KHACHATUR ABOVYAN ARMENIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

On July 11, Armenian State Pedagogical University (ASPU) and Armenian Center for Democratic Education-CIVITAS signed a memorandum of understanding which envisages opening a Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Education at the ASPU. 

The newly established Centre will contribute to the development of curriculum in Social Science, at the same time serving as a laboratory of resources and innovations for students, lecturers and teachers. 

ASPU Rector Ruben Mirzakhanyan first conveyed the greetings of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Armenia and then emphasized the importance of the work carried out for the realization of the program. 

Mr Mirzakhanyan also expressed his concerns about the teaching of Social Science, stressing that secondary educational institutions lack the trained teaching staff necessary for teaching the academic discipline. “The vast majority of those present at the meeting have their opinion on the subject [Social Science] which corresponds the given time period. The aim of this program is to save the content of the discipline from certain conjunctural effects, clearly realizing that the political conjuncture is subject to changes, which can frequently be radical.”

Ruben Mirzakhanyan noted that the Pedagogical University aims to carry out certain programs in order to train Social Studies teachers on the basis of the Department of Law operating within the Faculty of History and Law. “There are enduring social values, and the concept “democracy” is a category that represents the greatest public value. The teacher of the 21st century should convey this notion to the audience,” he added.

Aleksandr Shagafyan, Executive Director at Armenian Center for Democratic Education-CIVITAS, welcomed the opening of the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Education at the ASPU. He says it is unacceptable that the subject [Social Science] is taught by specialists of related fields. 

The CIVITAS official expressed hope that within 15 months of cooperation with the ASPU, they would implement programs aimed at improving skills of target groups, developing a Master’s degree program in Social Science, as well as turning the Centre into a Department of Social Sciences. 

After the signing ceremony, Serob Khachatryan, Head of an expert group at Armenian Center for Democratic Education-CIVITAS, presented the draft concept of democracy and human rights education. Also, Tigran Matevosyan and Marina Galstyan, members of a research group, presented the results of a detailed situation analysis of democracy and human rights education, which was followed by an active discussion in a question-and-answer format.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saKPHm99IO0