Background

China’s schools have a strong focus on academic achievement, and there is increasing concern that other important aspects of student development are being overlooked. Child Friendly Schools is a UNICEF model of providing a rights-based, inclusive environment that meets the needs of the whole child.

Pilot Study Details

UNICEF China is conducting this pilot study in five provinces to demonstrate the influence of the Child Friendly Schools model on child outcomes. These schools serve marginalized populations, such as ethnic and linguistic minority students, migrant students, and students who have been left behind by migrant parents. The hope is that as a result of this work, more Chinese schools will eventually adopt a similar whole-child framework.

AIR’s role on this project is to lead the development of monitoring and evaluation tools, and to provide technical assistance to the Shanghai Academy of Education Sciences in the areas of data analysis and reporting.