Queen chairs QRF board meeting

AMMAN — Her Majesty Queen Rania chaired a meeting of the board of directors of the Queen Rania Foundation for Education and Development (QRF) on Monday to discuss the progress of the foundation’s applied research and programme development.

The meeting, which was held at the offices of QRF in Amman, also addressed the latest successes of the foundation’s massive open online course platform, Edraak, according to a statement from Her Majesty’s Office. 

As part of its broader research efforts, the QRF team presented the foundation’s achievements this year, beginning with the publication of its study titled “Economic Returns of Investing in Early Childhood Care and Education”. 

Throughout the year, QRF has launched several projects, including the introduction of gamified math-teaching methods for children in the ninth grade and evaluating their impact on student learning. QRF also presented a programme providing parents of children aged five and below with simple and practical tools to support their children’s holistic development and prepare them for school.

The board also hashed out the foundation’s plans for the upcoming year, all of which are supported by research and programmes in line with QRF’s mission to improve literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional skills for children between the ages of three and 15. 

Her Majesty was also briefed on the latest developments of Edraak, which held its first regional conference in August 2017. The conference hosted more than 55 speakers from 12 counties, and was attended by more than 250 people. 

Members of Edraak updated the board on the progress of their partnership with Google.org, which in May 2017 provided QRF with a grant for an Arabic online learning platform catering to K-12 students across the region. On this front, Edraak is working simultaneously on technology and content development, piloting the platform with math for grades 1 to 12.

Established by Her Majesty in 2013, QRF aims to be a leading regional resource and incubator for new and innovative ideas and initiatives in education. The foundation’s work is focused on identifying gaps and opportunities for developing new education programmes, as well as influencing policy and creating transformational change on the ground.