Afghanistan/U.S. Curriculum Translation

*Assuming English is at a Novice Mid to Novice High Level

Education System

School Year: March – November | Compulsory Education: 9th Grade | Graduation: 12th Grade

Afghanistan/U.S. Grading Scale

Transition Supports

Education Practice:

*All information below is in regards to the education practice in Afghanistan during the period of US occupancy between September 2001 and September 2021. 

Afghanistan secondary schools operate on a thirty-six week schedule, with students attending six days per week. Student attendance is linked to course credit, whereby students must attend 75% of the time in order to progress on to the next grade (UNESCO, 2011). Students may enter technical or vocational secondary education, including teacher training, in lieu of upper secondary education, however these programs are considered complete at grade fourteen.

After the fall of the Taliban government in 2001, Afghanistan saw a dramatic increase in enrollment, especially for female students. To be able to accommodate the increased number of pupils while still maintaining gender segregation, many schools moved to a shift system, with different groups of students coming for only part of the day or only on certain days. While this increased access to education, it diminished the number of hours students were able to spend in school by upto 50%,  and ultimately led to learning loss (UNESCO, 2011).

In 2003, the Ministry of Education redesigned the curriculum to move towards a focus on higher level thinking and social-emotional skills over rote memorization and teacher-centered classrooms. Guidance and counseling centers also began to appear in schools as part of these reforms. Additionally, vocational streams were incorporated into the intermediate and upper secondary curriculum and a huge push for textbooks in classrooms reduced the textbook to pupil ratio to 1:6 (MOE EMIS, 2014).

Despite these reforms the Ministry of Education still faces significant struggles, one of which is teacher quality, where especially in rural areas they are often poorly educated. Subject integration is also a challenge, with subjects taught independently and little to no connections made between content areas. As of 2014 the Minister of Education’s report showed youth literacy at 47%, with females scoring significantly lower. Student-teacher ratios also remain consistently high, with some areas at a ratio of 51:1 (MOE EMIS, 2014).

Political forces also create challenges, as anti-U.S. government forces often target schools, especially schools for girls, which leads to safety concerns, school closure, and interrupted formal education. These political forces also impact enrollment, which varies widely across the country due to anti-government activity as well as terrain, gender, and infrastructure (UNESCO, 2011)

U.S. Educator Implications:

Due to the political instability in the region, students may have recent traumatic experiences. It will be important to work closely with students and families to connect them to community supports such as counseling centers and social services. 

Political instability may also have led to interrupted formal education, with some students facing significant gaps. Utilizing alternate methods to obtain credit, such as credit by exam or placement testing can help students catch up to their grade level peers. Additionally, those students who fall under refugee status may qualify for homeless services, including the credentialing of credits based off of available records. 

Students in Afghanistan attend gender separated schools, therefore being in a co-educational environment may make students initially uncomfortable. This will be especially true in physical education settings, where the rules of Islam specify appropriate clothing in mixed-gender environments. Pairing students in the classroom with same gender partners and offering a variety of methods to meet any physical education requirements may help ease concerns. 

The ability to obtain credit in Afghanistan is tied to attendance, with a threshold of 75%. Families and students may need education on any more rigorous thresholds held by U.S. schools to ensure students do not lose credit for lack of attendance.

Strategies for Transition

• Get to know your students by building positive relationships.
• Provide multicultural education where texts, values, beliefs, and perspectives represent people from different cultural backgrounds.
• Allow a reasonable amount of transition time.
• Partner students initially with same-gender partners to aid in increasing comfort in a co-educational setting
• Connect families to appropriate social services and community supports
• Educate students and families on local policies, such as minimum attendance to earn credit and school dress code. 
• Students may be used to a learning style of rote-memorization and teacher-centered classrooms. Providing supports to students during abstract-thinking exercises such as mind maps can assist in transitioning to a more student-centered learning style.
• Concepts of puberty and the associated bodily changes are typically avoided by teachers in Afghanistan. Students in classes such as biology or health that interact with these topics may become embarrassed or uncomfortable. Reaching out to families ahead of this topic and informing them of the local curriculum and state education requirements allows families to have conversations at home to better prepare students of what to expect in class. 
• Female students in Afghanistan often miss school during menstruation. It may be necessary to connect students and families to the school nursing office to have conversations about family and school expectations or options. 
• Female students may not be comfortable initially with male teachers due to cultural norms surrounding initiating conversation with the opposite gender. As a result, female students may be less inclined to ask a male teacher for help or tutoring. Putting female students initially with primarily female teachers may help improve educational outcomes. 
• Be sensitive to the experiences that Afghan refugees have endured. There is a high level of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder among those that have witnessed the loss of their family and friends. Many that have fled to the US have had their homes destroyed by the Taliban or other forces, and do not possess any memorabilia or keepsakes connecting them to their home country.
• Avoid discussing political instability in a direct way that isolates any particular ethnic or religious group. Afghanis are a diverse group and their experiences have varied throughout the conflict. 
•  Be sensitive to the terms “Middle Eastern” or “Arabs” in relation to Afghani students and families. Afghanistan is a South Central Asian country which is composed of many ethnicities, none of which are Arab.
• Do not assume all Afghan Muslims follow a conservative interpretation of Islam. For example, not all Arghan Muslim women choose to wear a hijab. 
• Be sensitive if inquiring about a student’s family. Many Afghans have lost family members to the war or they may be hesitant to talk for fear of their family’s safety.

Resources:

WENR: https://wenr.wes.org/2016/09/education-afghanistan

Curriculum: file:///home/chronos/u-1fe2a58ea6da33efd38b646fd49391341b3eee7c/MyFiles/Downloads/Islamic_Republic_of_Afghanistan.pdf 

Ministry of Education Report- 2014:  file:///home/chronos/u-1fe2a58ea6da33efd38b646fd49391341b3eee7c/MyFiles/Downloads/232702eng.pdf

Culture: https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/afghan-culture/afghan-culture-do-s-and-don-ts