junior achievement bulgaria drives ict training for...

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Junior Achievement Bulgaria Drives ICT Training for Teachers

Bulgaria Customer Profile Since 1997, Junior Achievement (JA) Bulgaria has been providing training, service, and technical support to the teachers and students in Bulgaria’s public high schools.

Situation In Bulgaria’s public high schools, a lack of high-quality ICT training was affecting students and teachers.

Solution Together with Microsoft Bulgaria, JA Bulgaria implemented a comprehensive ICT training program. The program integrated Microsoft Partners in Learning curricula with the Bulgarian National Education Standards for secondary schools.

Benefits • 35 schools from 29 different cities

participate in the ICT training program

• Delivers Partners in Learning curricula to nearly 100,000 students

• 83 teachers trained more than 2,400 students in the first two years

“As a result of the training and its further implementation in the classroom, I will be able to motivate my students to work harder and gain excellent knowledge about how to use ICT in innovative ways.” — Kamelia Petkova, Informatics Teacher, 9 Secondary School Ivan Peichev, Montana

To address a lack of information and communications technology (ICT) training in public high schools, Junior Achievement (JA) Bulgaria worked with Microsoft Bulgaria to implement the Business and Entrepreneurship program, which integrates Bulgaria National Education Standards with Microsoft Partners in Learning curricula.

Situation For Bulgaria’s high school students, exposure to ICT was limited. Because schools lacked access to high-quality training materials for ICT, it was difficult for teachers to incorporate it into lesson plans.

Solution JA Bulgaria had been providing training, service, and technical support to Bulgaria’s high school teachers and students since 1997 so it seemed on natural that, in 2004, they set out to address these new challenges.


“Of all the competencies that the European Commission is currently discussing in the field of education, entrepreneurship and initiative are two of the most important.” — Ján Figel', European Commissioner, Education, Training, Culture, and Multilingualism

Together with Microsoft Bulgaria, the JA Bulgaria team worked with local educators to create a pilot information technology (IT) training program for secondary schools. At the same time, professors from leading Bulgarian universities worked with Microsoft Bulgaria to adapt the recently introduced Microsoft Partners in Learning curricula to Bulgarian National Education Standards.

The result of these collaborative efforts was a “Business and Entrepreneurship” curriculum major that meets the Bulgarian National Education Standards for secondary schools. The Ministry of Education approved the major for implementation in the country’s public high schools in the fall of 2005.

Benefits A total of 21 schools volunteered to offer the Business and Entrepreneurship major and were approved by JA Bulgaria to do so. During the first year, 21 teachers each trained a class of 30 students—reaching a total of 630 students. The initial curriculum included the following courses:

• Using Microsoft Office 2003 for Learning Projects • Understanding and Building Basic Networks • Developing Basic Applications Using Microsoft Visual Basic .NET • Integrating ICT Skills into Teaching and Learning

Driving Students’ Motivation to Learn Microsoft Bulgaria also trained an additional 25 teachers on the “Using Microsoft Office 2003 for Learning Projects” course. This enabled them to incorporate that curriculum into lesson plans and pass valuable ICT knowledge along to students. In the first two years, 83 teachers trained more than 2,400 students.

“As a result of the training and its further implementation in the classroom, I will be able to motivate my students to work harder and gain excellent knowledge about how to use ICT in innovative ways,” says Kamelia Petkova, informatics teacher at the 9 Secondary School Ivan Peichev in Montana, Bulgaria.

Receiving International Recognition In addition to the benefits of classroom learning, the training program has garnered international recognition. In the fall of 2005, the JA Bulgaria and Junior Achievement Young Enterprise (JA–YE) Europe programs were recognized by the European Commission as a “Best Practice in Entrepreneurship Education.”

“Of all the competencies that the European Commission is currently discussing in the field of education, entrepreneurship and initiative are two of the most important,” says Ján Figel', European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture, and Multilingualism.

“It is reassuring and stimulating to see so many teachers whose enthusiasm has


For more information JA Bulgaria: www.jabulgaria.org

2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This document is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

proven to be the determining factor for the success of this program,” says Figel'. “JA Bulgaria’s Business and Entrepreneurship major incorporates all the elements of an entrepreneurship curriculum, and it is enhanced by the innovative, hands-on approach of the Partners in Learning curricula.”

Future of the Business and Entrepreneurship Program in Bulgaria Today, more than 35 schools in 29 Bulgarian cities participate in the ICT training program. Since its inception, the program has delivered Partners in Learning curricula to nearly 100,000 students.

By the 2006–2007 academic year, 10 additional schools had applied for participation. Due to the program’s ongoing success, JA Bulgaria anticipates the number of participating schools to increase by 30-50 percent during the 2007-2008 academic year.

junior achievement bulgaria drives ict training for...

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