SEAMAGSEAMEO EDUCATION AGENDA

MAGAZINE

ISSUE 6

SEPTEMBER 2018

PROFILES

Ministers of Education ofSEAMEO Member Countries

and Associate MemberCountries

FLAGSHIP PROGRAMMES

Programmes carried outby the SEAMEO Secretariatand the SEAMEO Centres

NEWS SPOTLIGHT

The Seventh Annual Forum forBasic Education High Offi cialsin SEAMEO Member Countries

and Associate MemberCountries

SEAMEOEDUCATION AGENDA

SEAMAG

SEAMEO Education Agenda MagazineIssues No. 6, September 2018ISSN 1905-4289

Executive EditorDr. Gatot Hari Priowirjanto

Editorial Advisory BoardDr. Ethel Agnes P. Valenzuela

ContributorsDr. Pattama PunthawangkulMs. Anti RismayantiDr. Orawan SriboonruangMs. Piyapa SuangavatinMr. Tan KedutatMs. Kanokwan Arreenich

Consulting EditorMs. Bernadette Caraig

Layout and DesignMs. Anti Rismayanti

Editorial and Business CorrespondenceSEAMEO SecretariatMom Luang Pin Malakul Centenary Building920 Sukhumvit RoadBangkok 10110 ThailandTel: +66 (0) 2391 0144Fax: +66 (0) 2381 2587Email: secretariat@seameo.org

Printed byD.K. Printing Co.,Ltd.441/56 Moo 2, Bangbor Sub-District, Bangbor DistrictSamutprakarn Province 10560 Thailand

The SEAMEO Education Agenda Magazine is a publication of the SEAMEO Secretariat. Any use of the contents of this publication without the written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited.

The magazine does not necessarily subscribe to the opinions expressed by its contributors. The presentation of facts concerning the situations of countries and their governments does not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the publisher.

Cover: Students of Bansankong School in Chiang Rai

ContentsIssue No. 6, September 2018

1 SEAMEO Secretariat: Director’s Message

2 About SEAMEO

4 SEAMEO Agenda

5 SEAMEO Policy

6 Profi le: Brunei Darussalam

7 Profi le: Cambodia

8 Profi le: Indonesia

9 Profi le: Lao PDR

10 Profi le: Malaysia

11 Profi le: Myanmar

12 Profi le: Philippines

14 Profi le: Singapore

15 Profi le: Thailand

16 Profi le: Vietnam

17 Profi le: Timor-Leste

18 Profi le: Australia

19 Profi le: Canada

20 Profi le: Germany

21 Profi le: New Zealand

22 Profi le: Spain

23 Flagship Programme: SEAMEO CPRN

26 Flagship Programme: SEA-TVET Internship Exchange

28 Flagship Programme: SEA-Teacher Project

31 Flagship Programme: SEA-MOOCs

33 Flagship Programme: SEA-PLM

34 Flagship Programme: SEAMEO Virtual Programmes

36News Spotlight: The Seventh Annual Forum for Basic Education High Offi cials in SEAMEO Member Countries and Associate Member Countries

37 News Spotlight: Field Visit to the SEAMEO Border School in Lao PDR

38 SEAMEO CHAT Flagship Programme: Effective Ways to Teach History

39 SEAMEO CELLL Flagship Programme: Towards a Lifelong Learning Agenda in Southeast Asia

SEAMEOEDUCATION AGENDA

SEAMAG

SEAMEO Education Agenda MagazineIssues No. 6, September 2018ISSN 1905-4289

Executive EditorDr. Gatot Hari Priowirjanto

Editorial Advisory BoardDr. Ethel Agnes P. Valenzuela

ContributorsDr. Pattama PunthawangkulMs. Anti RismayantiDr. Orawan SriboonruangMs. Piyapa SuangavatinMr. Tan KedutatMs. Kanokwan Arreenich

Consulting EditorMs. Bernadette Caraig

Layout and DesignMs. Anti Rismayanti

Editorial and Business CorrespondenceSEAMEO SecretariatMom Luang Pin Malakul Centenary Building920 Sukhumvit RoadBangkok 10110 ThailandTel: +66 (0) 2391 0144Fax: +66 (0) 2381 2587Email: secretariat@seameo.org

Printed byD.K. Printing Co.,Ltd.441/56 Moo 2, Bangbor Sub-District, Bangbor DistrictSamutprakarn Province 10560 Thailand

The SEAMEO Education Agenda Magazine is a publication of the SEAMEO Secretariat. Any use of the contents of this publication without the written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited.

The magazine does not necessarily subscribe to the opinions expressed by its contributors. The presentation of facts concerning the situations of countries and their governments does not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the publisher.

Cover: Students of Bansankong School in Chiang Rai

ContentsIssue No. 6, September 2018

41 SEAMEO INNOTECH Flagship Programme: Keeping the Passion of Southeast Asian Teachers Alive

43 SEAMEO RECFON Flagship Programme: NTGS Programme

45 SEAMEO RECSAM Flagship Programme: Youth Creativity for Harmonising SDGs

47 SEAMEO RELC Flagship Programme: Blended Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Linguistics

49 SEAMEO SEAMOLEC Flagship Programme: Efforts to Enhance the ICT Culture Within the Region

51 SEAMEO SEARCA Flagship Programme: Turning the SEAMEO Education Agenda into Reality

53 SEAMEO SEN Flagship Programme: Urban Agriculture for SPED Teachers

55 SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics Flagship Programme: Encouraging Teacher Interest in STEM Education

56 SEAMEO QITEP in Science Flagship Programme: Implementing the Inquiry Model in Primary School

58 SEAMEO SPAFA Flagship Programme: Advancing Archaeology and Storytelling in Southeast Asia

60 SEAMEO Network: SEAMEO Regional Centres

SEAMAG 1

Dear readers,

I am proud to present the September 2018 issue, Issue No. 6, of “SEAMAG,” the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Magazine, which is prepared and reviewed by our colleagues to best illustrate what SEAMEO is in 2018 amidst a plethora of tasks at hand. The eminent content featured in this issue include the current organisation and leadership of SEAMEO, particularly the profi les of the Ministers of Education of the 11 Southeast Asian countries and eight Ministers of Education of SEAMEO Associate Member Countries. Flagship activities are elaborated to exemplify our endeavours, ranging from policy advocacy to the promotion of educational mobility physically and virtually as well as capacity-building efforts and organisation of various fora.

In brief, SEAMEO was established to promote the development of education, science, and culture in Southeast Asian countries and has been doing that for more than 53 years now. We are intergovernmental by nature and privileged to follow the direction set by the 11 Southeast Asian countries’ Ministers of Education to support the countries in achieving national educational goals as well as the regional educational vision through bilateral and multilateral programmes and activities within Southeast Asia and beyond. SEAMEO has 26 regional centres located in 10 countries in Southeast Asia. These centres, each with its own specialty, serve as both think tanks and implementation arms of SEAMEO by supporting policy advocacy, providing technical and consultancy services, and conducting capacity-building programmes and activities using fora, research, and other intellectual and practical platforms and networks. We believe in the power of collectivism yet cherish the value of individualism.

This magazine is not only for the institutions within the SEAMEO network and existing partners, but also for the public and civil societies who care about and would like to learn more about education and human resource development in Southeast Asia. I, as the director of the SEAMEO Secretariat, fully hope that this magazine can inspire and be a medium to bring anyone with goodwill closer to SEAMEO; to get to know and join us in our developmental journey. Profound understanding and support from the public and civil societies will defi nitely encourage SEAMEO to continue and further enhance our efforts to pursue the betterment of people so that, in tandem, we can make a difference in Southeast Asia.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Gatot Hari PriowirjantoDirectorSEAMEO Secretariat

SEAMEO Secretariat Director’s Message

2 SEAMAG

SEAMEO is an international and intergovernmental organisation established in 1965 to promote regional cooperation in education, science, and culture.

Its 11 Member Countries include Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. It also has eight Associate Member Countries, namely, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, and the U.K., and four Affi liate Members, namely, the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE); the University of Tsukuba, Japan; the British Council; the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE); and the United Nations Educational, Scientifi c and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Asia-Pacifi c Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU).

The SEAMEO Council, the organisation’s governing body, comprises the 11 Ministers of Education of the SEAMEO Member Countries. The council determines the general policies and strategic directions of the organisation. The SEAMEO Secretariat, based in Bangkok, Thailand, serves as the organisation’s headquarters and the executive arm of the SEAMEO Council.

Over the past fi ve decades, SEAMEO has developed 26 specialist institutions in 10 of its 11 Member Countries that provide regional leadership in human resource development and diverse expertise in learning, culture, health care and the environment, and agriculture and natural resources.

The SEAMEO units are closely linked with the educational environments of the countries that host them. Each SEAMEO regional centre has its own governing board with a representative from each Member Country that reviews its operations and budget and sets its policies and programmes.

The centres maintain SEAMEO’s work and aspirations to nurture human capacity and explore the fullest potential of the people in the region through promoting quality and equity in education, preventive health care, culture and tradition preservation, training, research, information and communication technology (ICT) use, communication, poverty alleviation, and agricultural natural resource cultivation.

Since its inception, SEAMEO has not only become the oldest chartered intergovernmental organisation serving the Southeast Asian region, but also the region’s largest, longest-existing, and most dependable promoter of human resource development.

About SEAMEO

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The SEAMEO Headquarters

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The SEAMEO Secretariat is the executive arm of the SEAMEO Council and the headquarters of the organisation. Based in Bangkok, Thailand, the Secretariat is headed by the Director who serves as the legal and administrative representative of the organisation. The Director is supported by a team of professional staff recruited from Member Countries and a group of general staff from the host country.

SEAMEO has 26 specialist institutions that undertake training and research programmes in various fi elds of education, science, and culture. Each regional centre has a governing board comprising senior education offi cials from each SEAMEO Member Country. The governing board reviews the centres’ operations and budget and sets its policies and programmes.

The SEAMEO Secretariat

SEAMEO Centres

4 SEAMAG

The SEAMEO Secretariat conducted a study to foresee the future of education in Southeast Asia. The results of the study were then summarised to form the key messages that were endorsed by the SEAMEO Executive Committee on 28 August 2014. These key messages were presented in a background document for the SEAMEO Strategic Dialogue of Education Ministers (SDEM) held on 13 September 2014 in Vientiane, Lao PDR. The participants of the meeting included representatives from the SEAMEO Member Countries and observers from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), UNESCO, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat.

The 7 Priority Areas were subsequently noted during the 37th SEAMEO High Offi cials Meeting and presented to SEAMEO Council during the 48th SEAMEO Council Conference. In a session of the Ministerial Round Table Meeting, the SEAMEO Council endorsed the SEAMEO 7 Priority Areas and announced fi ve recommendations for their implementation beginning Fiscal Year (FY) 2015–2016.

SEAMEO Agenda SEAMEO 7 Priority Areas

SEAMAG 5

1 Promote collaboration as a signifi cant component of achieving the 7 Priority Areas, strengthening engagement, and mobilising key players in education to enhance regional cooperation

2 Utilise technology amidst the digital age to map and disseminate good practices, taking note of the language used for communication

3 Address challenging key priority areas such as addressing barriers to inclusion and promoting resilience in the face of emergencies by encouraging adequate fi nancing among Member Countries

4 Heighten the sharing of data and knowledge to achieve quality education in all levels

5 Focus capacity-building efforts on programmes with high impact and low costs, bearing in mind sustainability and regional reach by using teaching and learning tools such as digital classes, educational television, and other means of open and distance learning (ODL)

6 Provide a platform to improve teacher quality

7 Constantly assess the region’s needs in terms of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and skills demand, including higher education, research, and innovation

SEAMEO Council Recommendations for the Framework for Action to Achieve the SEAMEO

Education Agenda Towards SDG 4SEAMEO Policy

6 SEAMAG

Dato Hamzah Sulaiman fi rst served as a civil servant as a research analyst at the Ministry of Defence after fi nishing Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and Administration with honours from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) in 1991. He then received his Master of Arts degree in Political Science from the State University of New York in Albany in 1995. In 1993, he served his alma mater’s Department of Public Policy and Administration. He headed the department from 2001 to 2005 before becoming the inaugural Head of the Institute of Policy Studies at UBD from 2005 to 2007. In 2007, he returned to the Ministry of Defence in a new capacity, Director of the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies. Four years later, he was appointed as Senior Special Duties Offi cer at the Ministry of Finance and, in 2012, as the Director of Research and International Division, responsible for economic research and the management of Brunei Darussalam’s international relations with various

entities such as ASEAN, ASEAN Plus Three, the Asia-Pacifi c Economic Cooperation (APEC), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), the Islamic Development Bank, and ADB.

In 2013, Dato Hamzah was appointed as Deputy Permanent Secretary of Defence Policy and Development of the Ministry of Defence. A year later, he was appointed as Permanent Secretary of International, Economic Planning and Development and Finance of the Prime Minister’s Offi ce, currently known as the Economic and Finance Division. He was appointed Minister of Education on 30 January 2018. For his service, he was bestowed the “Pingat Indah Kerja Baik” (PIKB) in 2005, the “Seri Mahkota Brunei” (SMB) in 2010, the “Pingat Jasa Kebaktian” (PJK) in 2016, and the “Darjah Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei Yang Amat Mulia Darjah Kedua” (DPMB) in 2017.

Profi le Brunei Darussalam

Dato Hamzah SulaimanMinister of EducationMinistry of Education, Brunei Darussalam

SEAMAG 7

Dr. Hang Chuon Naron is the current Minister of Education, Youth and Sport of the Kingdom of Cambodia. He has been serving the country for 30 years now with a professional background in international relations, international law, economics, and education.

Dr. Naron attended the School of International Relations and International Law in Ukraine in 1982 after graduating from the Institute of Technology of Cambodia. From 1985 to 1988, he pursued a master’s degree in International Economics at the Moscow State Institute for International Relations in Russia. He obtained his doctor’s degree in 1991 from the same institution. In 2004, he completed an executive programme at the National School of Administration in France and joined the John F. Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University in 2008. From 2010 to 2012, he completed his second master’s degree in International and Comparative Law, jointly awarded by the Royal University of Law and Economics in Cambodia and the University of Lyon II in France. In 2018, he completed his doctor’s degree in Education at the Chulalongkorn University in Thailand.

After completing his master’s degree in Russia, Dr. Naron started a decade-long diplomatic career serving

Cambodia via posts at the Cambodian Embassy in Moscow and the Australian Embassy in Phnom Penh. He has been representing Cambodia for years in international stages. He was appointed Deputy Secretary-General and Secretary-General of the Ministry of Economy and Finance in 2001 and 2004, respectively. At present, he is the Minister of Education, Youth and Sport.

Dr. Naron has vast academic and teaching experience. He taught public fi nance in the Royal School of Administration in 2001. In 2012, he was appointed lecturer on Cambodia’s banking and economy at the Royal University of Law and Economics in Cambodia and the University of Nantes in France. He has published more than 20 academic and professional books and papers. Besides Khmer, he fl uently speaks English, French, and Russian.

Dr. Naron advocates lifelong learning policies. He has advanced perspectives on educational development such as supporting the development of science, especially information technology (IT) and computer science. He has close ties with external institutions, including UNESCO, SEAMEO, WB, and ADB. As the Minister of Education, Youth and Sport, he works with all stakeholders to achieve Cambodia SDG4—Education 2030.

Profi le Cambodia

Dr. Hang Chuon NaronMinister of Education, Youth and SportMinistry of Education, Youth and Sport, Cambodia

8 SEAMAG

Dr. Muhadjir Effendy is currently the Minister of Education and Culture of Indonesia and President of the SEAMEO Council. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from the Malang State University in 1981, Master of Arts degree in Public Administration from the Gadjah Mada University in 1997, and Doctor of Philosophy degree in Humanities from the Airlangga University in 2008.

While serving as lecturer on informal and nonformal education for the Malang State University, Dr. Effendy was also the Chief of the Board of Trustees of the Central Board of the Islamic Private University Cooperation Council and a professor in sociology at the same university. A strong advocate of informal and nonformal education, he encourages his students to actively write for scientifi c journals and campus magazines and newspapers. He was recently awarded the Long Civil Service Medal for 20 years of service as a civil servant.

Dr. Effendy has also facilitated several training courses on topics such as regional security issues and defence

Dr. Muhadjir EffendyMinister of Education and CultureMinistry of Education and Culture, Indonesia

Profi le Indonesia

Professional Career History• Minister of Education and Culture, Indonesia

(2016–present)• Professor, Malang State University (2014–present)• Rector, Muhammadiyah University Malang

(2000–2016)

Publications• Muhammadiyah dan Pendidikan di Indonesia,

2013• “A Nepotism and Crony in a Business, Case of

Industrial Deregulation in Indonesia.” Jurnal Ekonomi Pembangunan, Vol. 12, No. 1, 2013.

policies in the U.S. and management for higher education supported by the University of Victoria in Canada. Apart from serving as Minister of Education and Culture, he is also the Chairman of the Education, Research, Development, and Culture Muhammadiyah Islamic Organization of Indonesia.

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Mme. Sengdeuane Lachanthaboune was born on 3 August 1954 in the Vientiane Province of Lao PDR. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the Pedagogy Institute in 1977 in Vientiane. She also obtained a second bachelor’s degree in Education Administration in Germany in 1982. In 1987, she earned her third bachelor’s degree in Mathematical Analysis and Research in Hungary. She completed her Master of Arts degree in Education Administration in Australia in 1997.

Mme. Lachanthaboune began her career in education in 1977 as a mathematics lecturer at the Pedagogy Institute, now known as the National University of Laos (NUoL). She was then appointed to the position of UNESCO Expert in Secondary Education in Vientiane and Chief of the Mathematics Section of NUoL from 1987 to 1989. From 1990 to 2005, she worked for the university’s Teacher Education Department as a member of the academic staff before becoming Division Director then Deputy Director and, later on, Director-General. In 2006, she was promoted to Deputy Minister and, on 20 April 2016, she was elected

by the National Assembly to serve as Minister of Education and Sports. She has performed several leadership roles in education development at both the national and regional levels. At the national level, she served as Vice Chair of the National Committee on Educational System Reforms and the National Committee on Human Resource Development, President of the National Olympic Committee, and President of the National Commission for UNESCO. At the regional level, meanwhile, she served as Vice Chair of SEAMEO Regional Centre for Education in Science and Mathematics (RECSAM).

Mme. Lachanthaboune’s vast experience and expertise enabled her to publish a number of articles in leading international journals as well. These include articles in Pedagogical Magazine in December 1986, the Bulletin of Young Mathematicians in May 1987, the IUFM Journal in December 1995, Education for Peace in Latin America and Asia in 2003, and the UNESCO 48th International Conference on Education Journal in 2008.

Profi le Lao PDR

Mme. Sengdeuane LachanthabouneMinister of Education and SportsMinistry of Education and Sports, Lao PDR

10 SEAMAG

Born on 19 December 1974 in Johor Bahru, the honourable Dr. Maszlee bin Malik was appointed Minister of Education for Malaysia on 21 May 2018. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Fiqh and Usul al-Fiqh from the University Al al-Bayt Jordan and master’s degree in the same fi eld from University Malaya. He subsequently obtained a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Political Science major in Good Governance from the School of Governments and International Affairs (SGIA) at the University of Durham in the U.K.

Dr. Maszlee is a publicly recognised intellectual and social activist. He served as Assistant Professor at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). He also held other positions such Visiting Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs in Malaysia, member of the Multaqa Asatizah dan Du’at (MURSHID) in Malaysia, and member of IKRAM Malaysia. On the social activism fi eld, he led several organisations, including the Pusat Pendidikan Down Syndrome Orkids (ORKIDS), Pertubuhan Darul Fitrah, the IDEAS Autism Centre, and the Lembaga Pusat Pen-didikan al-Amin and Malaysia Manchester City Football Fan Club.

Dr. Maszlee bin MalikMinister of EducationMinistry of Education, Malaysia

Profi le Malaysia

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Dr. Myo Thein Gyi was born on 2 September 1965 in Yangon, Myanmar. He obtained his Master of Science degree in Mathematics from Yangon University in 1992 and his doctor’s degree from the Technical University of Berlin in Germany in 1998.

From 1986 to 2007, Dr. Gyi served as Associate Professor at the Department of Mathematics in Yangon University. He also served as Professor and Prorector at Dagon University from 2007 to 2010 and Prorector at Monywa

University from 2010 to 2011. After that, he was appointed Deputy Director-General for Higher Education for Lower Myanmar in 2011, Acting Director-General for the Basic Education Department in 2012, and Director-General for the Department of Education Research from 2012 to 2015. From 2015 to 2016, he served as Rector of West Yangon University before being appointed as Union Minister for Education in April 2016.

Dr. Gyi is happily married with two children.

Dr. Myo Thein GyiUnion Minister for EducationMinistry of Education, Myanmar

Profi le Myanmar

12 SEAMAG

Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones, Professor Emeritus of the National College of Public Administration and Governance of the University of the Philippines (UP), has spent most of her life as a teacher. She taught young children in church schools, college students in universities, and master’s and doctoral students. Whenever and wherever she delivers a public lecture, she teaches.

Dr. Briones has served as a resource person in numerous national, regional, and international meetings and fora. She addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) in 2005. She combines the roles of distinguished academic and teacher, public offi cial, and social activist.

Dr. Briones has also been involved in the administration of academic institutions. She served as Vice President for Administration and Finance of the UP System. Before her appointment as Education Secretary, she was Chair of the Silliman University Board of Trustees and Regent and Chair Designate of Universidad de Manila. She has a wealth of experience in administering public institutions. She was Secretary to the Commission on Audit and served as Treasurer of the Philippines.

Dr. Briones is also an articulate advocate of economic and social development issues. She was former President of the Freedom from Debt Coalition. She then became Lead Convenor of Social Watch Philippines before becoming Coordinator of Social Watch Asia then Social Watch International. Social Watch reports to the UN on social development issues.

Dr. Briones’s academic and professional competencies range from business administration, accounting, public fi nance (revenues, expenditures, borrowing, and accountability), public policy, and administration (including local government administration, government corporations, and graft and corruption).

Dr. Briones obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, major in Accounting, magna cum laude, from Silliman University; master’s degree in Public Administration, major in Local Government and Fiscal Administration, Dean’s List from UP; postgraduate diploma in Development Administration, major in Public Enterprises, with distinction, from Leeds University in England; Certifi cate in Policy in Public Enterprise from the Harvard Institute for International Development in Harvard University; and Certifi cate in Innovations in Governance from the John F. Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University. She was also conferred Doctor of Public Administration honoris causa by the Central Philippine University in 2014.

Dr. Briones has received numerous awards in recognition of her sterling performance as a public offi cial such as the “Presidential Lingkod ng Bayan Award” in 2000 by the Civil Service Commission on its centennial year, the “Outstanding Professional Award in Public Administration” from the UP Alumni Association, and the “Alumni Achievement Award for Government Service” from the National College of Public Administration and Governance on its 50th year. She has also been awarded the “Outstanding Sillimanian for Public Administration,” the

Dr. Leonor Magtolis BrionesSecretary of EducationDepartment of Education, Philippines

Profi le Philippines

SEAMAG 13

“Outstanding Negrense Award for Government Service,” and the “Bayi Citation Award for Exemplary Women in Politics and Governance” in 2011; the “Distinguished Alumni Award” by the UP Alumni Association in 2013; and the “Outstanding Citizen of Quezon City Award” in 2015. Even more important than her long record of research, teaching, and government service, however, is her total

commitment to good governance, particularly in public fi nance.

Dr. Briones is a member of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines and President of the Manila Concert Choir.

Philippines

NOTABLE POSITIONS HELDIn Education• Professor Emeritus, National College of Public Administration and Governance, UP (March 2013–present)• Regent, Universidad de Manila• Chair, Silliman University Board of Trustees (2001–2016)• Director, Centre for Policy and Executive Development, National College of Public Administration and

Governance (July 2002–May 2005)• Vice President for Administration and Finance, UP (1996–1998)

In Government• Treasurer of the Philippines, Bureau of Treasury (August 1998–February 2001)• Presidential Adviser for Social Development with Cabinet Rank (in concurrent capacity), Office of the President

of the Philippines (August 1998–January 2001)• Secretary to the Commission, Commission on Audit (1978–1987)

In Civil Society• Former Lead Convenor, Social Watch Philippines, Co-coordinator of Social Watch Asia, and member of the

International Committee of Social Watch (1996–2016)• Former Chair, People’s Public Finance Institute (2013–2016)• President, Freedom from Debt Coalition (1988–1996)

14 SEAMAG

Mr. Ong Ye Kung is the Minister for Education of Singapore. He was elected Member of Parliament for Sembawang GRC in September 2015 and to the Cabinet of Singapore on 1 October 2015. He held the positions of Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) and Second Minister for Defence. He is concurrently a Board Member of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Chairman of the Chinese Development Assistance Council.

Prior to his Cabinet appointment, Mr. Ong served as the Director of Group Strategy at Keppel Corporation, overseeing long-term strategic planning of the group’s activities. Before joining Keppel, he was the Deputy Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress, overseeing the labour movement’s employment and employability programmes.

Mr. Ong also held various positions in the government, including Chief Executive of the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), during which he spearheaded many initiatives to build up the country’s continuing education and training infrastructure. He also served as Principal Private Secretary to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong from 2003 to 2005 and Press Secretary from 1997 to 2003. He was also the Deputy Chief Negotiator for the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.

Mr. Ong graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science in the U.K., with fi rst-class honours, and holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Institute of Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland. He is married with two teenage children.

Mr. Ong Ye KungMinister for EducationMinistry of Education, Singapore

Profi le Singapore

SEAMAG 15

Dr. Teerakiat Jaraeonsettasin, Thailand’s current Minister of Education, graduated from Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine. Despite being trained as a doctor, he was interested in educational affairs. Nearly 30 years ago, he co-founded the Sathyasai School with Mr. Art-Ong Jumsai na Ayudhaya, which has since become a model of ethical and moral development.

While in the U.K., Dr. Jaraeonsettasin received a scholarship to continue his education. After completing his degree, he returned to Thailand and was appointed Deputy Dean of the Khon Kaen University’s Faculty of Medicine. He later returned to work for the Foundation of Virtuous Youth in Thailand, which aims to drive educational reform based on the late His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s concepts, including teachers’ love for students, students’ love for teachers, the inculcation of sharing kindness, and activities that foster unity.

Five months after Dr. Jaraeonsettasin returned to Thailand, Education Minister Admiral Narong Pipathanasai invited him to serve as his Vice Minister. In 2015, he was promoted to Deputy Education Minister and, in the latter part of 2016, he was named Thailand’s Education Minister.

Dr. Jaraeonsettasin’s other notable appointments were Superboard Member of the Education and Policy Development Department and former Advisor to the Deputy Minister of Public Health M.D. U-Domsilpa Srisaengnam in 1992. He has achieved many signifi cant accomplishments during his career in education such as working with the Cambridge English Language Assessment and Cambridge International Examinations Committees to help further develop Thailand’s educational system.

Dr. Jaraeonsettasin is currently working to reform Thailand’s educational system. He is striving to implement strategies to upgrade English comprehension in all levels and will introduce a new training programme over the next two years for over 40,000 teachers to undergo intensive English courses in partnership with the British Council. He is also planning to introduce a new policy promoting “education to employment.” The Ministry of Education (MoE) of Thailand plans to work with the private sector to regulate training by engaging with over 1,500 corporations from across the country to run short courses that will lead to work for students outside mainstream education. All of these will hopefully reform education and prepare the country for its leading role in ASEAN where education is the path to success.

Dr. Teerakiat JaraeonsettasinMinister of EducationMinistry of Education, Thailand

Profi le Thailand

16 SEAMAG

Dr. Phun Xuan Nha was born on 3 June 1963 in the Hung Yen Province. He became a party member on 19 December 1997 but was only offi cially recognised on 19 December 1998. Between September 1993 and July 1994, he obtained a master of arts degree from the University of Manchester in the U.K. From September 2002 to July 2003, he completed his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Economics at the Georgetown University in the U.S.

Dr. Nha is a member of the 11th Party Central Committee and is currently serving his 12th term as a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam. He is concurrently serving his 14th term as Deputy to the National Assembly.

From April 1986 to August 1993, Dr. Nha served as a teacher at the Training Centre of Marxism-Leninism in the Hanoi Collective University. From August 1994 to August 2002, he served as lecturer at the Hanoi University. He then served as Deputy Manager of the Offi ce of Administration for Propaganda and Training and Foreign

Affairs in January 1997. He was named Deputy Director of the Asia-Pacifi c Centre at the Hanoi University’s School of Social Sciences and Humanities in February 1997.

From August 2003 to April, 2007, he served as lecturer and Director of the Centre for Economic Development Studies and Deputy Director of the Economic Department of the Hanoi National University. Between May 2007 and August 2010, he served as Director of the Economics University of the Hanoi National University. From September 2010 to February 2013, he served as Deputy Director of the Hanoi National University. Between February 2013 and January 2016, he became a member of the 11th Party Central Committee. By November 2015, he became a member of the Hanoi Party Committee and Director of the Hanoi National University. From January to April 2016, he became a member of the Party Central Committee while still serving as Director of the Hanoi National University. To date, he is still a member of the Party Central Committee and, concurrently, Minister of Education and Training.

Dr. Phun Xuan NhaMinister for Education and TrainingMinistry of Education and Training, Vietnam

Profi le Vietnam

SEAMAG 17

Mrs. Dulce de Jesus Soares received her bachelor’s degree in Education from the Udayana University in Bali, Indonesia and her master’s degree in International Community Development from the University of Victoria in Australia. After teaching English and gaining extensive experience in the area of regional development and planning, she worked as National Programme Offi cer for the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF). As such, she collaborated with international partners to develop laws and policies to guarantee children’s rights, including the establishment of the National Commission of Children’s Rights.

As both former Timor-Leste Vice Minister of Preschool and Basic Education and current Vice Minister for Education, Mrs. Soares’s largest contribution has been the creation of a road map to ensure equal access to quality education

for all children, especially those in rural areas. She spearheaded the expansion of preschool access; the reform of both the preschool and primary curricula; the commencement of the local production of textbooks and didactic materials; the introduction of various legislations, including a national preschool policy, curricular laws, and mandates on participative methodology and disciplinary practices; the improvement of the execution and monitoring of the mother tongue education pilot; and the drafting of an inclusive education policy.

Mrs. Soares continues to lead her sector of the Ministry in streamlining and making effi cient systems, including the implementation of several feasibility studies to improve key elements of the educational system. She is a Timor-Leste politician committed to achieving positive changes for women, families, and communities.

Mrs. Dulce de Jesus SoaresMinister of Education, Youth and SportMinistry of Education, Youth and Sport, Timor-Leste

Profi le Timor-Leste

18 SEAMAG

Senator Simon Birmingham has been serving as a Liberal Party Senator for South Australia since May 2007, before being appointed Minister of Education and Training in September 2015.

Hon. Birmingham grew up near Gawler in Adelaide’s northern part on his family’s small horse agistment property. He was educated in government schools before going on to study at the University of Adelaide where he completed his master’s degree in Business Administration.

Prior to entering the Senate, Hon. Birmingham worked for a number of industry bodies, establishing particular experience in the wine, tourism, and hospitality sectors—industries that were critical to South Australia’s prosperity.

After less than three years in the Senate, Hon. Birmingham was appointed to the Shadow Ministry, serving as Shadow

Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray-Darling Basin and the Environment until the 2013 election.

Following the change of government in 2013, Hon. Birmingham served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment, responsible for water policies, including for the Murray-Darling Basin; national parks; and the Bureau of Meteorology. In 2014, he was appointed Assistant Minister for Education and Training, with specifi c responsibility for vocational education, apprenticeship, training, and skills. He is now Minister for Education and Training.

Hon. Birmingham is married to Courtney and has two young daughters, Matilda and Amelia. He is an active supporter of the Parliamentary Association for UNICEF and a proud, but sometimes frustrated, Adelaide Crows fan.

Hon. Simon BirminghamMinister for Education and TrainingMinistry of Education and Training, Australia

Profi le Australia

SEAMAG 19

Ms. Chrystia Freeland was fi rst elected member of the Parliament for Toronto Centre in a by-election in November 2013, before being reelected in October 2015 as member of the Parliament for University-Rosedale.

In opposition, Ms. Freeland served as her party’s Critic for International Trade. An esteemed journalist and author, she was born in Peace River, Alberta. She received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University before continuing her studies on a Rhodes Scholarship at the University of Oxford.

After cutting her journalistic teeth as a Ukraine-based stringer for the Financial Times, The Washington Post, and The Economist, Ms. Freeland went on to wear many hats at the Financial Times, including U.K. news editor, Moscow bureau chief, Eastern Europe correspondent, editor of the FT Weekend Magazine, and editor of FT.com. She served as Deputy Editor of The Globe and Mail between 1999 and

2001, before becoming Deputy Editor then U.S. Managing Editor of the Financial Times.

In 2010, Ms. Freeland joined Canadian-owned Thomson Reuters as Managing Director and Editor of Consumer News before she decided to return home and enter politics. She has written two books, “Sale of the Century: The Inside Story of the Second Russian Revolution” in 2000 and “Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else” in 2012. The latter is an international bestseller and won the Lionel Gelber Prize and the National Business Book Award.

In 2013, Ms. Freeland gave a TED Talk about global income inequality based on the issues dealt with in “Plutocrats.” It has since been viewed almost 2 million times. She speaks English, French, Ukrainian, Russian, and Italian. She is married and has three children. She and her family live in University-Rosedale.

Ms. Chrystia FreelandMinister of Foreign AffairsMinistry of Foreign Affairs, Canada

Profi le Canada

20 SEAMAG

Ms. Anja Karliczek was appointed Federal Minister of Education and Research and member of the Government of Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel on 14 March 2018.

Following Ms. Karliczek’s training and employment as a bank clerk at Deutsche Bank AG, she underwent training in hotel management at her family’s hotel, during which she also gained qualifi cations to train apprentices. She worked in a managerial position at the Hotel Teutoburger Wald from the summer of 1994 until she became a member of the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag) in 2013.

Ms. Karliczek completed her studies in business management at the Fern Universität Hagen in 2008 with a diploma thesis that analysed the fi scal advantages of transferring pension obligations from the employer’s point of view.

Ms. Karliczek was elected Parliamentary Secretary of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group in January 2017. She was a member of the Bundestag Finance Committee and deputy member of the Budget Committee and the Fourth Committee of Inquiry. She became a full member of the Tourism Committee from October 2013 to January 2017.

Ms. Karliczek was the Parliamentary Group’s rapporteur on the Finance Committee for topics, including old age provision, employee shareholding, and the “Life Insurance Reform Act and Solvency II with the Investment Directive.” In the fi eld of tourism, she was responsible for initial and continuing training in the hotel and catering sector, quality initiatives in the German tourist industry, and the European Union (EU) funding period, 2014–2020.

Ms. Karliczek began her political career in 2004 when she was elected member of the Tecklenburg Town Council. At that time, she served as Chair of the Committee for Families, Senior Citizens, and Social Affairs and Chair of the Lengerich Adult Education Centre Association.

Ms. Karliczek became Deputy Chair of the CDU political group on the Tecklenburg Town Council in 2009. In January 2011, she took over as Chair of the Tecklenburg CDU Association and also became leader of the CDU political group. She held both offi ces until 2014.

Ms. Karliczek was born in Ibbenbüren on 29 April 1971. She now has three children.

Ms. Anja KarliczekFederal Minister of Education and ResearchMinistry of Education and Research, Germany

Profi le Germany

SEAMAG 21

Hon. Chris Hipkins is a member of Parliament for Rimutaka. He ranks seventh in the Cabinet and is the Leader of the House and Minister of Education and State Services. He is also the Minister responsible for Ministerial Services.

Hon. Hipkins passionately believes that every New Zealander deserves the opportunity to reach his/her full potential in life. He is a staunch advocate and defender of the public education system. He believes that free quality education is the right of every child.

Born in 1978, Hon. Hipkins has worked in both the public and private sectors. He is passionate about the Hutt Valley, his home, a place that he believes is “bursting with energy and potential.” An outdoor enthusiast, he is particularly keen on mountain biking, tramping, and swimming. He currently lives in Upper Hutt.

Hon. Hipkins attended Waterloo Primary School, Hutt Intermediate, and Hutt Valley Memorial College, now known as Petone College, where he was the Head Boy in 1996. He went on to complete his Bachelor of Arts degree major in Politics and Criminology at Victoria University.

After completing his studies, Hon. Hipkins worked in the industry training sector. Before becoming a member of the Parliament, he fi rst worked as Senior Advisor to two Education Ministers and, later, in the offi ce of the then Prime Minister Helen Clark.

Hon. Hipkins entered Parliament in 2008 and became the Spokesperson for Education at the beginning of 2013. He places strong emphasis on social justice and believes that every New Zealander should have the opportunity to reach his/her full potential.

Mr. Chris HipkinsMinister of Education, Minister Responsible for Ministerial Services, and Minister of State ServicesMinistry of Education, New Zealand

Profi le New Zealand

22 SEAMAG

Ms. María Isabel Celaá Diéguez has bachelor’s degrees in Philosophy and Arts specialising in English Philology and Law. She also has Euskararen Gaitasun Agiria (EGA) or a Certifi cate in Aptitude in Knowledge in Basque Language.

Ms. Diéguez is a tenured professor of English since 1981. She served as Councilor for Education, Universities, and Research for the Regional Government of the Basque Country from 2009 to 2012. Prior to that, she served as Deputy Councilor for Education for the Regional Government of the Basque Country from 1991 to 1995. She also concurrently served as Vice President of the School Council of the Basque Country and Delegated

President of the Basque Council for Vocational Training during this period. She has been a member of the Regional Parliament of the Basque Country since 1988.

At present, Ms. Diéguez serves as Vice President and First Secretary of the Board of the Regional Government of the Basque Country; Spokesperson for the Basque Socialist Group in the Regional Government of the Basque Country for Education, Culture, and the Media; Assistant Spokesperson for the Basque Socialist Group; and member of the Executive Committee of the Basque Socialist Party. She was born in Bilbao in 1949.

Ms. María Isabel Celaá DiéguezMinister of Education and Vocational Education and TrainingMinistry of Education and Vocational Education and Training, Spain

Profi le Spain

SEAMAG 23

SEAMEO has been an active developmental agency for Southeast Asia for more than half a century now. Growing from its fi rst few regional centres, it now has 26 in 10 countries that contribute to regional human resource enhancement through coordination and collaboration with the Ministries of Education across Southeast Asia and beyond.

Mandated to provide constructive direction, it is essential for SEAMEO units to proactively conduct reliable and valid policy research aligned with, if not leading to, development trends. The necessity, undoubtedly, can be fulfi lled by a collective attempt to learn from one another and grow together through policy research headed by the SEAMEO Centres Policy Research Network (CPRN).

SEAMEO CPRN was fi rst introduced as a component of the SEAMEO College. It was established to enhance the relevance and sharpen the responsiveness of SEAMEO centres and the Secretariat to the needs of educational leaders with regard to policy research so they can address regional human resource development issues in Southeast Asia.

On 8–10 March 2016, the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) hosted the “Establishment of SEAMEO CPRN at the College Workshop” in Los Baños, Laguna in the Philippines. The workshop was supported by ADB (Thailand) and the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction and

attended by participants from various SEAMEO centres. The workshop concluded that the purpose of CPRN was valid and remains so even beyond the lifetime of the ADB project that supports the SEAMEO College and the formal establishment of CPRN, along with determining its functions, research agenda, structure, and operations, are decisions that should be made by Centre Directors.

At the 2017 SEAMEO Centre Directors Meeting, the centres took note of the report on CPRN and tasked the SEAMEO Secretariat to create the task force for it. As such, the SEAMEO Secretariat organised the fi rst meeting for the creation of the CPRN Task Force on 20–21 February 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand. The meeting aimed to strengthen the network through the task force, pinpoint research priorities and opportunities for the SEAMEO centres, and collaboratively plan for activities from 2018 to 2020.

Flagship Programme SEAMEO CPRN

By: Dr. Pattama Punthawangkul

SEAMEO CPRN: Contextual Relevance for Policy Advocacy

“We, the Peoples of Southeast Asia, DESIROUS of attaining the benefits of peace, prosperity, and security through an enlightened citizenry, RECOGNIZING the forces and the challenge of change in the contemporary world, ANXIOUS to provide for constructive direction to these forces of change, and RESOLVED upon joint and cooperative efforts for regional educational development, HAVE, through our Governments, adopted hereby this Charter of the SEAMEO.”

Source: Preamble of the SEAMEO Charter, 1968

24 SEAMAG

During the meeting, the SEAMEO centres had an opportunity to “look out” to emerging education policy trends, needs, and priorities from the keynote speeches and “look in” to explore the current policy research initiatives of the different SEAMEO centres in line with the 7 Priority Areas. The participants revisited the current agenda and proposed a new one in accordance with the SEAMEO Education Agenda (2015–2035).

Priority Area Proposed Research Topic

1Achieving universal early childhood care and education (ECCE)

• Access to ECCE for children with special needs• Early learning assessment for ECCE• Effective parenting to support ECCE• Establishing an affirmative ECCE policy to ensure education

equity

2Addressing barriers to inclusion

• Addressing equity-related issues in education• Developing inclusive education for special education needs• Developing nonformal and unconventional educational

institutions to accommodate all educational needs• Using low-cost high-technology tools for learning

3Promoting resilience in the face of emergencies

• Integrating disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) in curricula

• Ensuring that refugee children have access to formal and informal education

• Teacher training for emergency situations• Disasters’ impact on education and school infrastructure

4Promoting TVET

• Access to TVET for disadvantaged groups• Regional future skills• Increase of soft skills for vocational learners• Needs assessment of the hard skills of workers in the

maritime sector• Standardising the quality of vocational education in

preparation for global work

5Revitalising teacher education

• Teaching as a first-choice profession• Teaching profession and teacher satisfaction in Southeast Asia• Fringe benefit schemes

6Harmonising higher education and research

• Harmonisation and policy gaps in health-related professions• Quality assurance and credit-transfer systems in Southeast

Asia• Strengthening research on professorship policies

SEAMEO CPRN

SEAMAG 25

Priority Area Proposed Research Topic

7Adopting a 21st-century curriculum

• Southeast Asia Basic Education Standards internationalisation and integrating entrepreneurship in university education

• Reorienting teaching to integrate higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) in basic and primary learning literacy

• Curriculum for the digital era generation• Module development for hard and soft skills development in

Southeast Asia• Creating a small-island research network beyond conserving

biodiversity• How to prevent the anthropogenic causes of environmental

degradation• Integrated watershed and coastal management to recover

from environmental degradation

SEAMEO CPRN

“Taking action and coming up with relevant recommendations can make a difference for the people of Southeast Asia.”

The Terms of Reference (TOR) for creating the task force and a plan of action for 2018–2020 were drafted during the meeting. The draft TOR cited four major functions of the task force:

• Promoting intercentre collaboration

• Formulating research agenda

• Leading and conducting capacity-building programmes

• Mounting knowledge exchange and impact

All Centre Directors agreed that in the fi rst three years, from 2018 to 2020, the SEAMEO Secretariat will serve as the CPRN Secretariat and Chair of the network.

As blueprints and reforms have been mapped and are being implemented through a series of programmes and activities in several Southeast Asian countries, there is no better time for SEAMEO CPRN to take action and lead to make more relevant recommendations that can make a difference for the region. With diverse expertise and geographical coverage, SEAMEO CPRN can sharpen SEAMEO Centres’ research profi ciency so they can think ahead together for the region. This will help countries cope with the rapidly evolving world and produce a workforce that is well-equipped with the necessary skills to enjoy a prosperous and peaceful society together.

26 SEAMAG

SEAMEO Inks Accord with 79 TVET Institutions to Accelerate the SEA-TVET Internship Exchange Programme

Since the launch of the SEAMEO Education Agenda (2015–2035), which aims to promote TVET for skills development, all Southeast Asian countries have mainstreamed TVET education. To promote the internationalisation of TVET institutions and global competitiveness of TVET students in Southeast Asian countries, SEAMEO, in collaboration with MoEs and other partner institutions, developed the SEAMEO Polytechnic Network, which provides for cross-country internship placement programmes and other types of collaboration in April 2016. The SEAMEO Secretariat, during the High Offi cials Meeting held in May 2017, was also named coordinating agency to facilitate TVET student exchange and participation.

The Southeast Asian TVET (SEA-TVET) Student Internship Exchange Programme aims to enhance the global competitiveness and skills of TVET students using a cross-country platform, improve intercultural understanding, and create a sustainable partnership network among relevant institutions. In the exchange, all participating institutions should be a member of the SEA-TVET Consortium and the SEAMEO Schools Network. Participating students’ grades in the programme should be credited as part of their required internship in school. They should be accorded the number of hours they spent in the programme. They will also be issued e-certifi cates of completion after submitting their self-report and the company they interned in submits the supervisor evaluation form to SEAMEO Secretariat.

Flagship Programme SEA-TVET Internship Exchange

By: Ms. Piyapa Suangavatin

After the agreement was signed by participating TVET institutions during the Second SEAMEO Polytechnic Network Meeting held on 10 October 2017 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the fi rst batch of 55 students from 12 TVET institutions in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam have been provided internship assignments. Their experiences were monitored to determine the programme’s success, identify good practices, and come up with improvement and action plans for the second batch.

The Third SEAMEO Polytechnic Network Meeting was held on 5–6 April 2018, hosted by Politeknik Elektronika Negeri Surabaya in Indonesia. Approximately 140 participants from 75 TVET institutions from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand attended the meeting.

To improve the experiences of the second batch of students, new terms and conditions will be applied such as expanding their preparation, implementing a fl exible exchange schedule and internship duration, complying with the guidelines for selecting industries, and improving the involvement of the industries in the interview process.

At the end of the meeting, a letter of agreement was signed by 79 TVET institutions from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.

SEAMAG 27

The internship of the second batch of students will stretch from August to September and last for 30 days. The students were given more opportunities in that their chosen specialisations were covered. The programme uses the cost-sharing model. Student interns are required to fulfi l certain requirements and criteria such as profi ciency in English communication.

The Fourth SEAMEO Polytechnic Network Meeting will be tentatively held in the Pangasinan State University in

the Philippines on the third week of October 2018. This meeting will evaluate the second batch of students and identify implementation improvements for the third batch, which will be deployed in 2019.

All documents, guidelines, and forms giving out more information on the programme can be found in the SEA-TVET Consortium website, http://seatvet.seameo.org/.

SEA-TVET Internship Exchange

Programme structure for one month

28 SEAMAG

The fi rst batch of student teachers conducted their practicums from 20 January to 18 February 2016 (30 days). Ten students from Valaya Alongkorn Rajabhat University (VRU) in Pathum Thani, Thailand were exchanged with 12 students from Universitas Negeri Makassar (UNM) in Indonesia for their practicum.

SEA-Teacher is one of the SEAMEO Secretariat’s fl agship programmes to support priority number 5, revitalising teacher education. The project aims to enable preservice student teachers to develop their teaching skills and pedagogies, encourage them to enhance their English skills, provide them an opportunity to gain broader regional and world views, and expose them to diverse teaching and learning situations and opportunities so they can imbibe the value of fl exibility.

The project happens twice a year, usually in January and July. Third- and fourth-year students majoring are in math, science, English, and preschool education are usually chosen as participants. The practicum lasts for one month and uses the cost-sharing model. Since the fourth batch (7 August–5 September 2017), students majoring in economics, primary or elementary, social science, and

physical education have been added to the list of possible programmeparticipants.

The students’ roles and responsibilities are divided into four stages. The receiving universities are responsible for determining the details of their practicum, including what school they will be assigned to perform assisted teaching in for a minimum of 20 hours. They will be provided mentors to supervise and monitor their practicum.

Following the conclusion of each practicum period, an evaluation meeting is hosted by the SEAMEO Secretariat in collaboration with the participating host university. The participants include representatives from teacher education institutions (TEIs) in Southeast Asia who were

Flagship Programme SEA-Teacher Project

By: Ms. Kanokwan Arreenich and Ms. Anti Rismayanti

“Yes, I’m ready to go, I am ready to face this decision I had made as I join the Preservice Student Teacher Exchange in Southeast Asia (SEA-Teacher) Project. I am ready to discover what this journey will bring me and what God has planned for me… Never in my life did I imagine that I will become an exchange student...” excitedly said Mr. Roberto Ramos, in his blog post found at https://robertoramosdotblog.wordpress.com.

Mr. Ramos is part of the fifth batch of participants to the SEA-Teacher Project. He is a fourth-year English major from the Mindoro State College of Agriculture and Technology (MinSCAT) in the Philippines. He was deployed at the Chiang Mai Rajabhat University (CMRU) in Thailand for a valuable and memorable one-month-long practicum.

SEAMAG 29

part of previous batches and those who are interested in participating in future ones. The meeting ensures that important lessons learned are shared with current and future participants for future improvement. The SEAMEO Secretariat co-hosted the fi fth evaluation meeting with Tadulako University on 3–4 April 2018 at the Mercure

SEA-Teacher Project

Students’ roles and responsibilities

Online orientation for student teachers

Hotel in Palu, Indonesia. A total of 84 universities, 47 of which were from Indonesia, one from Malaysia, 22 from the Philippines, and 14 from Thailand, expressed their interest in participating in the sixth batch that will last between 1 August and 10 September 2018.

30 SEAMAG

When SEA-Teacher began in 2016, 22 student teachers from two universities, one from Indonesia and the other from Thailand, benefi ted from the project. The fi fth batch (22 January–18 February 2018) benefi ted 343 student teachers from 57 universities in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. We can proudly say that the number of exchange students from the fi rst to the fi fth batch has signifi cantly increased. A total of 927 students

SEA-Teacher Project

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step,” said Lao Tzu.

“SEA-Teacher is a great opportunity for preservice teachers like me to enhance my teaching ability and adjust to a new environment while developing my English skills. We hope that the next batch will have more practice teachers from different countries,” said Ms. Florimae L. Gonzalo , a fourth-year student majoring in Music, Arts, Physical Education, and Health (MAPEH) education major at the University of Northern Philippines (UNP) in Vigan City on the SEA-Teacher blog (https://florimaegonzalo.wordpress.com/2018/02/15/the-journey-begins/). Ms. Gonzalo was /part of the fifth batch and was deployed at Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) in Surakarta, Indonesia.

“Now, we are ready to move forward and grow bigger together within the region.”

from over 75 universities in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand have benefi ted from the project in a short period of time. Many of the students said their one-month-long practicum changed their mind-set towards teaching and the way they lived. They gained more confi dence in their language profi ciency, developed their problem-solving skills, and gained a newfound respect for other Southeast Asian cultures.

SEAMAG 31

The Second SEAMEO Massive Open Online Courses (SEA-MOOCs) Forum for Network Development Meeting, organised by the SEAMEO Secretariat in collaboration with the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education of Indonesia, was held on 2–3 November 2017 in Bali. It aimed to support the 7 Priority Areas and the Ministers’ call for action as stated in the Bandung Statement and the Action Agenda for 2016. It also supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly providing accessible quality education for all (EFA). MoE representatives from Cambodia, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia attended the meeting, along with representatives from the SEAMEO Regional Open Learning Centre (SEAMOLEC), the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Educational Innovation and Technology (INNOTECH), the SEAMEO Regional Training Centre (RETRAC), the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Tropical Biology (BIOTROP), the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Higher Education and Development (RIHED), open universities (the UP Open University [UPOU], the Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University [STOU], the Hanoi Open University [HOU], and the Yangon University for Distance Learning, and Universiti Putra Malaysia.

The SEA-MOOCs Network aims to determine the status of MOOCs and ODL programmes in Southeast Asia, take stock of the challenges and opportunities in using MOOCs to meet the 7 Priority Areas, create a regional MOOCs network for promoting continuous and further dialogue, and formulate strategies to provide a platform for MOOCs to realise equitable and accessible quality EFA.

The meeting recommended that a task force that will develop the TOR and road map for the development of MOOCs in Southeast Asia be created. The fi rst two-day task force meeting was held on 7–8 March 2018 in

Pattaya, Thailand. It was organised by the SEAMEO Secretariat in collaboration with STOU and the Thailand Cyber University (TCU).

A total of 16 representatives from SEAMEO INNOTECH, SEAMEO RETRAC, SEAMEO SEAMOLEC, the Ministry of Higher Education in Malaysia, TCU, UPOU, the Open University of Malaysia, Universitas Terbuka, HOU, and STOU. The meeting established a task force to work on developing the SEA-MOOCs platform and activities for it, created a TOR for the network, identifi ed key issues that must be addressed to ensure that deliverables meet the targets, formulated a proposal to synergise all programmes in the region and better use them for EFA, and created a road map and time line for implementation.

The SEA-MOOCs Task Force serves as an ad hoc or “transitional” body that will facilitate initial initiatives until such time that the SEA-MOOCS Network has been fully organised and formalised. It will develop the SEA-MOOCs Network platform and activities, develop regional programmes that incorporate cross-institutional collaboration, and adapting key regional activities for the next three years from 2018 to 2020.

Flagship Programme SEA-MOOCs

By: Ms. Anti Rismayanti

VISIONA regional network promoting leadership in MOOCs development for learners in Southeast Asia.

MISSIONThe SEA-MOOCS Network provides accessible, inclusive, and quality innovative lifelong learningprogrammes in Southeast Asia.

32 SEAMAG

The forum agreed to conduct regular meetings twice a year to talk about the task force and the network. The meeting can be conducted back-to-back with key events. Coordination and other meetings, meanwhile, may be conducted virtually.

The four possible SEA-MOOCs fl agship projects were also identifi ed during the meeting. They were proposed and presented in a strategic lab session during the UNESCO Mobile Learning Week Project 2018 Meeting held on 27–28 March at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

SEA-MOOCs

Proposed SEA-MOOCs road map

Language MOOCs offered by OU5 on http://www.ou5.asia/ou5-language-courses/

SEAMAG 33

Achieving Quality Learning Outcomes Through SEA-PLM

SEA-PLM is a regional assessment tool that can serve as the bedrock of improving the quality of education in the region. It can also serve as a mirror that reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the educational systems of SEAMEO Member Countries.

Visit the SEA-PLM website at http://seaplm.org.

Flagship Programme SEA-PLM

By: Dr. Orawan Sriboonruang

Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) is the fi rst comprehensive large-scale regional assessment tool created by SEAMEO and UNICEF. It was initiated in 2012 to contribute towards improving and redefi ning learning outcomes by providing a regional culturally appropriate set of metrics to provide more equitable and meaningful education to all children in the region.

SEA-PLM is a regional assessment tool that measures the literacy of fi fth-grade students in reading, writing, math, and global citizenship. From 2013 to the fi rst quarter of 2018, the fi eld trials were completed in Brunei Darussalam, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The main survey will be conducted from 2019 to 2020 in all of the aforementioned seven countries.

The SEA-PLM development process emphasised local contexts. Test items were translated into the countries’ national languages, including Malay, Chinese, Tamil, Vietnamese, Burmese, Khmer, Laotian, and English. The questionnaires and operational manuals were all translated as well. Local experts from the participating countries closely worked with SEAMEO and UNICEF, aided technically by the Australian Council of Educational Research (ACER) and MoE in each country.

SEA-PLM also espoused strong emphasis on capacity building and government ownership and so includes 20 in-country and three regional capacity-building training sessions. These will contribute to framework and test development, test administrator training, translation and data management, marking and coding, and data entry and enhance the knowledge of the national assessment experts across the region.

SEA-PLM does not only aim to improve the quality of education through system-level monitoring of learner achievement, but also refl ect Southeast Asian values and contexts.

By 2025, all Southeast Asian countries should use regional standardised quality measures to assess the learning outcomes of fi fth-grade students in reading, writing, math, and global citizenship. They should also consistently use these to improve educational systems across the region.

Test administrators training workshop for the implementation of SEA-PLM held on 7–9 January 2018 in

Hanoi, Vietnam

34 SEAMAG

As an organisation mandated to nurture human capacity and explore people’s fullest potential, SEAMEO works towards and aspires to develop and build the capacity of Southeast Asians. As such, the SEAMEO Secretariat piloted a number of online activities in 2017 that comprise the SEAMEO Virtual Programmes. These consist of lectures and training sessions carried out via online platforms. The project seeks to introduce stakeholders to modern tools for educational delivery in support of priority number 7, adopting a 21st-century curriculum.

Initiated in March 2017, the SEAMEO Lecture Series was among the fi rst activities under the SEAMEO Virtual Programmes. It delivers a number of online lectures and training for individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds, including but not limited to policymakers, educators, practitioners, researchers, school administrators, and students in Southeast Asia. The SEAMEO Secretariat facilitates and manages free-of-charge online classes via video-conferencing and other software, primarily WebEx. It joined hands with SEAMEO regional centres and external

partners to fi nd highly committed lecturers and trainers to share their expertise. These organisations include the Princess Maha Chakri Foundation, the Teachers’ Council of Thailand, and the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA). The number of sessions per course varies, depending on the topic and the lecturer. Some courses have only one session while others have multiple sessions.

Under the SEAMEO Lecture Series umbrella, the SEAMEO-DAAD Lecture Series was also initiated. While it shares the same platform and targets the same group of audience, it is exclusively run in collaboration with the German Exchange Service (DAAD). DAAD brings in experts, usually its alumni, to give relevant thematic lectures per session. The completed activities in the SEAMEO Lecture Series and the SEAMEO-DAAD Lecture Series include “SEAMEO 1 Million Voices: Storytelling and Debate,” “SEA and Me,” “Game Development Training,” and “Edmodo Training.”

Flagship Programme SEAMEO Virtual Programmes

By: Mr. Tan Kedutat

SEAMAG 35

As of March 2018, SEAMEO Virtual Programmes has benefi ted over 8,000 participants from countries in Southeast Asia and beyond through a total of 47 courses.

The world is changing and what is effi cient and effective for education is also evolving. SEAMEO Virtual Programmes is taking advantage of this opportunity to achieve maximum effi ciency in building the capacity of people in Southeast Asia.

Online lecture series of the SEAMEO Secretariat and SEAMEO Regional Centre for Quality Improvement of Teachers and Education Personnel (QITEP) in Mathematics (SEAQIM)

Join the SEAMEO Virtual Programmes!

SEAMEO Virtual Programmes

36 SEAMAG

The results of the SEAMEO Regional Study on Post-2015 Education Scenarios and Post-EFA Education Agenda that ran from September 2013 to October 2014 identifi ed the SEAMEO 7 Priority Areas or the SEAMEO Education Agenda (2015–2035) during the fi rst SDEM held on 13 September 2014 in Vientiane, Lao PDR.

Revitalising teacher education emerged as a priority. A forum held on 15–16 August 2018 in Vientiane, Lao PDR believed that building teachers’ capacities will signifi cantly raise the bar in terms of educational equality and the quality of learning outcomes. Teachers and teaching should be a top concern of all MoEs and development agencies.

Without a doubt, teacher quality plays a key role in enhancing student achievement, improving learning outcomes, and enhancing school performance in terms of education and assessment. In pursuit of quality learning outcomes, teacher qualifi cations, motivations, and other school inputs related to student achievement are being considered for country investment.

The SEAMEO centres, Member Countries, and Associate Member Countries, along with partners that include WB, UNESCO Bangkok, UNICEF East Asia and the Pacifi c (EAPRO), UNICEF Lao PDR, DVV International, and Save the Child, shared best practices and lessons learned in promoting educational reform programmes to effectively and effi ciently improve quality learning outcomes.

Professional learning communities (PLCs) have been created to serve as a platform for sharing best strategies and learn from others. To enhance teachers’ capacity and strengthen potential collaboration in both the regional and international levels, SEAMEO Member Countries need to closely work with SEAMEO Centres.

It is crucial that SEAMEO centres, Member Countries, and Associate Member Countries share successful policies and strategies and best practices, particularly in developing and implementing systemwide reforms for curricular and policy development, teacher professional development, teacher motivation and assessment, and public spending to upgrade the quality of teachers to achieve quality learning outcomes.

News SpotlightThe Seventh Annual Forum for Basic Education

High Officials in SEAMEO Member Countries and Associate Member Countries

By: Dr. Orawan Sriboonruang

SEAMAG 37

SEAMEO recognises that schools located near borders face many ordeals. As an initiative to address priority numbers 2 and 3, addressing barriers to inclusion and promoting resilience in the face of emergencies, respectively, a consultative meeting on supporting border schools in Southeast Asia was held. This aimed to explore the challenges faced by communities, teachers, and students situated near the borders of Southeast Asian countries so possible interventions can be formulated to help them.

The visit to the Ban Namsang Secondary School, a K–12 school located in the Sangthong District of Vientiane, Lao PDR near the Thai-Lao border, took place on 16 August 2018. Offi cials of the MoES of Lao PDR, along with representatives from the MOEs of SEAMEO Member Countries, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore; the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Community Education Development (CED); SEAMEO QITEP in Science; and the SEAMEO Secretariat, conducted consultative interviews with the Principal, Vice Principal, District Governor, community members, parents, teachers, and students.

They found that the school has been facing numerous challenges in the past few years, including lack of qualifi ed teachers, environmental disasters, lack of textbooks and learning materials, low teacher motivation, lack of

infrastructure, high dropout rates, and health-related issues.

The school currently lacks two teachers, one in chemistry and another in ICT. Other teachers have been fi lling in even if the subjects were far from their fi elds of expertise. The school also lacked 12 classrooms. The MoES of Lao PDR has since been seeking to provide support.

For its part, the SEAMEO Secretariat gave one student a full scholarship for its training course on ICT in Bangkok, Thailand. A three-day in-country workshop to train science and math teachers will also be held for the Ban Namsang Secondary School by SEAMEO QITEP in Science, SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics, SEAMEO INNOTECH, and SEAMEO SEAMOLEC. The school will also be included in the Garden School Project of SEAMEO BIOTROP and SEAMEO CED.

The fi ndings urged SEAMEO to formulate plans and activities to support institutions like the Ban Namsang Secondary School so they can rise above challenges. Supporting them should not be the sole responsibility of governments, it should be dealt with at the regional level.

News Spotlight Field Visit to the SEAMEO Border School in Lao PDR

By: Dr. Orawan Sriboonruang

38 SEAMAG

History is supposed to guide students in choosing their future careers and making personal choices. However, many often fi nd it uninteresting. Bearing this in mind, the SEAMEO Regional Centre for History and Tradition (CHAT) hosted a workshop on 15–16 December 2016 in Yangon, Myanmar on effective ways to teach history in secondary schools to promote cooperation in the study of history and traditions in the region. The project supports priority numbers 5 and 7. The resource persons were experts in the fi eld of history curriculum and guideline planning for secondary teachers. A total of 40 participants, most of whom were involved in curriculum planning, attended the workshop. The topics included:

• The place of history in contemporary times

• History teaching in secondary schools and curriculum development in Cambodia

• History in the seven levels of secondary education according to the Lao curriculum

• History teaching in TEIs and universities

• Examining social studies or history curricula in the Philippines, along with the conceptual framework and programme standards

• Instructional planning and backwards design

• Effective ways of teaching history in Southeast Asian secondary schools

• How to study sources and artifacts using layers of inference and source kits and how to use scenario-based activities

• Basic education core curriculum in Thailand, including standards, key competencies, and desired characteristics

The second day of the workshop heavily emphasised research-based instructional strategies and teaching pedagogies, as shown by the following highlights:

• Showing photographs will encourage students to feel empathy for people with different social, cultural, economic, and political backgrounds.

• Using questions based on photographs, eyewitness accounts, and fi lms will help the students develop their understanding of concepts such as change and continuity or cause and consequence.

• Using songs can be a good way to train students in developing their comprehension.

• Using cartoons has proven effective in developing students’ HOTS.

• Symbols and monuments convey signifi cant information and messages regarding the history of a nation.

• Films and documentaries are powerful tools that articulate critical issues and concerns in the society.

• Examining news as a strategy validates the idea that what we teach in class is not only about relics and artifacts.

• Writing journals and refl ection papers is an effective postdiscussion strategy to teach students to be responsible for their own learning.

The workshop met its purpose. In addition to promoting teaching and learning history, the participants also had a chance to exchange ideas, research, resources, inspirations, and best practices.

SEAMEO CHAT Flagship Programme

Effective Ways to Teach History

SEAMAG 39

Southeast Asian countries have made great progress in improving access to basic education. However, while student participation has generally increased and dropout rates have fallen, challenges remain in ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. To address these challenges, the countries need to learn from one another and move towards making their vision a reality.

To strengthen Southeast Asian countries’ efforts to make lifelong learning more inclusive and gender-responsive, the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Lifelong Learning (SEAMEO CELLL) and the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) initiated a regional research and advocacy project for lifelong learning in 2016. The project, “Towards a Lifelong Learning Agenda in Southeast Asian Countries,” promotes the sharing of good practices in implementing holistic and integrated lifelong learning approaches that link different sectors and forms of learning across the region.

The project entails working with 11 SEAMEO Member Countries in close collaboration with SEAMEO CELLL’s Governing Board members and the UNESCO fi eld offi ces in Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. It will run until mid-2018 to strengthen mutual collaboration and knowledge-sharing at the regional level through the documentation and dissemination of holistic and comprehensive approaches to lifelong learning, the creation of an online knowledge-sharing platform, and coming up with recommendations to promote lifelong learning.

Phase 1 of the project (March 2016–March 2017) was accomplished with three major tangible outputs—the

collection of national reports on successful lifelong learning policies and practices from the 11 SEAMEO Member Countries, the publication of “Lifelong Learning in Transformation: Promising Practices in Southeast Asian Countries,” and the launch of the Southeast Asia Lifelong Learning Online Portal.

The 11 national reports are available at https://www.sea-lllportal.org/towards-a-lll-agenda-sea. These serve as good sources of information on lifelong learning practices and enabling policies for future research and policymaking.

The Southeast Asia Lifelong Learning Online Portal, http://www.sea-lllportal.org, was constructed and is being managed by SEAMEO CELLL. It was introduced by Dr. Jareonsettasin, the Minister of Education of Thailand and SEAMEO Council President, on 9 March 2017. It serves as a hub for lifelong learning policy information exchange and best practice dissemination for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners.

“Lifelong Learning in Transformation: Promising Practices in Southeast Asian Countries” was published by UIL in July 2017 to share promising policies and practices that promote lifelong learning and stimulate public policy dialogues on lifelong learning at the national and regional levels. The report draws on the national

SEAMEO CELLL Flagship Programme

Towards a Lifelong Learning Agenda in Southeast Asia

40 SEAMAG

reports from the countries and a wealth of literature, including offi cial documents from SEAMEO and relevant bilateral and international agreements from development agencies. The digital version of the compendium is found at https://www.sea-lllportal.org/towards-a-lll-agenda-sea-compendium.

Phase 2 of the project (April 2017–June 2018) shifted focus on policy dialogues in Southeast Asian countries to lay the foundation for concrete actions in advancing good practices and policy recommendations.

Despite the attention from and support of all countries, the project would make little impact without an effective channel to disseminate fi ndings and collaborate on implementation in a national context. SEAMEO CELLL thus invited its Governing Board members to organise in-country policy fora for key actors in lifelong learning provision both within and outside the education sector. This will promote lifelong learning and seek endorsement from government authorities. So far, three policy fora have been organised by the Department of Nonformal Education of the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) of Lao PDR in August 2017, the Department of Nonformal Education of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) of Cambodia in November 2017, and

the Centre for Development of Early Childhood Education and Community Education of the West Java Province in Indonesia in December 2017. Four other countries—the Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam—have also completed their national policy fora in the second quarter of 2018.

To further the impact, it is necessary to follow the policy fora with offi cial actions. The fi rst step is to transform outcomes into national action plans. These national action plans should be evidence-based and refl ect the countries’ commitment. Thus, the successful implementation of plans in Southeast Asia will constitute the most signifi cant output of this project.

The project has so far resulted in increased awareness of lifelong learning in the region, closer attention from governments, and better understanding of promising practices that can be applied in other countries. It is expected to result in positive changes in inclusive, gender-responsive lifelong learning policies and programmes in line with SDG 4, the SEAMEO 7 Priority Areas, the UNESCO 2016–2017 Programme, and SEAMEO CELLL’s First Five-Year Development Plan FY 2015–2016 to FY 2019–2020.

Towards a Lifelong Learning Agenda in Southeast Asia

SEAMAG 41

Mr. Benjie Alejo, a teacher from the Angel Salazar, Jr. Memorial School in San Jose de Buenavista in Antique, Philippines was browsing through the Facebook pages of fellow public schoolteachers when he read about the SEAMEO INNOTECH MOOC, “Teach On: Keeping the Passion Alive.”

In the comments section, Mr. Alejo saw teachers wonder if the information was legitimate because the course was offered free of charge. He has never taken any SEAMEO INNOTECH course but had the impression that the centre’s courses were of a high quality so he doubted whether he could take the course. He was also hesitant to enroll because he was afraid he could not keep up with the high demands and may not be able to complete the course requirements given his workload. But his desire to take a break from his “monotonous” teaching routine made him decide to give it a go.

At the end of the course, Mr. Alejo had absolutely no regrets. He was surprised that unlike other courses he had taken, which heavily focused on pedagogy, the course emotionally nourished him. He continued to describe his experience as an opportunity to “evaluate himself as a human being and a teacher… so he can enhance his soul and spirit to further educate children…” He believes teachers these days need inspiration and this is exactly what the course gave him. He and his wife, Charis, also a teacher, took the course together. They both successfully

completed it and earned an international certifi cate from SEAMEO INNOTECH.

SEAMEO INNOTECH serves as the organising body and a venue to discuss current and emerging educational issues, challenges, and innovations. Passion for teaching, teacher motivation, and helping teachers stay inspired have been discussed in its various training programmes, fora, and consultative meetings. This is consistent with the SEAMEO 7 Priority Areas, which includes revitalising teacher education.

From 2016 to 2017, SEAMEO INNOTECH’s ongoing online courses both for school heads and teachers have catered to around 19,000 educators throughout Southeast Asia, the majority of whom were from the Philippines.

SEAMEO INNOTECH has recognised the potential to further expand its reach and accessibility to help revitalise teacher education through MOOCs. As such, MOOCs were selected to be the delivery mechanism for the following courses on passion for teaching:

• Igniting Passion for Teaching, a 10-hour noncertifi cate course implemented from July 29 to 15 September 2017

• Teach On: Keeping the Passion Alive, a 30-hour certifi cate course implemented from 29 January to 30 March 2018

The learners determined the pace at which they went through the course activities. This worked well with teachers like Mr. Alejo who normally had extra time at

SEAMEO INNOTECH Flagship Programme

Keeping the Passion of Southeast Asian Teachers Alive

By: Ms. Joan Atienza

42 SEAMAG

home. The course materials and activities made use of videos, discussion fora, self-refl ection, peer assessment, sharing in the form of online exhibits, and other interactive activities.

The fi rst course attracted a total of 1,010 learners while the second had a total of 4,349 learners. The number of learners for both courses clearly showed the success of the delivery mechanism. In a single year, the courses reached about a third of the number that SEAMEO INNOTECH physically trained in 11 years.

MOOCs as a delivery mechanism also allowed the centre to tap more resource persons. In the second course, nine stories of passionate teachers were featured. Four experts from different universities provided insights on the academic and theoretical perspectives of passion.

The courses, however, also attracted learners from other Southeast Asian countries. In fact, 11 percent of the participants in the second course were from outside the Philippines. The variety in geographical coverage was unprecedented as far as SEAMEO INNOTECH’s previous teacher education programmes were concerned. The fact that the courses were free of charge, self-paced, and open to all allowed simultaneous and unhindered reach to a greater number of educators.

Surprisingly, the majority of enrollees were fi rst-time online learners (69 percent for the fi rst course and 83 percent for the second course). This is interesting in that we originally expected those with previous online learning experience to take the course. When asked for their reasons for enrolling, the majority (72 percent) cited they were looking for continuing professional development opportunities.

Both courses garnered very high ratings from the participants. Some 99 percent of the learners gave

the courses an aggregate rating of excellent and very satisfactory. The same number of learners said they would recommend the course to others as well.

The video materials used in the courses got very high ratings as well (average of 97.6 percent). While most of the participants learned about the courses from SEAMEO INNOTECH’s letter to MoEs, it is interesting to note that 16 percent of the takers of the second course learned about it through Facebook. The Project Management Team intentionally utilised Facebook not only for information dissemination, but also to provide learner support. A Facebook marketing and promotion initiative was set in motion that clearly resulted in actual results.

Though the courses were nongraded, they had very high participation rates (30 percent for the fi rst course and 51 percent for the second course). The participants took part in activities such as discussion fora, document submissions, virtual wall sharing, and others.

SEAMEO INNOTECH will continue to develop programmes for teachers using its “Competency Framework for Southeast Asian Teachers” as anchor.

Keeping the Passion of Southeast Asian Teachers Alive

SEAMAG 43

SEAMEO RECFON envisions to become a centre of excellence (CoE) for human resource development in the fi eld of food and nutrition in Southeast Asia. As such, it has been disseminating lessons learned from one of its fl agship programmes, Nutrition Goes to School (NGTS). The NGTS Programme was introduced in 2015 in Indonesia, spurred on by the documented facts on nutritional practices of the students that include not eating breakfast regularly; not bringing food from home; poor consumption of fruits and vegetables; and high consumption of sweet drinks and processed food high in sugar, salt, and oil or fat. Data from most nationwide surveys refelected these practices, which contributed to nourishment-related problems among schoolchildren such as stunting, being underweight or overweight, anemia, and obesity.

The NGTS Framework

To establish aligned and synchronised efforts, the NGTS Programme operates within the NGTS Framework. The programme aims to produce active, well-nourished, and smart (AWESOME) schoolchildren using the following approaches:

• Active: Students perform physical activities (daily chores, sports, etc.) 30 minutes a day at least fi ve days a week as recommended by the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Indonesia (2014).

• Well-nourished: Students have a body mass index (BMI) that falls within the normal range published by the World Health Organization (WHO) (2006).

• Smart: Students reduce their number of absences due to sickness and show improved academic performance.

To reach its aims, SEAMEO RECFON used the DEPPIS approach, which comprises four components that needed

to be done simultaneously to result in a sustainable programme.

• DEmand: This component motivates the creation of demand to choose healthier food by fi rst improving students’ knowledge then skills. It also infl uences them to practice healthier behaviours such as personal hygiene. This component uses means such as training and building the capacity of NGTS partners to train schoolteachers and education personnel.

• suPply: This component emphasises secure access to supplies of safer, varied, and nutritious food in school. It works to improve the food environment in school to fi t the demand and encourage them to maintain good nutritional practices. The efforts in it include training food handlers in school canteens and food vendors around schools to improve the quality of the food and drinks they sell. Schools can also explore the potential of partnering with food companies to provide fortifi ed food and create school gardens to encourage the preference for and consumption of fruits and vegetables.

• Policy: This component is responsible for the establishment of policies and their reinforcement at the school level and beyond. It mainly works to

SEAMEO RECFON Flagship Programme

NTGS Programme

“Nutrition is both a maker and marker of development. Improved nutrition is the platform for progress in health, education, employment, empowerment of women, and reduction of poverty and inequality and can lay the foundation for peaceful, secure, and stable societies.”

—Ban Ki-moonUN Eighth Secretary-GeneralA message for the Scaling Up

Nutrition (SUN) Movement Strategy andRoad Map 2016–2020

44 SEAMAG

establish and maintain the good nutrition or health norms within the schools’ domains. Simultaneous consultative meetings and advocacy efforts targeting school decision makers and related stakeholders are key to making this work.

• IS: Once the three aforementioned components work synergistically, an information system (IS) is needed to provide a communication platform for sharing lessons learned and monitoring. Using IT tools will make communication effi cient and supports the call for digital learning.

Experiential-Based Module Development

A 2016 study conducted by SEAMEO RECFON found that the challenges teachers face include lack of knowledge and confi dence in teaching nutrition-related topics and limited access to materials and teaching aids.

All of the school-based projects under the NGTS Programme rely on well-designed teaching modules. As such, SEAMEO RECFON has committed to invest in the development of such modules. A series of focus group discussions (FGDs) and consultative meetings with teachers, principals, other education personnel, and relevant stakeholders from the MoH and the Ministry of

Education and Culture (MoEC) of Indonesia have been fi nished and will continuously be conducted to support the development of teaching modules. Best practices and challenges in teaching nutrition- and health-related topics have been documented and content simplifi cation will be done to improve delivery.

Module development involved selected schoolteachers in writing and lesson planning. Lesson plans are being designed to respond to tight academic schedules that teachers and education personnel have to deal with. These will equip teachers and education personnel on ways to convey nutrition messages through fun and interactive activities.

Partnerships in the NGTS Programme

SEAMEO RECFON continuously works with partners to amplify coverage and improve delivery. The NGTS Programme is implemented in collaboration with partners including other SEAMEO centres in Indonesia, MoH, local health offi ces, public health-care centres, MoEC, local education offi ces, the National Food and Drug Agency, the Food Security Council, nutrition academies, universities, local governments (at the provincial and district levels), nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), and members of the private sector.

As of February 2018, the NGTS Programme has benefi ted 1,489 students, 1,978 teachers and school principals, 819 schools, and 110 other benefi ciaries (other professionals from various fi elds such as nutrition, health care, agriculture, psychology, etc.) in 18 provinces throughout Indonesia.

The NGTS Programme will be expanded to other Southeast Asian countries in 2018. The projects include a local food-based diet optimisation programme for primary schoolchildren in the Philippines and an assessment of obesogenic environments in schools in Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, and Singapore.

NTGS Programme

SEAMAG 45

11th Regional Congress Search for SSYS

shells combined with bamboo wastes to reduce the amount of harmful elements that affect bodies of water. Student researchers, Nattawut Thongudomsakoun and Dedvalab Farman, from the Kiettisack International School in Lao PDR took home the “Most Promising Young Scientist Award” for the Science Congress for their project, “Extracting Iron Ions for Water Purifi cation Using Carbon from Coconut Shells and Bamboo Wastes.”

Meanwhile, the winning project for the Mathematics Congress of student researchers, Wong Kai Wern and Raymond Chow Yin Hong, showcased a newly developed algorithm that can be integrated in webcams so these can conveniently and accurately measure the real-time concentration of atmospheric aerosols (PM10) in the air. Both students from Heng Ee High School in Malaysia were awarded the “Most Promising Young Scientist Award” for the Mathematics Congress for their project, “Developing an Algorithm to Determine the Concentration of Atmospheric Aerosols (PM10) with a Webcam.”

Student researchers, Lorenz Simoun P. Dela Cruz, Marion Rodelle M. Minano, Khristine B. Bancod, and Angela Mae Apolonio from the Las Piñas City National Science High School in the Philippines won the “Best Overall Award for the Science Exhibit” for their project, “Evaluating Corn Husks (Zea Mays) as Reinforcement in Producing Natural Fibre Composites.”

All of the winners were recognised and awarded by the Guest of Honour, Dr. Muhadjir Effendy, Minister of

SEAMEO RECSAM Flagship Programme

Youth Creativity for Harmonising SDGs

By: Ms. Wong Lai Cheng and Ms. Khor Sim Suan

The youth have the greatest stake in the future so they must be engaged as agents of innovation and change. The youth around the world have made valuable contributions to sustainable development and their efforts must be considered when developing policies that aim to support and encourage innovation. To shed light on how the youth in the region are using new approaches and perspectives to develop solutions to achieve the SDGs, the 11th Regional Congress Search for SEAMEO Young Scientists (SSYS) was held at the SEAMEO RECSAM offi ce in Penang, Malaysia on 26 February–2 March 2018. A total of 213 participants comprising 183 student and teacher delegates from the 11 SEAMEO Member Countries, nine judges, four workshop facilitators, and 17 observers attended the event.

To develop, support, and drive young minds towards a sustainable future, the theme for this year’s regional congress was “Youth Creativity for Harmonising SDGs,” which is in line with SEAMEO RECSAM’s focus on promoting science and mathematics education in Southeast Asia within the context of SDGs. A total of 61 entries with 31 research projects for the Science Congress and 18 for the Mathematics Congress were received. The congress delegates presented their projects prior to the judging during the exhibit. Due to the overwhelming number of science project submissions, 12 projects were preselected for exhibition.

The winning project for the Science Congress demonstrated the use of activated carbon from coconut

46 SEAMAG

Education and Culture of Indonesia and SEAMEO Council President. In his closing remarks, Dr. Muhadjir Effendy said, “The principles of sustainability must be embedded in students’ projects and it is important to develop the educational experience at all levels focusing on sustainable development.” He was thankful that the congress can bring together student delegates with diverse cultural backgrounds to share their ideas and experiences through their scientifi c research. The congress’s theme indeed addressed a pertinent global issue—safeguarding natural resources against depletion to achieve sustainable development.

Ms. Khor Sim Suan, Acting Centre Director, congratulated the student and teacher delegates for their concerted effort to apply scientifi c and mathematical knowledge to solve problems and achieve sustainability. She hoped the activities of the congress would encourage the development of the youth’s analytical mind, creativity, and HOTS.

The panel of judges for the Science Congress included Dr. Fishman Alexander from Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University in Russia, Dr. Bulent Cavas from Dokuz Eylul

University in Turkey, and Dr. Ong Eng Tek from Sultan Idris Education University in Malaysia. The Mathematics Congress judges, meanwhile, included Dr. Sun Xiaotian from the Minzu University in China, Dr. Ivan R. Vysotskiy from the Centre of Educational Excellence (Department of Education) in Moscow, and Ms. Mary Jane O’Callaghan from the Curtin University and Curtin College in Western Australia. The Science Exhibit judges included Dr. Norizan Esa from Universiti Sains in Malaysia and Dr. Parvinder Singh and Dr. Yeoh Poh Choo from the Teacher Education Institute, Penang Campus.

The judges were impressed by the high standards of entries and excellent projects and did not fi nd it easy to choose the winners. The research projects were all evaluated on originality or ingenuity, scientifi c and mathematical thought process, research method and process, impact to the society, educational and commercial value, and the opinions of the student researchers.

Overall, SSYS is a platform that provides opportunities for young Southeast Asian scientists to analyse current problems and come up with potential solutions for them. It is considered a worthy intellectual venture and an effective medium to promote lifelong scientifi c and mathematical values, interests, skills, attitudes, and motivations among the youth. The 11th Regional Congress SSYS 2018 not only provided participants enriching experiences, but also fostered the formation of regional friendships and networks. We look forward to the 12th Regional Congress SSYS, which will be held in 2020.

Youth Creativity for Harmonising SDGs

SEAMAG 47

The SEAMEO Regional Language Centre (RELC) Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Linguistics (PGDAL) was fi rst introduced in February 1972. It is regarded as the centre’s fl agship course that aims to provide participants a theoretical background in Applied Linguistics and the ability to apply theories in teaching while leading, guiding, and training language teachers. The diploma also aims to develop a spirit of regional cooperation among educators in the region.

From Face-to-Face to Blended

Over 1,000 teachers have been awarded PGDAL since 1972. While the length, content, and delivery mode have changed over the years in response to changing needs and developments, the course continues to be recognised for its quality and relevance to teachers in the region.

Starting 2013, the course was offered in blended mode, which enabled SEAMEO RELC to stay relevant and keep pace with developments in e-learning to attract a wider and more diverse group of participants and utilise resources more effi ciently.

The blended course comprises three phases:

• Phase 1: Six weeks residential at RELC.

• Phase 2: 12 weeks in the participants’ home countries.

• Phase 3: Four weeks residential at RELC.

Participants typically complete six modules, three of which are delivered in blended mode, which combines online and face-to-face teaching, while the other three are delivered entirely face-to-face at the SEAMEO RELC offi ce. During the online phase, participants access recorded lectures and course readings, participate in forum discussions, and submit assignments online.

Two unique features of the blended PGDAL are the “sandwich” model with a residential phase at the beginning and end and the requirement to take on-site examinations for each module. These features contributed to high completion rates, enhanced the learning experience of participants, and promoted the formation of communities of practice. The on-site examinations ensure the integrity of the course, facilitating the recognition and transferability of credits earned for relevant modules to the Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (MATESOL) offered by the Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) to participants who wish to continue their learning.

A total of 65 participants have taken the course since 2013 and 88 percent have passed in the past fi ve years.

SEAMEO RELC Flagship Programme

Blended Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Linguistics

Course participants with Prof. Jack Richards, Adjunct Professor on PGDAL

PGDAL participants in Academic Year (AY) 2016

48 SEAMAG

Due to the high level of satisfaction with the course and lecturers, Blended PGDAL has been dubbed successful in achieving its objectives.

International Recognition and Transferability

SEAMEO RELC’s Blended Diploma is recognised by renowned international institutions, including the National University of Singapore, the National Institute of Education Singapore at the Nanyang Technological University, and VUW in New Zealand.

Future Direction

To enhance the value of the course and ensure its relevance to the region, changes will be made to its content this year to refl ect current trends and meet the needs of a changing profi le of language teachers. New modules such as “Issues in Applied Linguistics” and “Technology Enhanced Language Learning” will be introduced and the content of more traditional modules such as “Second Language Acquisition” and “Pedagogical Grammar” will be integrated in other existing modules. With these changes, the revised Blended PGDAL will be an even more relevant and unique course that better serves the needs of teachers in the region and beyond.

PGDAL participants in AY 2017

Blended Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Linguistics

Download our publications for free at http://seameo.org.

SEAMAG 49

SEAMEO SEAMOLEC in Jakarta, Indonesia is one of the 26 centres under the auspices of SEAMEO that focuses on promoting ODL. It believes that distance education is the solution to many problems regarding access to regular services. To enhance and promote a learning culture through ICT within the region, SEAMEO SEAMOLEC has been actively developing innovations in online courses and programmes.

SEAMEO SEAMOLEC MOOC

One of SEAMEO SEAMOLEC’s innovations to support its mandate is the SEAMEO SEAMOLEC MOOC. This was

designed based on the philosophy of open and fl exible learning. Through this platform, people can learn and gain knowledge on their own from self-instructional materials such as text and video tutorials. All materials come in the form of open educational resources (OERs) and MOOCs. SEAMEO SEAMOLEC MOOC is a platform for online training. To help its users learn effectively, SEAMEO SEAMOLEC provides preonline courses to become familiar with the platform and systems.

SEAMEO SEAMOLEC MOOC has more than 1,000 OERs and MOOCs. Since its launch in April 2016, it has benefi ted more than 30,000 users from Southeast Asia and beyond. Its number of online course participants has been

SEAMEO SEAMOLEC Flagship Programme

Efforts to Enhance the ICT Culture Within the Region

By: Ms. Aline Almandha

The world is becoming more globalised, there is no doubt about that. We are aware that we live in an era where most of the things in life are influenced by technology. This phenomenon has changed the ways of study, work,and implementation in the field of learning. Open and online learning is an innovation that aims to be accessedby anyone and anywhere as long as they have internet connection. It is open to everyone with minimal entry qualifications.

Open and online learning have numerous benefits such as a flexible schedule, no time and place boundaries, 24 x 7 accessibility to course materials, instructors from around the world, and the possibility of getting higher grades because students learn at their own pace.

SEAMEO SEAMOLEC MOOC system

50 SEAMAG

increasing over time, the majority of whom are teachers from junior- and senior-high and vocational schools.

ODL Programme for West Java, Indonesia

To improve human resources at the national level and create a model for implementation across the region, SEAMEO SEAMOLEC is actively developing an ODL programme for West Java, Indonesia. Recognising the benefi ts of fl exible learning, the West Java Regional Offi ce of Education decided to pilot distance learning with the help of SEAMEO SEAMOLEC. It hopes to encourage 19–21-year-old residents to complete their secondary education by providing distance learning opportunities should they have limited access to regular schools. Two types of distance learning implementations were offered, for which senior-high and vocational schools will lend their learning centres.

This project involves many stakeholders. SEAMEO SEAMOLEC is deeply involved in developing the general design, including creating guidelines, adjusting the curriculum, creating instructional materials, and training teachers.

The Learning Management System (LMS) for the distance learning programme, Sistem Informasi Pembelajaran Jarak Jauh (SIAJAR) or the Distance Learning IS, has a powerful set of features to create and manage courses, learning evaluations, communication fora, and student

attendance and performance tracking. SIAJAR can be accessed at http://jass.disdik.jabarprov.go.id. Over time, students are expected to become more familiar with online learning activities and the medium, which is critical as they do not use face-to-face interaction.

To date, the LMS has more than 7,000 accounts belonging to teachers, tutors, and class administrators, along with more than 17,000 student accounts. It contains more than 1,700 learning objects. It is undergoing further development to provide better digital class experiences for distance learning students.

SEAMEO SEAMOLEC will continuously provide benefi cial services to the region to help SEAMEO Member Countries fi nd alternative solutions to lack of education such as ODL. We will keep initiating more innovations to improve the quality of education in line with our motto, “Reaching the Unreachable, Making the World One World of Learning.”

Conceptual framework of the West Java ODL Programme

Efforts to Enhance the ICT Culture Within the Region

SEAMAG 51

The SEAMEO Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA)—one of the fi rst centres established by SEAMEO—is primarily a capacity-building institution that provides high-quality graduate education and training in agriculture and related fi elds. It also conducts research to address the agricultural and rural development needs and problems of the region and shares knowledge gleaned from such research through the national and international conferences and workshops that it convenes.

School and Home Gardens

SEAMEO SEARCA spearheaded the “Participatory Action Research on School- and Community-Based Food and Nutrition Programme for Literacy, Poverty Reduction, and Sustainable Development,” also known as the School and Home Gardens Project (SHGP). Jointly implemented by SEAMEO SEARCA, UP Los Baños (UPLB), and the Department of Education (DepEd) of the Philippines and funded by ADB and the SEAMEO College through the SEAMEO Secretariat, the project aims to contribute to priority numbers 1, 2, and 3.

Piloting the ISARD Models

SEAMEO SEARCA also addresses barriers to inclusion and uses innovation in educational delivery and management by piloting and upscaling effective models of inclusive and sustainable agricultural and rural development (ISARD) using academe as entry points to the two pilot sites, both of which are resource-poor areas in the Philippines.

SEAMEO SEARCA partnered with local governments and state universities in each site to improve farmers’ agricultural productivity, income, and food and nutrition security. The project helped farmers fi nd solutions to problems in producing high-value crops by applying principles of sustainable agriculture and agricultural food value chains.

Competency Standards for Agricultural Workers

“Towards Developing Competency Standards for Agricultural Workers in Selected ASEAN Countries” supports the priority number 4. It intends to facilitate the adoption and implementation of guiding protocols for recognising competency certifi cation systems for agricultural workers. It convenes regional workshops on competency certifi cation to initiate the creation of a recognition process for fi ve alternative model schools that are already implementing certifi cation for agricultural workers. This initiative addresses the need for increased labour mobility and exchange brought about by the ASEAN Economic Integration (AEI).

UC

SEAMEO SEARCA has made great strides in harmonising higher education and research and adopting a 21st-century curriculum via its active involvement in the Southeast Asian University Consortium (UC) for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources, which it initiated in 1989. UC now comprises nine strong universities around the globe. At present, it is implementing innovative programmes that support nontraditional modalities to enhance graduate education and research in Southeast Asia.

SEAMEO SEARCA Flagship Programme

Turning the SEAMEO Education Agenda into Reality

52 SEAMAG

Higher Education Networks

SEAMEO SEARCA also supports the priority numbers 6 and 7 through its involvement in Asian and European higher education networks, including the Food Security Centre of the University of Hohenheim in Germany; Exchange by Promoting Quality Education, Research, and Training in South and Southeast Asia; Asia: Life Sciences, Food, Agriculture, Biology, Economics and Technology; and the Asian Association of Agricultural Colleges and Universities. Its active membership in these networks have opened more prospects for collaboration in capacity building, including joint graduate scholarships, nontraditional scholarship modalities, training activities, and other knowledge-sharing events.

HEI Assistance

Under its Institutional Development Assistance (IDA) Programme, SEAMEO SEARCA provides support to young and strategic agricultural universities to equip them with the needed resources to cater to the demand for human resources that would boost economic development in the region. The universities supported by IDA include the Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) in Cambodia, the Savannakhet University (SKU) in Lao PDR, the Yezin Agricultural University (YAU) in Myanmar, and the National University of Timor-Leste. SEAMEO SEARCA has conducted various courses, workshops, and training sessions and awarded scholarships to upgrade and harmonise the curricula of these universities as well.

Leadership Training

SEAMEO SEARCA also contributes to priority numbers 6 and 7 through its Leadership Excellence in Academe Programme for Southeast Asia (LEAP SEA). Offered since 2009, the programme has honed 141 leaders of agricultural higher education institutions (HEIs) in the region to craft strategic curricula in agriculture and related fi elds.

AgriMuseum and Learning Centre

A bold departure from traditional capacity-building initiatives in keeping with the digital age is SEAMEO SEARCA’s move to establish the Southeast Asian AgriMuseum and Learning Centre. The brainchild of its current Director, Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr., SEAMEO SEARCA sees the interactive education facility as an alternative to enticing interest in agriculture not only among the youth, but also among key players in the agriculture sector and the general public. The museum is aligned with priority number 7. Although it will feature choice artifacts as typical museums do, AgriMuseum will use state-of-the-art digital displays and IT equipment to showcase the dynamism of agriculture, its centrality to the lives of people in the region, and its importance to overall national and regional development.

Turning the SEAMEO Education Agenda into Reality

As SEAMEO’s leading centre for agriculture, SEAMEO SEARCA strives to continually develop programmes grounded on the agricultural and rural development needs of SEAMEO Member Countries. The dependence of the region on agriculture puts SEARCA’s programmes at the forefront of development efforts inline with the goals of SEAMEO.

SEAMAG 53

One of the important skills for sustainability and securing food resources is the practice of urban agriculture. Urban agriculture is defi ned as any agricultural activity that grows, raises, processes, and distributes agricultural products, regardless of land size and number of human resources, within cities and towns (Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN [FAO], 2000). For people with disabilities, having the skills, knowledge, and access to space for urban agriculture would mean an opportunity to secure food and generate income. Thus, providing them with specifi c skills to practice urban agriculture would reduce barriers to inclusion and allow them to lead meaningful and independent lives. In the context of the SEAMEO 7 Priority Areas, urban agriculture is framed within priority number 2, as it means to develop learning- or skills-based programmes to promote life skills development for everyone, especially those with disabilities.

The advantages of practicing urban agriculture for students with disabilities include:

• Improved nutrition status of the individual and household as well as improved food security: This contributes to the household economy, either in the form of food or income, with the added benefi t of greater empowerment for the person with disability and greater social inclusion.

• Employment for persons with disabilities who often suffer unemployment or underemployment: Agriculture is an income-generating activity that allows a person with disabilities to become self-employed, rather than being dependent on others.

Empowering Urban Agriculture Training for SPED Teachers

Since 2015, the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Special Education (SEN) and SEAMEO BIOTROP have been working together to run courses on urban agriculture for Malaysian special education (SPED) teachers. The fl agship programme was designed to enable SPED teachers to acquire basic knowledge and skills on specifi c technologies appropriate for urban agriculture, with the expectation that such could be adopted in their respective schools and benefi t their students. The fi rst training session was held in the SEAMEO BIOTROP offi ce in Bogor in May 2015, attended by 12 teachers from SPED Integrated Programmes from states in Malaysia and SPED teachers from Indonesia. The teachers were exposed to various urban agriculture techniques that use technology with the help of experts from SEAMEO BIOTROP. The teachers then transferred their learning to students with disabilities in their respective schools.

Following the good response and continuous participation, the second training session was held at the Institut Penyelidikan Dan Kemajuan Pertanian Malaysia (MARDI) offi ce in Selangor in August 2017. A total of 30 SPED teachers from various states in Malaysia were invited to participate in this programme, which was organised with SEAMEO BIOTROP and SEAMEO SEN. The participants were given a chance to learn urban agriculture techniques from experts. At present, the participants are conducting urban agriculture activities in their respective schools so they can come up with and submit follow-up reports in June 2018.

The third training session will be conducted for SPED teachers in Vietnam in collaboration with SEAMEO CELLL, SEAMEO BIOTROP, and the Nong Lam University this year once technical and logistics matters are fi nalised.

Empowering Teachers to Empower Students with Disabilities

In the fi eld of SPED, understanding and implementing urban agriculture is now very much the contention and focus. Activities that involve children with disabilities have to be safe, encourage the use of physical strength, and develop their cognitive abilities to comprehend tasks and activities. SEAMEO SEN is committed to educate SPED

SEAMEO SEN Flagship Programme

Urban Agriculture for SPED Teachers

54 SEAMAG

teachers on urban agriculture. Urban agriculture is safe, adaptable, and suited for the practice of students with disabilities. With appropriate instruction, support, and adaptation, urban agriculture can become a lifelong skill that would help students with disabilities lead healthy and meaningful lives.

Urban agriculture uses three techniques—composting, hydroponics, and fertigation. These are clean and safe. Composting is green, as it uses nonchemical products to encourage the decomposing process and reduces wastes such as yard trimmings and food residue that are usually dumped in landfi lls. Composting is all about waste reduction, fertiliser creation, and effectively reusing and recycling organic waste materials. Hydroponics, meanwhile, requires caring for hydroponic plants. Using water and chemicals, these plants would need simple monitoring and care. Finally, fertigation is a planting technique that uses fertilisers that are constantly irrigated. The plants are planted in small pots fi lled with soilless

media such as coconut coir dust and rice husk ash. The system is clean and easy to manage once the irrigation system is set up, only minimal supervision and care is needed. These three are safe and doable for students with disabilities.

Urban agriculture techniques are friendly and highly adaptable for students with disabilities. It offers them an opportunity for self-development and independent living. It is a source of healthy food and income and a means to live a clean-and-green lifestyle. SEAMEO SEN is commited to run training to upscale the capacity and develop the skills of SPED teachers. Smart collaboration with SEAMEO BIOTROP and MARDI Malaysia ensured that the training receives the necessary support in the form of facilities and experts. These types of collaboration should be replicated and extended to other SEAMEO Member Countries and centres and international and government bodies to ensure sustainability.

Urban Agriculture for SPED Teachers

Composting activity in SK Hj Nyaj Gam in Yan, Kedah, Malaysia

Fertigation technique used in SMK Bandar Penawar in Kota Tinggi, Johor, Malaysia

SEAMAG 55

STEM has become a hot topic in today’s world of education. According to Livescience (2014), it is an interdisciplinary and applied approach that integrates science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) into a cohesive learning paradigm based on real-world applications.

SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics carries a vital role in contributing to SEAMEO’s success in achieving priority number 7, adopting a 21st-century curriculum. It aims to provide high-quality education that is relevant to the 21st century. Accordingly, the Centre regularly innovates its programmes to meet the signifi cantly increasing needs of math teachers. One of its innovations is to roll down STEM education in Southeast Asia. As such, it started including important lessons on STEM for teachers in all of its programmes.

In its fi rst regular course in 2018, SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics introduced project-based learning using the STEM approach. The participants, primary schoolteachers from seven SEAMEO Member Countries, were enthusiastic about the approach. They were challenged to integrate math in engineering education. Working in groups of fi ve, they were asked to build two catapults, which had to differ in key design. These handmade catapults underwent three different tests to determine their accuracy and power. After completing the course, the teachers were expected to encourage their students to do the same hands-on activity to create a joyful learning atmosphere.

Other sessions in the next course for Southeast Asian Realistic Mathematics Education also had STEM-related themes. Realising the importance of STEM education, the Centre invited Assoc. Prof. Maarten Dolk, a researcher and developer at the Freudenthal Institute for Science and Mathematics Education in the Netherlands. He introduced STEM education by exploring related activities. By modelling mathematics, he encouraged participants to think thoroughly. They worked in small groups and used ice-cream sticks, marbles, and a die to understand how epidemics occurs. The activities proved meaningful for the participants because they knew their prediction could be explained using a variety of simple mathematics models.

STEM-related themes have also been discussed in cross-border lesson study. The programme hosted by SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics uses global issues that transcend geopolitical boundaries in the mathematical context. The centre, together with the Khon Kaen University in Thailand, prepared a worksheet for further WebEx discussions. The programme involved students from both Indonesia and Thailand.

SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics also publishes STEM-related articles on its offi cial website to inform people, especially math teachers, that STEM is undoubtedly important if we are to solve many of the world’s challenges. The centre intends to intensively engage Southeast Asia math teachers in teaching and learning STEM. In turn, they can ensure that their students have the opportunity to also be inspired and become future leaders in the fi eld.

SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics Flagship Programme

Encouraging Teacher Interest in STEM Education

56 SEAMAG

The 21st century is marked by the rapid development in ICT, which is changing the way we learn, conduct work, and form social relationships. The changes are causing many challenges for education. As such, schools should provide students with the skills that will enable them to face these challenges. Some authors (Carrol, 2007; Trilling and Fadel, 2009; and P21) noted that 21st-century skills are critical to accomplish the necessary transformation.

To prepare students to acquire 21st-century skills, teachers must transition from traditional teaching to modern educational practices. The traditional approach to teaching science is primarily based on the retention and use of formulas, facts, and fi gures, which does not help students develop a signifi cant conceptual framework of understanding. On the other hand, modern educational practices promote critical and creative thinking, fl exible problem solving, collaboration, and innovation that

are necessary to become successful in work and life (Wenning, 2017).

One of the modern education practices that can be used to achieve these skills is inquiry-based learning (IBL). IBL can maximise students’ ability to search and investigate something systematically, critically, logically, collaboratively, and analytically so they can formulate their own fi ndings with confi dence. However, teachers, especially primary teachers, fi nd it diffi cult to apply IBL in the classroom. As noted by Wenning (2017), when teachers think that science is what scientists do, they often encounter grave diffi culties in trying to conduct an inquiry-based lesson. They need an operational defi nition of IBL to structure educational activities. Wenning (2005) thus characterised IBL through Levels of Inquiry (LOI) or the Inquiry Spectrum.

SEAMEO QITEPin Science Flagship Programme

Implementing the Inquiry Model in Primary Schools

Discovery learning

Interactive demonstration

Inquiry lesson Inquiry lab Real-world application

Hypothetical theory

Lower Intellectual sophistication Higher

Teacher Locus of control Students

The Inquiry Spectrum adapted from Wenning’s LOI Journal (2005)

The Inquiry Spectrum shows various inquiry-oriented teaching practices in relation to one another. LOI consist of six levels—level 1 is discovery learning; level 2, interactive demonstration; level 3, inquiry lesson; level 4, inquiry lab; level 5, real-world application; and level 6, hypothetical theory. Note that LOI primarily differ based on intellectual sophistication and locus of control. The locus of control shifts from the teacher to the student, moving from left to right along the continuum. In discovery learning, the teacher is in nearly complete control; in hypothetical inquiry the work depends almost entirely upon the student. Intellectual sophistication likewise increases continuously from discovery learning through hypothetical inquiry. The thought processes required to control an activity are shifted from the teacher to the student as practices progress towards the right along the continuum.

SEAMEO QITEP in Science conducted research related to LOI to analyse the implementation of the learning model by primary teachers in class. LOI was a new learning model for them. As such, they were trained before implementing the model. A feedback session after the training was also held. Their LOI implementations were then analysed to give a clear picture of the practice in the primary level.

The research was qualitative-descriptive in nature. Descriptive research designs help provide answers to who, what, when, where, and how. Through it, we obtained information concerning the LOI implementation in a chosen primary school. Three sixth-grade teachers participated in the study. They were given an observation sheet to fi ll out. Three observers monitored and recorded the implementation. An interview of the participants was also conducted to get more information.

Based on the data, the teachers realised that students needed guidance during the inquiry process. It is hard for students to perform inquiries without clear instructions or guidance from teachers. At fi rst, the teachers dominated the lesson, especially during the discovery learning and interactive demonstration phases. In the discovery learning phase, the students analysed daily phenomena. This motivated them to ask questions, investigate, and build their own concepts based on their observations. This would not have happened if the teachers merely gave them instructions. The teachers used effective questioning techniques to engage the students to participate.

In the interactive demonstration phase, the teachers still dominated. They interacted with the students through

SEAMAG 57

effective questioning approaches. They stated the problem, asked for predictions and their explanations, and demonstrated the scientifi c process. The demonstration succeeded in attracting the students’ attention while the problem motivated them to conduct an investigation and discuss and debate with their peers.

The locus of control slightly shifted from the teachers to the students in the inquiry lesson phase. The teachers still maintained authority in stating the problem and helped the students defi ne variables. The students had greater autonomy, however, in conducting investigations and

solving the problem. They faced diffi culties in deciding on variables, conducting experiments, and formulating conclusions. The teachers should model fundamental intellectual processes and explain the fundamental understanding of scientifi c inquiry while the students learn by observing and listening and responding to questions. This did not, however, occur.

The analysis showed that the teachers demonstrated good pedagogical practices. They used effective questioning techniques, motivated students, conducted interesting lessons, and encouraged students to debate among themselves. These activities led students to think critically to solve a problem. However, providing a clear demonstration is an essential part of inquiry. The teachers should be able to do this if they want IBL to work.

Further research on conducting more effective demonstrations can help solve the problem. Another possible solution is conducting more hands-on training. Community-based collaborative training can be an effective way to enhance the teachers’ abilities. These will involve intense interaction and help them build learning communities. They will collaboratively learn to construct knowledge and experiences. As Ermeling (2010) noted, the competence of teachers will increase when they study collaboratively and systematically than if they study individually.

Implementing the Inquiry Model in Primary Schools

58 SEAMAG

Advancing Southeast Asian Archaeology: Harmonising Higher Education and Research

updated from a scholarly magazine format into an open-access peer-reviewed journal (www.spafajournal.org) that accepts submissions on archaeology, the performing arts, cultural heritage, and conservation from researchers in Southeast Asia. This serves as an additional venue for research students and scholars to publish their work.

SEAMEO SPAFA also remains committed to skills and competency training, particularly in the area of underwater archaeology. Specialist practical training in underwater archaeology such as in diving, surveying and recording of sites, and artifact recovery is not available in any university in the region. At the same time, the problem of identifying, recovering, and protecting underwater cultural heritage and illicit looting of sites is a major regional problem. The Centre helps fund several intensive training programmes in the region to build capacity in underwater archaeology, together with UNESCO, the Thai Fine Arts Department (2013), the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (2015), and Flinders University (2018). Its involvement in capacity-building for underwater archaeology began 40 years ago and most underwater archaeologists working in the region today trained under a programme supported by SEAMEO SPAFA.

SEAMEO SPAFA Flagship Programme

Advancing Archaeology and Storytelling in Southeast Asia

By: Dr. Noel Hidalgo Tan

Initiated in 1971 as an applied research centre and established as a full SEAMEO Centre in 1985, the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts (SPAFA) maintains three flagship programmes that focus on theguiding principles for its mission—advancing Southeast Asian archaeology, the Sacred Universe (fine arts), and conservation in the Tropics (physical and cultural heritage preservation). As a centre devoted to the promotion of culture in Southeast Asia, specifically through archaeology and fine arts, SPAFA has developed a strong international network of archaeologists, artists, performers, architects, conservation professionals, academics, and educators.

Under its fl agship programme, Advancing Southeast Asian Archaeology, SEAMEO SPAFA has several initiatives that harmonise higher education and research. As an academic discipline, archaeology is usually taught in undergraduate and graduate levels. We actively promote research and encourage international visibility and networking. A key vehicle for highlighting research is the SEAMEO SPAFA International Conference on Southeast Asian Archaeology held in Chon Buri in 2013 and Bangkok in 2016. This is the fi rst conference dedicated to Southeast Asian archaeology held in Southeast Asia that aims to encourage more Southeast Asians to present their research. In the most recent conference, more than 230 participants attended, over half of whom came from Southeast Asia. A third conference is planned for 2019.

Recognising the increasing demand for local scholars to publish their research in international journals and publications, selected papers were published from both conferences in collected volumes and a workshop on English language skills for archaeologists was conducted after the 2016 conference to help students and young archaeologists prepare their work for publication. Our regular publication, the “SPAFA Journal,” was also

The “SPAFA Journal”

SEAMAG 59

Storytelling in Southeast Asia: Revitalising Teacher Education and Addressing Barriers to Inclusion

In the storytelling festivals, traditional tales from Southeast Asia are shared by expert storytellers. Schoolchildren are exposed to different storytelling traditions while workshops are conducted for teachers in using and delivering stories as part of their toolkit. In March 2018, SEAMEO SPAFA also supported two resource persons from Mahasarakham University in Thailand to take part in SEAMEO SEN’s “Best Practices in Teaching and Learning: Storytelling for Children with Special Needs.”

Underwater archaeology training supported by SEAMEO SPAFA

Under our Sacred Universe fl agship programme, SEAMEO SPAFA has been supporting several traditional storytelling programmes with regional partners. Stories are both expressions of culture and methods of teaching and through supporting storytelling projects, we are able to reach out to schoolchildren and teachers. Most recently, we supported storytelling festivals in Hue, Vietnam (2017, in collaboration with the Hue University) and the Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre and Kelantan University in 2018 at Thaksin University in Phattalung, Thailand.

International Folktales Festival 2018

Advancing Archaeology and Storytelling in Southeast Asia

60 SEAMAG

SEAMEO Network SEAMEO Regional Centres

SEAMEO CECCEP

Regional Centre for Early Childhood Care Education and Parenting

Bandung, Indonesia

seameo-ceccep.org

EducationSEAMEO CED

Regional Centre for Community Education Development

Vientiane, Lao PDR

moes.edu.la

SEAMEO CELLL

Regional Centre for Lifelong Learning

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

seameocelll.org

SEAMEO INNOTECH

Regional Centre for Educational Innovation and Technology

Quezon City, Philippines

seameo-innotech.org

SEAMEO QITEP in Language

Regional Centre for Quality Improvement of Teachers and Education Personnel in Language

Jakarta, Indonesia

qiteplanguage.org

SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics

Regional Centre for Quality Improvement of Teachers and Education Personnel in Mathematics

Yogyakarta, Indonesia

qitepinmath.org

SEAMEO QITEP in Science

Regional Centre for Quality Improvement of Teachers and Education Personnel in Science

Bandung, Indonesia

qitepinscience.org

SEAMEO RECSAM

Regional Centre for Education in Science and Mathematics

Penang, Malaysia

recsam.edu.my

SEAMEO RELC

Regional Language Centre

Singapore

relc.org.sg

SEAMEO RETRAC

Regional Training Centre

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

vnseameo.org

SEAMEO RIHED

Regional Centre for Higher Education and Development

Bangkok, Thailand

rihed.seameo.org

SEAMEO SEAMOLEC

Regional Open Learning Centre

Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia

seamolec.org

SEAMEO SEN

Regional Centre for Special Education

Melaka, Malaysia

seameosen.org

SEAMEO SEPS

Regional Centre for Suffi ciency Economy Philosophy for Sustainability

Bangkok, Thailand

SEAMEO TED

Regional Centre for Technical Eeducation Development

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

seameoted.org

SEAMEO VOCTECH

Regional Centre for Vocational and Technical Education and Training

Gadong, Brunei Darussalam

voctech.org

SEAMAG 61

SEAMEO Regional Centres

SEAMEO BIOTROP

Regional Centre for Tropical Biology

Bogor, Indonesia

biotrop.org

ScienceSEAMEO RECFON

Regional Centre for Food and Nutrition

Jakarta, Indonesia

seameo-recfon.org

SEAMEO SEARCA

Regional Centre for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture

Laguna, Philippines

searca.org

SEAMEO STEM-ED

Regional Centre for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education

Bangkok, Thailand

SEAMEO TROPMED NETWORK

Tropical Medicine and Public Health Network

Bangkok, Thailand

seameotropmednetwork.org

SEAMEO TROPMED/MALAYSIA

Regional Centre for Microbiology, Parasitology and Entomolgy

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

imr.gov.my

SEAMEO TROPMED/PHILIPPINES

Regional Centre for Public Health, Hospital Administration, Environmental and Occupational Health

Manila, Philippines

cph.upm.edu.ph

SEAMEO TROPMED/THAILAND

Regional Centre for Tropical Medicine

Bangkok, Thailand

tm.mahidol.ac.th

SEAMEO CHAT

Regional Centre for History and Tradition

Yangon, Myanmar

seameochat.org.mm

CultureSEAMEO SPAFA

Regional Centre for Archaelogy and Fine Arts

Bangkok, Thailand

seameo-spafa.org

© 2018 SEAMEOMom Luang Pin Malakul Centenary Building920 Sukhumvit RoadBangkok 10110 ThailandTel: +66 (0) 2391 0144Fax: +66 (0) 2381 2587Email: secretariat@seameo.org