educators, a Master’s degree course was established based upon principles of reflective practice and action research. Sixty-eight teachers from two Mongolian rural provinces completed the course, which mainly took place at intensive summer workshops supported by interim visits to schools by the Mongolian and UK tutors. The project was evaluated by means of a form of illuminative evaluation utilizing the SPARE wheel model of Burden and Williams (1996). This is based upon a socio-cultural view of learning which emphasizes in particular the importance of relating educational interventions to the social and historical context in which they occur. It is argued that applied educational/school psychology would benefit from more large-scale involvement of this nature in global educational systems.