Reading Instruction in the Primary Grades
Instructional Materials
All textbooks adhere to national standards and are certified by the Ministry of Education and Science. Teachers base their textbook selections on the recommended list of textbooks published by the National Curriculum and Assessment Center. Following selection, schools are obliged to use the textbooks for a minimum of five years. Textbooks are free for all students in public schools. In primary education, textbooks used in the language curriculum include children’s stories in addition to literary and nonliterary works.
Use of Technology
The computerization of the Georgian school system has been one of the main goals of education reform. All schools in Georgia are equipped with computers. Teachers are encouraged to use Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in teaching. All students in public schools receive free netbooks upon entry to first grade.
Role of Reading Specialists
Neither the national curriculum nor any other national regulation defines the role of reading specialists.
Second Language Instruction
Georgian is a second language in minority populated regions of the country where the languages of instruction are Azeri, Armenian, and Russian. Under the aegis of the Ministry of Education and Science’s Civil Integration Program, the Ministry promotes the teaching of Georgian as an official language in these regions, supplying schools with special textbooks for learning Georgian as a second language.7