The Bureau for Development of Education (Ministry of Education) in Macedonia expressed a need for professional development of teachers in the area of teaching and assessing writing skills as part of a major reform of the examinations system in the Macedonian secondary schools.

Client, stakeholders, partners
The Bureau for Development of Education, Ministry of Education, Assessment Unit

Focus
Teaching and assessing the skill of writing in state-sector secondary schools at national level.

The project

The Bureau for Development of Education (Ministry of Education) in Macedonia expressed a need for professional development of teachers in the area of teaching and assessing writing skills as part of a major reform of the examinations system in the Macedonian secondary schools.

The British Council managed the project and provided a UK consultant who, during his first visit, talked to ELT advisors, visited the Head of the Assessment Unit, met state school teachers and even observed some English language lessons. This helped to ensure that the consultant was very familiar with the context and the stakeholders' requirements.

The project focused on providing training to two teams of teachers/advisors and assessors.

The first team of teachers created the materials for writing skills and were trained in delivering training to 400 teachers on how to implement the new materials. The materials are now being used in all secondary school English language classrooms in Macedonia.

The assessors' team created the rating scales for the state school leaving exams. They were successfully implemented during the first Matura examination session that was held in 2008.

What the stakeholders say
"The British Council helped us and played the role of an eye-opener, a confidence booster, and a supporter, to make sure that the Matura accomplishment is an achievable task, both for the teachers and students. It is a learning experience for all stakeholders involved: the British Council, the Bureau for Educational Development, the teachers and the students, and the community in general."
Zora Busovska, ELT advisor (Bureau for Development of Education)

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