George CHANTURIA, Georgia
PROJECT: School Management in Georgia

Driven by equality, tolerance, and fairness, George is working towards delivering Quality Education for All in Georgia. In his capacity as a teacher at the local public and private schools, George promotes Civic Education in Georgia. He is also the Director of the non-profit organization – Education for All (EFA Georgia); the coalition comprises of 15 local and public institutions and aims to create equal access to quality education across the country. For 5 years now, the coalition has been promoting the teaching profession through the nationwide campaign National Teacher Prize – an initiative affiliated with the global campaign Global Teacher Prize. George is an author of various research and academic papers and cooperation with the leading international donor organizations (World Vision, GIZ, UNICEF). To contribute to the quality education during the COVID-19 pandemic, George has been delivering civic education courses in his capacity as a TV School Online Teacher. The online courses are broadcasted nationwide by the Georgian 1st TV Channel (National Broadcaster). As an EaP local coordinator, he has been sharing unbiased information about the social and political landscape of Georgia.

George acquired his Master’s degree from the Georgian academic institutions (MA in Organizational Development and Consultancy from Tbilisi State University and MA in Cultural Studies from Sokhumi State University). He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Arts and Sciences with a Major in Human Rights from Malmo University (Sweden). George was also a BA exchange student at Missouri Western State University (USA).

“For me, this Fellowship was an exceptional opportunity to acquire more practical experience and make my contribution in the educational field. I was flabbergasted by such a high interest and engagement of the school principals, experts, and the authorities. Locally, my organization – Education for All (EFA Georgia), continues its advocacy towards tackling bullying in schools to elaborate on the more efficient policies and instruments. We are working with the Ministry of Education in different groups to make the general education system more efficient and student-oriented.“ – George CHANTURIA

School Management in Georgia

The fellowship aimed to conduct qualitative research to identify the perspectives of school headmasters on key solutions regarding bullying in schools and report to the decision makers (e.g. Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport of Georgia). To explore the bullying prevention instruments and mechanisms, George organized five consultation meetings with the mentors and did desk research; he conducted interviews with the 35 school headmasters from different regions of Georgia and five interviews with the field experts. The research findings (objectives, outcomes, and recommendations about the school management in Georgia) were published in the School Management Journal, which was distributed to the local public schools. Also, George held two regional meetings (a conference in Senaki, Journal presentation in Telavi) and two presentations in Tbilisi (event at the Tbilisi Classis School, a final presentation of the research deliverables). To discuss the bullying prevention tools on a global scale, George attended two International events: One in Kathmandu – The Global Campaign for Education conference and the other at Cambridge University – The London International Conference on Education. 

The project produced a research paper introducing the perspectives of school principals, mentors, and field experts on bullying and suggesting a joint action to identify and tackle the issue. The academic document revealed the challenges faced by the secondary educational system, including a lack of a common strategy, action plan as well as a communication platform with partner organizations and school community members. The research findings evolved high interest in the professional circles affiliated with the educational field and stimulated policy discussions with the decision-makers. Apart from developing research-based expertise on bullying at schools, George brought the problem at the forefront of the public debates through the meetings on the local (presentations in Tbilisi), regional (events in Senaki and Telavi), and international (conferences in Kathmandu and London) levels. After the fellowship completion, George started a collaboration with his Azerbaijani colleagues to share the lessons learned and come up with a policy that would suit their environment.

Fellowship Programs 2018
Country Georgia
Areas of Interest Advocacy
Topics Education
Human rights
Support to local actors to provide basic services
Project duration May 2018 - December 2018

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