Internship at UNESCO Beijing Office (Xiaoxiao JIA)
I worked as an intern at UNESCO Beijing Office from July 27th until October 27th. During the period of my internship, I assisted the program specialist as well as my...
During the summer of 2013, I conducted six week internship at the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) in Uganda. I was attached to the Monitoring and Evaluation Section under the Department of Education Planning and Policy Analysis (EPPA). While at the MoES, I investigated the relationship between literacy proficiency of pupils and internal efficiency of the education system at primary level in Uganda. First, I reviewed existing country literature on the latest trend of literacy proficiency of learners and internal efficiency of the education system at national level. The key documents I reviewed were the Education and Sports Sector Annual Performance Report (ESSAPR) issued by MoES and the National Assessment of Progress in Education (NAPE) result conducted by Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB). Secondly, I collected statistical data from Education Management Information System (EMIS) and visited several primary schools in Kampala in order to collect data related to reading test score of pupils.
While at the MoES, I was fortunate to learn about methods of research planning and research implementation from one of the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Officers. Moreover, I had plenty of opportunities to work with young experts in the M&E Office and I was inspired by their professionalism. In addition to conducting research, I attended the “The 20th Annual Education and Sports Review Conference” organized by MoES. The theme of the conference was; “improving teacher effectiveness for enhanced quality learning outcomes”. The conference provided me with a precious opportunity to learn about the roles of the various education development partners (donors) in Uganda. The chance to meet and interact with national and international education development stakeholders such as World Bank, UNICEF, JICA, UNESCO and international NGOs helped me to gain a better understanding of my future career plan.
Through this internship, I was able to conduct social research for the first time and to enhance my awareness as a young scholar. Finally, I must express my sincerest gratitude to Prof. Keiichi Ogawa, Mr. Joseph Eilor, Mr. Emmanuel Mugabi and all the other officers at the MoES in Uganda, for providing me with such a wonderful opportunity to learn and expand the horizons of my education knowledge and experience.
