Alexandria Schools Trust

Through the Alexandria Schools Trust (AST), we build upon the existing skillsets of teachers of refugees and school leaders in the use of English as a medium of instruction, to help ensure high-quality teaching for refugee students. 

Improving English skills in Jordan 

In Jordan, we have worked with the Queen Rania Teacher Academy to deliver the Improving English Skills project in Jordan aimed at improving the English language teaching skills of public-school teachers of refugees since January 2017.  

The project also builds the capacity of education supervisors in coaching skills and in the use of evidence to inform their practice, certifying them with our Certificate of Professional Practice in Evidence-Based Supervision. 

Empowering refugee teachers with language skills for teaching in Lebanon 

In Lebanon, we have been supporting NGOs delivering non-formal education to Syrian refugee children since October 2017. Our objective is to build the capacity of teachers to increasingly and more effectively use English as a medium of instruction, better preparing refugee children to enrol in Lebanese schools and universities where the medium of instruction is often English. We have supported the development of an English curriculum used by the NGOs, delivered teacher and school leader training and are delivering a customised language courses for teachers. Additionally, we build the capacity of teachers to facilitate teacher learning communities (TLCs), as an ongoing sustainable means of teacher professional development. 

Evidence-based supervision 

In addition to our work in English language teaching, we are developing our expertise in evidence-based supervision to enable education professionals in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt to become more effective supervisors.  

Evidence-based supervision is an approach to educational improvement that can be applied at the school or system level. It draws on lessons from medicine and healthcare in how evidence is used to diagnose and treat patients. This involves making a ‘diagnosis’ (in an education setting this involves observing teaching practice), before looking at the research evidence, critiquing it, and selecting and applying relevant interventions, in collaboration with the teacher, which are ultimately evaluated for their effectiveness. Through Alexandria Schools Trust, we are training teachers and supervisors in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt in this methodology, with a view to improving teaching practice.