Mongolian Development Center, Mongolia

The Mongolian Development Centre (MDC) was established in 1993 to empower individuals, institutions, and local communities through programs centered on education and development. MDC’s early childhood development program began in 2000 and is rooted in the conviction that every child is created noble and endowed with innate capacities and potential. As part of the program, a character development curriculum was created to nurture moral reasoning in children between three and five years of age, emphasizing service to humanity. Training is provided to assist teachers of kindergarten classes in using the curriculum as a supplement to the existing preschool curriculum produced by the government. Principals also participate in workshops that help them understand the education being provided by the teachers. The organization also works with parents to help them build capacity to create a home environment conducive to their children’s development. Mona Foundation believes that teacher training and continuous learning are at the core of teaching and learning, particularly in the early years of life. For this reason, Mona has been supporting the Mongolian Development Center early childhood education program for the past eight years. We are now beginning to see how early childhood education is being transformed and practiced in Mongolia. The following quote from one of the teachers who participated in the training program is illustrative: “First of all we need to change our mindset. We have many things which we know but never put into action. I learnt many skills and methods such as how to help children become active member of the society and how to correctly work each individual child, and ways of encouragement and conversing with them. This training is real encouragement for new teachers who have just started working as teachers. The training was very different that other trainings which we participated. For example, all teachers were able to participate and that it helped us to learn to work as teams. I was inspired to learn more and I will work hard to become a better teacher.”