Jordan Ministry of Education approves Persona Life Skills roll-out following successful pilot
Press Release
Bristol, UK, updated 25th July 2023
The Kingdom of Jordan Ministry of Education has approved the Persona Life Skills social-emotional learning platform for use in government funded schools, following a successful pilot programme with almost 500 students. 98% of students reported they learnt how to improve the targeted skills. The programme is suitable for 1.7 million students age 13-19. The Ministry aims to accelerate Technical and Vocational Education & Training (TVET) programmes to help bridge the skills gap. Developing social-emotional skills in Persona Life Skills that complement TVET will contribute to greater employability.
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.Image: Persona Education representatives meeting the Jordanian Minister of Education on 25th July 2023
Successful Persona Life Skills pilot in Jordan
Following the very positive results of a four month pilot programme with almost 500 students age 13-17 in the Kingdom of Jordan, the Ministry of Education has officially approved Persona Life Skills for roll-out to any government-funded school in the country.
With the Jordan Ministry of Education, during February to May 2023 Persona Education conducted a pilot programme to demonstrate the potential of the Persona Life Skills social-emotional learning platform in government-funded schools, and test the positive impact upon students.
We provided free access to Persona Life Skills for 465 students in Grades 8-12, at 20 Ministry of Education schools in Amman – nine girls schools, nine boys schools, and two special educational needs schools.
Uptake, activity and impact were all highly positive:
- 98% of students report useful learning
- 93% module completion rate
- Average 11 modules per student started, and 10.2 completed
Students completed 4,678 learning modules in total over the course of the pilot, with 98% reporting they learnt how to improve the targeted life skills – a very high level of success, especially compared with the already high Persona Life Skills global average of 93%.
The students and Education Guides involved in the pilot experienced the full range of teacher-facilitated and self-directed learning modules in the platform. Enabled by Persona’s unique personality insights approach, the learning covered 22 life skills across six skillsets:
1. Being Realistic
2. Communication Skills
3. Open-mindedness
4. Problem Solving
5. Resilience
6. Self-control
At the end of the pilot students were awarded digital certificates, which can be shared with future education and training providers, and potential employers, as evidence of their skills development achievements.
Students and Education Guides report positive impact
Two-thirds of students surveyed at the end of the pilot said they would be disappointed to lose access to Persona Life Skills. And 91% of Education Guides involved in the pilot said they value the acquisition of the social-emotional skills that students learn to develop in the platform, such as time management, goal-setting, self awareness and adaptability.
Alongside these impressive numbers, students were asked for their views on the value of the programme. They reported that their employability and vocational skills benefited from Persona Life Skills, for example:
“It helped me develop my skills at this crucial phase – the challenge of the next five years of my life.”
They also gained confidence and learned to manage themselves as a result of the programme:
“This programme helped me develop my social skills and improve self-confidence.”
Moreover, the Education Guides involved in the pilot say students benefitted as a result of the programme:
“It helped them understand their personalities, developed their communication and social skills.”
Sizeable opportunity for improving young people's lives
The potential scale of the programme is sizeable. There are 4,379 Ministry of Education schools in Jordan educating 1.2 million students age 13-17 in their final three years of 'Basic' education and two years of Secondary or Vocational education. A further 500,000 young people age 18 and 19 could also benefit.
The Ministry of Education aims to accelerate the growth of Technical and Vocational Education & Training (TVET) programmes in Jordan. This is in line with the government’s objective to bridge the skills gap and provide young people with more opportunities in local, national and global labour markets.
Complementing this initiative, developing social-emotional skills in the Persona Life Skills platform will contribute to greater employability. 63% of Jordan’s population is under 30, and the unemployment rate among this demographic continues to rise above the 20% reported by CEIC in Nov-20.
Social-emotional skills are seen as an increasingly important addition to the technical and vocational skills developed with TVET qualifications, such as Pearson's BTEC Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications soon to be introduced in Jordan.
Importance of Social-Emotional Learning
As well as helping to improve academic attainment, Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) develops essential capabilities for success in the workplace, allowing people to manage emotions, work with others, and achieve their goals. SEL involves the acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes that empower learners to create positive relationships, build resilience and make decisions, considering not only their own needs, but also those of others.
SEL is especially important in teenage years because social-emotional skill levels actually fall during this phase of life – by 30% on average globally (source: OECD). This problem has been worsening due to societal pressures, social media and global issues. On top of that, COVID-19 has now made the situation significantly more urgent.
Persona Life Skills boosts teenager wellbeing and employability
Persona Life Skills was developed in response to widespread and deepening concern over teenager wellbeing and employability, with funding from Google and the UK government’s innovation arm UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
To date, over 450 schools in 42 countries have signed up to use the platform with 126,000 students, including thousands in Jordan, as well as the United Arab Emirates and other MENA countries.
The platform offers a scaffolded, age-appropriate online learning curriculum for Grade 8-12 students, built around Persona’s personality insights framework rooted in behavioural science, and complementing existing school personal development, life skills, citizenship, careers and wellbeing curricula.
ENDS
About Persona Education Ltd
Persona Education is a UK based edtech company developing life skills solutions for secondary students and educational institutions. Its web and mobile online learning platforms are built around a scientifically proven personality insights framework, that is social, practical and memorable. For further information contact info@persona-life.com or +44 (0)117 313 2897.
About Persona Life Skills
Persona Life Skills is an online personal development platform with a unique personality insights framework at its heart, helping schools and colleges boost wellbeing and employability for students age 13 to 19. It is provided by the UK based edtech company Persona Education. The scaffolded, age-appropriate curriculum works equally well in the classroom or in blended learning, guiding young people to develop life skills for social, learning and work situations that map to popular benchmarks including India National Education Policy, CBSE, Cambridge iGCSE, International Baccalaureate (IB) Learner Profile, and more. For further information visit https://www.persona-life.com or contact info@persona-life.com or +44 (0)117 313 2897.
