IIECL’s Child-centered PAVE Methodology Receives Nod from Jordan’s Ministry of Education

Amman, Jordan, November, 2010   Child labor in Jordan continues to thrive, but progress is being made. According to a 2007/08 National Study on Child Labor in Jordan, nearly 33,000 children are engaged in largely hazardous work throughout the small Kingdom of Jordan. Children can be found in auto repair, welding, street selling, agriculture, tourism, scavenging for metal and plastic bottles for recycling, and construction, among others. The legal working age in Jordan is16, and compulsory school attendance is required for children up through age 15. Work is performed largely by young boys, most of whom have dropped out of school. Girls can be found working in domestic service and agriculture. However, progress is being made. According to CHF sources, to date over 3,500 children have been removed from these exploitative labor situations through education. In some degree, that may be due to the replication of a proven model developed by the International Initiative to End Child Labor’s Diane Mull. In a letter written to support CHF International’s bid to expand their Combating Exploitative Child Labor through Education (CECLE) program, the Ministry of Education gave a nod in acknowledgment to the PAVE (Pathways Advancing Viable Education) methodology that trains teachers and counselors on how to effectively work with children and their parents in the creation of educational/employment development plans. In 2009, Mull provided training to about 25 core trainers who replicated the training in 8 governorates in Jordan. Dr. Saleh Al-Khalayleh, Minister of Education, writes, “Aware of the importance of the project, which has achieved great results and has won enormous popularity among working and dropout children, to benefit from the services and educational opportunities made available through the PAVE (Pathways Advancing Viable Education) program, implemented by the Ministry and Questscope;…”

“We are thrilled that PAVE was acknowledged, but even more excited that children are successfully seeking pathways using education and being removed from exploitative child labor in Jordan. These kids are now being placed on a path that leads to meaningful, safe employment when they reach the legal age to do so. It’s not just a matter of providing services, but effective services using effective approach, these will help to break the cycle of poverty and enable this future generation of Jordanian leaders to sustain their livelihoods long-term for themselves and their future families.”

PAVE promotes “customizing the services that are offered to a child or youth based on their individual needs and family situation,” says Mull. “No cookie cutter approach will work with children or youth, especially if the objective is to fully remove children from exploitative child labor.” The methodology is comprehensive and encompasses more than customizing education services. PAVE includes a broader customizable approach on to how to identify children and their conditions of work that make it hazardous, what to look for and where to look. Further, the training includes how to work effectively with the child and parent to help them view education as relevant, and how to ensure that current curricula is keeping pace with a changing labor market, as it is in Jordan.  The family’s economic situation and the situation of the parents in the household is very relevant to addressing education for the child. If the father is illiterate and under or unemployed and the mother has never worked, dependence on the child’s income becomes very real. It takes special approaches to convince this set of parents that education that costs them more money than they can afford is going to make a difference for the whole family in the future.  “It’s critical to know the whole situation before a counselor makes a decisions that will end up either making a difference in the child’s life or just reconfirming their disillusionment that education doesn’t matter,” says Mull. Mull advises programs on the types of information that is needed and should be collected on each child, and their family, through the intake and assessment process. “This is an approach that every school guidance counselor, teacher, mentor or parent helping helping a child or youth make a decision about what they want to do in their life.

Children in Jordan start out very young working. They are pretty savy as to what they like and don’t like and, with their job exposure due to child labor, they have skills and insights around which a counselor can build,” says Mull. “It’s not rocket science, but it is a truly child-centered approach that works.”

Questscope, an NGO in Jordan for over 20 years, working under the umbrella of the Ministry of Education, and who is offering non-formal education for children at risk of dropping out and who have dropped out that are school age, has embraced the use of the PAVE methods. Questscope’s non-formal education curriculum is approved by the Ministry of Education and graduates of Questscope’s program receive a non-formal education certificate, equivalent to the 10th grade. They are the only organization in Jordan authorized to do so. This certificate allows youth to enter into formal vocational education or skills training that is sponsored by the government through the Vocational Training Centers, a network of centers across Jordan, and the National Company for Employment Training (NCET), a new two-year skills training program of the government that is being administered by the military.