Report on the Asia Regional Seminar on the Status of Teachers: Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers 1-3 August 2006 Bangkok, Thailand

September 2006 APE/06/RISO/281-100

联合国教育、

科学及文化组织

منظمة األمم المتحدةللتربية والعلم والثقافة

ΟрганизацияΟбъединенньιх Ηаций по

вопросам образования,науки и культуры

Organizaciónde las Naciones Unidas

para la Educación,la Ciencia y la Cultura

Organisationdes Nations Unies

pour l’éducation,la science et la culture

United NationsEducational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization

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Contents Page Abbreviations iii

Introduction 1

Situational analysis 2

Major issues and challenges 8

Recommendations 11

Conclusions 14

Annex 1: Seminar programme 15

Annex 2: List of participants 18

Annex 3: Summary of questionnaire to gender focal points 23

Annex 4: Country fact sheets 30

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Abbreviations AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome APEID Asia-Pacific Programme of Educational Innovation for

Development APPEAL Asia-Pacific Programme of Education for All CEART ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the

Recommendations concerning Teaching Personnel EFA Education for All ESD Education for Sustainable Development GENIA Gender in Education Network in Asia GFP Gender Focal Point HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus ICT Information and Communication Technology ILO International Labour Organization TSC Teacher Service Commission (Nepal) TUP Teacher Upgrading Programme (Lao PDR) UIS UNESCO Institute for Statistics UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization WHE World Heritage Education

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Report on the Asia Regional Seminar on the Status of Teachers: Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers 1. Introduction The quality of education in any country depends largely on the quality of its teaching force. In turn, the quality of the teachers is affected by many factors including their well-being and job satisfaction. Unfortunately, the decline in the status of teachers world-wide has been well documented. This presents a challenge to the efforts of many Asian countries to attract sufficient capable and motivated young people to the teaching profession, prepare and develop them for a teaching career, provide them with adequate salaries and good conditions of service, and give them incentives to enhance their self-esteem and social status. UNESCO’s concerns on the status of teachers are reflected in the 1966 ILO/UNESCO recommendations concerning the status of teachers and the 1997 Recommendation concerning the status of higher education teaching personnel. The Joint ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendations concerning Teaching Personnel (CEART) held its Eighth Session in Paris, France on 15-19 September 2003. The Ninth Session of the Joint Committee will be held in October 2006 and one of the agenda items is to monitor the application of the ILO/UNESCO recommendation on the status of teachers. To provide input to the upcoming Ninth Session, the Asia Regional Seminar on the Status of Teachers: Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers was organized to review the current status and working conditions of teachers in Asia, keeping in mind the framework established by the 1966 ILO/UNESCO recommendations, as shown below: • Preparation for the profession • Further education for teachers • Employment and career • Rights and responsibilities of teachers • Conditions for effective teaching and learning • Teachers’ salaries • Social security • Teacher shortages Jointly organized by two UNESCO Bangkok programmes – the Asia-Pacific Programme of Educational Innovation for Development (APEID) and the Asia-Pacific Programme of Education for All (APPEAL), this Seminar also strengthened the collaboration with other United Nations agencies, particularly the International Labour Organization (ILO) which promotes efforts to enhance the status of teachers, including their employment and working conditions.

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The specific objectives of the Seminar were to: • Review the current situation of teacher education, teachers’ status and working

conditions, and educational dialogue • Raise awareness on and review gender issues surrounding the status and role of

teachers, especially female teachers • Promote UNESCO’s innovative approaches to teacher education, including in

ICT, ESD, WHE, Inclusive Education, and HIV/AIDS To meet the objectives, the Seminar was divided into sessions addressing the following themes targeted mainly at primary and secondary school teachers: • Recruitment, employment and career of teachers • Status and working conditions of teachers • Teacher education – initial and in-service • Social dialogue in education • Exploring and understanding gender issues in the teacher profession • Innovative approaches to teacher education About 30 participants from UNESCO Member States in the region, representatives from development partners and United Nations agencies were invited to attend the Seminar. They included professionals with responsibilities for teacher education at the ministries of education; key persons from teacher education institutions and teachers’ organizations in Cambodia, China, Kazakhstan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Republic of Korea, Pakistan, Thailand and Viet Nam; representatives of teachers’ unions; and gender focal points at the ministries of education. This report presents a brief situational analysis of the status of teachers in the region by highlighting key points from the presentations and discussions during the Seminar. Major issues and challenges are also identified, followed by recommendations and conclusions. The Seminar programme and list of participants are available in Annexes 1 and 2 respectively. The summary of a questionnaire completed by the gender focal points prior to the Seminar is appended in Annex 3, and country fact sheets in Annex 4. 2. Situational analysis The lack of qualified teachers to teach present and future generations of children has reached crisis proportions. Even in countries that are economically better off, only a few of the costly school-reform efforts seem to have the scope, force and focus to attract high calibre talent to the teaching profession, and then reward and motivate the talent to stay. The 2006 UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) report, Teachers and educational quality: monitoring global needs for 2015, noted that countries across the world will need to recruit more than 18 million teachers over the next decade if the universal primary education goal of the Dakar Framework for Action is to be met. The UIS report also pointed out that 7.56 million qualified teachers need to be recruited over the next decade for the Asia and Pacific region alone.

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Among the key issues identified during the Eighth Session of CEART, the actual or impending shortage of qualified teachers was a major concern as countries strive to meet the EFA goals. The lack of full involvement of teachers and their organizations in the formulation of educational objectives and policies and in major decision-making processes will not lead to quality education for all in many Member States. Educational policy makers have to address the status and working conditions of teachers, qualifications and competencies of teaching staff, teacher workload, class sizes and salaries to balance the need for expanding access to education, and attracting and retaining good teachers within budgetary constraints. This Seminar attempted to address all these issues through thematic presentations and country papers, followed by question and answer sessions. Key points raised and discussed are summarized below. 2.1. Qualifications of teachers The importance of qualified teachers is highlighted as the world celebrated this year’s EFA Week, usually scheduled around the anniversary of the World Education Forum held in Dakar, Senegal, in April 2000. The Week marked the beginning of a year-long campaign for governments and other stakeholders to reaffirm their commitment to achieve EFA by 2015 and to entrust UNESCO with the overall responsibility of coordinating all international players and sustaining the global momentum. The theme for 2006, “Every child needs a teacher,” draws attention to the critical shortage of qualified teachers. The growing demand for teachers to fulfil the national commitments to achieve EFA is felt in many countries. To overcome the acute shortage of teachers, many educational institutions have resorted to employing under-qualified and inadequately trained teachers or ‘para-teachers’ to fill the gaps. In general, the level of qualification for teachers varies from country to country, with teachers in the pre-school level more likely to have the least qualifications compared to teachers at higher educational level. For example, Lao PDR has approximately 1,000 permanent primary teachers (excluding contracted teachers and village-employed teachers) who are not trained in teacher education institutions. Sometimes, teachers trained to teach in primary schools are working in lower and upper secondary schools instead, and they face difficulties in performing their duties. In Cambodia, secondary school graduates are eligible to teach at pre-school, primary and lower secondary levels. Student teachers have to complete two years of pedagogical training in addition to other recruiting requirements. Nepalese teachers may hold school leaving certificates or bachelor degrees, and a ten-month pre-service training is mandatory for primary, lower secondary and secondary teachers. Although a teaching license is also required, many teachers in Nepal do not have one. In contrast, a bachelor’s degree is the standard qualification for teachers in Japan. Since the educational reform in 1989, teachers holding certificates from junior colleges are required to take in-service courses offered by universities within a limited number of years. Advanced Class License based on the master’s degree will be the standard qualification for teachers in the near future, and teachers’ professional schools at the graduate level are expected to open in 2008. In the case of Thailand, four to five years of pre-service training is available, all

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leading to a Bachelor of Education degree or post-graduate diploma. Malaysia still has non-graduates for primary schools and graduates for secondary schools, but it has set a target of 100% graduate teachers in secondary schools and 25% graduate teachers in primary schools by 2010. This reflects the trend of many countries all aiming to have better qualified and trained teachers. 2.2. Recruitment and employment Recruiting high calibre young people into the teaching profession is a critical step in ensuring that there are enough qualified and able teachers to educate the students. The selection process, financial rewards and personal fulfilment are important factors for consideration. Recruitment can begin at various levels and through different processes. In Nepal, it happens after the training is completed, and is conducted by the independent Teacher Service Commission (TSC) which issues teaching license, conducts teacher selection examination and selects teachers for the schools in response to requests from district education offices. Recruitment can also start in the beginning when students are being trained, thus increasing the chances that they will end up putting their training into use. In the case of Malaysia, students are often contracted before beginning their studies. They are given an allowance during their training and placement after graduation. Scholarships are also available to top students to study abroad for one and a half years, before returning to Malaysia to complete their training in a special programme. Lao PDR also offers teaching scholarships, while Viet Nam provides free education and a 40% pay increase to attract students to the teaching profession. The starting salary for teacher in Hong Kong is high, thus escalating the status of the teachers to make the profession more attractive. The location of schools is an important factor in the recruitment of teachers. Vacancies in urban schools are far more easily filled than those in rural and remote areas, as shown in the case in China. The limited budget has led to the appointment of part-time teachers often without the proper qualifications or licenses. In Malaysia, many teachers refuse to serve in remote areas regardless of incentives. This has led to a policy stipulating that all new graduate teachers have to serve in remote areas. Similarly, Viet Nam and China have implemented a national service programme for young teachers to teach in remote areas. Teachers in Cambodia receive additional pay if they work in rural and remote areas, thus helping to ease the problem. Once recruited and employed, terms of employment, tenure and job security are issues of concern to teachers. Nepalese teachers in secondary schools are employed according to subjects taught, while primary school teachers are hired based on the number of students and class divisions. The student-teacher ratios are differentiated according to areas: e.g., 50:1 for the lowlands, 45:1 for urban areas, and 40:1 for highland areas. Generally, there is no provision for transfer of teachers to other schools. Female and physically disabled teachers, teachers serving less seven years in any district and less than five years in remote areas are not allowed to transfer schools.

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In Pakistan, teachers are contracted according to the needs of schools, and extension of the contracts is dependent on performance evaluation. This arrangement results in inequality of payment based on location, e.g., the ability of richer areas to attract better qualified teachers while poorer schools cannot offer competitive salary packages. Mongolia counters this problem by providing incentives and hardship allowances to teachers working in remote areas, e.g. animals and housing subsidies. Japan is planning to introduce a system to renew teacher’s license every ten years. Teachers are required to enrol in university courses or receive in-service training organized by the Boards of Education. The licenses will be renewed based on the evaluation of professional responsibilities, human relationship, understanding of children, professional knowledge and skills of their subjects, and teaching abilities. 2.3. Career development Career development is also closely linked to in-service training and upgrading of skills and capacity which is discussed in section 2.5. Generally, governments hoping to attract and retain talented teaching staff have to be more innovative and creative in offering opportunities for career development. Malaysia has created new titled posts that are equated with promotion and increase in status (e.g., time-based promotion, excellent teachers, master teachers, excellent principals). Lao PDR has developed a Teacher Education Strategy and Teacher Education Action Plan which will have various guidelines to enhance the status and incentives of teachers, such as bestowing honorific titles and teaching positions, increasing salaries and professional development opportunities. The Education Act and Regulations of Nepal have provisions for teacher development. Promotion is based on performance appraisal and acquired academic qualifications and training. To qualify for a promotion, the candidate must be a permanent teacher having completed five academic years in the post concerned. Teachers will receive gratuity after five years of service and pension after 20 years of service. In reality, however, teachers working for 15 to 20 years in the same post are not getting promoted. Even if promoted, the job description does not change and responsibilities remain the same. Such a situation does not encourage redeployment of teachers or stimulate career development. 2.4. Status and working conditions The status of teachers and their working conditions are influenced by many factors including salaries, workload and class size. There is general consensus that teacher salaries are tied to qualifications, years of experience and educational level. Usually teachers in the pre-school level have the least qualifications and are most poorly paid compared to teachers at higher educational level. Most countries report on low salary scales for their teachers, except for Hong Kong, Japan and Cambodia. It is also noted that countries with a centralized educational system usually have a national teacher salary scheme (e.g. Malaysia, Thailand, Lao PDR and Cambodia), whereas countries with a decentralized system have

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differentiated salary schemes depending on the economic situation of the province and district (e.g. China, Nepal and Pakistan). To overcome this problem, teachers’ salaries in Japan are shared by local authorities and the national government, thus helping to offset salaries in the poorer provinces. The fear of differentiated salary scheme that is dependent on the wealth of the provinces is perhaps one of the reasons why teachers in Thailand are strongly against the government’s move to decentralize school management to local authorities. In nearly all the countries represented at the Seminar, the teacher unions are calling for higher pay and better working conditions for teachers, but in countries with falling enrolments, such as in Japan, teacher salaries are going to be cut instead since the Financial System Council considered that teachers’ salaries are too high compared with general administrative staff. Similarly, teachers in Cambodia appear to be receiving higher salaries compared to other governmental employees. Heavy workload is another major complaint. Teachers at lower school levels are required to teach more hours than those in upper levels. For example, in Lao PDR primary schools teachers teach 25 hours while their counterparts in upper secondary schools teach 18 hours. In Cambodia, the same pattern is observed with 20 hours versus 16 hours, respectively. Double shifts are also common in Cambodia to make up for the shortage of teachers. The third factor that affects working conditions is class size, which varies from country to country and from region to region within the countries. On average, it can range from 30 to 50 students per class, tending to be higher in urban areas. Kazakhstan reported a maximum number of 42 students per class, compared to a high of 70 in Cambodia. The teachers think they are overworked and over controlled by the governments. In the case of Hong Kong, instead of implementing smaller class size because of the contracting school system, the government chose to close schools and reduce the number of classes leading to retrenchment among teachers. 2.5. Teacher education Teacher education can be divided into pre-service and in-service training. The trend in teacher education seems to be that the more developed the country, the higher the academic qualifications and the longer the training at the pre-service level. Many countries have graduate teachers at the secondary level and non-graduate teachers at the primary level, but teachers in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand are all post-secondary graduates. Both Malaysia and Indonesia are also moving towards an all-graduate teaching force. In-service training serves two main purposes: to upgrade practising but untrained teachers and to offer professional development either sponsored by the government or self-initiated. In countries where teachers’ salary is based on the level of academic qualifications, there is an added incentive for teachers to upgrade themselves. In-service training driven by educational reforms is quite common, in which case teachers are sent to short-term training courses to ensure that the reform measures, e.g. changes to the curriculum, can be implemented effectively. Professional

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development is also provided based on a pre-determined frequency and day (e.g., every last Saturday of the month in Malaysia). Teachers are given 60 hours of transferable training in Singapore and 240 hours for every 5 years of service in China. Nevertheless, China noted that in-service training cannot meet the needs of teachers in terms of lifelong learning and professional development. Most teachers in Lao PDR have limited opportunities for in-service training. When they do, there is no mechanism for updating and certifying their training records. 2.6. Relevance of teacher education curriculum Is teacher education relevant to the practical needs of teachers today? This question is particularly pertinent in Japan where incidents of violence, bullying and crimes among students are rising. Japanese teacher training colleges have a national standardized core curriculum which may not be the most appropriate or relevant to match local circumstances. Teacher unions in Malaysia are also specifically requesting for teachers to be given training in school discipline. Teacher training is often too theoretical for the acquisition of practical skills to help teachers deal with current social values and trends. The relevance of pedagogy and content of teacher education have to be addressed by involving practicing teachers, principals, external consultants and selected students in the evaluation. 2.7. Social dialogues The importance of engaging teachers and their organizations in social dialogue is the key to the success of any education reform. Social dialogue refers to all forms of information sharing, consultation and negotiation between educational authorities and teacher organizations. The enabling conditions for social dialogue in education include strong, independent organizations of teachers as well as the political will and commitment to engage in social dialogue on the part of all parties concerned. However, the trend shows that in many countries, the decision-making process is fragile, with teachers and teacher organizations generally not consulted on key education reforms. Teacher unions want consultation before implementation but implementation without consultation or minimal consultation is the rule rather than the exception in many cases. Malaysia, Hong Kong and Japan appear to be very active in terms of union support. A knowledge-based social dialogue with supporting research findings and evidences is important to enable different parties to have better understanding and perspective of the issues so that they can engage in a well-informed negotiation or consultation. This is one approach strongly recommended by the Malaysian teachers’ union, which has also formed a Consultative Council that meets twice a year. The Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union plays three key roles: as a provider of professional development, a social group for networking, and a trade union for advocating and promoting better working conditions for teachers. The Fundamental Law of Education in Japan is a symbol of democratic education and provides a strong foundation for the country’s constitution of education to enable dialogue as a means to improve the status of teachers and quality of education.

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2.8. Gender issues The issue of gender balance in the teaching profession is prevalent in almost all countries. The percentage of female teachers continues to rise in developed countries, exceeding that of male teachers, but in some developing countries, particularly in South Asia, male teachers still dominate the teacher population. In most cases, the majority of female teachers are appointed at the lower school level and the number holding management positions is negligible. Gender balance in the teaching profession needs to go beyond numbers, and address other gender-related issues, e.g., the traditional expectation of a woman’s role and responsibilities; restrictions on movements and social activities for women; gender stereotypes; sexual harassment, and the lack of access to educational opportunities, especially for women in rural communities, indigenous and minority groups. In many ways, the feminization of the teaching profession is closely linked to the low status of teachers. Thus, the implications of gender equality in education and in the world of work cannot be underestimated. The recruitment of female teachers is a major issue of concern to policy makers in many countries, leading to the formulation of special policies and provisions to recruit more female teachers. The main gender issues in Cambodia display a similar trend: limited role in management positions, lack of gender sensitivity, unequal opportunities for promotion, low number of female teachers in mathematics and science in secondary schools. The Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport acknowledged that gender training must be included in both pre-service and in-service training to reduce gender bias. Korea has included gender equality issues in teacher training courses since 1999. Its Gender Training Programme for Teachers aims to enhance teachers’ gender awareness and promote gender training. A summary of the results from a questionnaire completed by the gender focal points of the Gender in Education Network in Asia (GENIA) in 8 countries provides more information on the current status and situation of gender training programmes and materials in teacher training, as attached in Annex 3. 3. Major issues and challenges As national governments plan and implement educational reforms to meet the needs of the 21st Century and targets of international initiatives such as Education for All, Millennium Development Goals, United Nations Literacy Decade, Education for Sustainable Development and so on, it is crucial for educational authorities and officials to remember that these reforms and changes will impact teachers’ performance, and consequently the quality of education positively and, perhaps, negatively despite good intentions. Many of the reforms involve substantial changes in terms of technological, organizational and cultural changes, and it takes much effort, support and time for teachers to develop and adapt to these changes in their workplace. The situational analysis drew attention to key points and concerns raised during the Seminar. Many of these are interlinked. Obviously, the simplest solutions are

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to: i) employ more teachers to reduce the shortages of teachers; ii) increase number of student teachers to provide a pool of teachers to meet the demand; iii) offer attractive salaries, benefits, working conditions and career development opportunities to attract more trainees; iv) increase the educational budget to be able to offer competitive packages, and so on. Unfortunately, this scenario is not realistic when other factors, such as decreasing resources, increasing demands from other sectors, quality of teaching and education, gender balance, and equity come into play. The following sections identify major issues that emerged from the Seminar which should be addressed by governments and educational institutions before they can attract, develop and retain quality teachers to improve the quality of education for all. 3.1. Resources and financial issues The status of teachers has declined to the point that teaching has become a second or even third choice career path for many young people. This unfortunate development belies the onerous responsibilities of teachers in educating our future generations of leaders and citizens. Teacher salary, a large component of the educational budget, is an often and obvious focus of discontent. In most countries, teachers are among the lowest paid public servants, except in Japan, Hong Kong and Cambodia. While the general trend is a shortage of teachers, in some countries such as Hong Kong and Japan, falling population growth and subsequent decreasing student enrolments have led to an excess budget. In Hong Kong, instead of reducing class size and giving teachers more quality time to interact with their students, the government is closing schools and retrenching teachers. Japan has instituted a policy to reduce financial support by 1% each year, forcing all educational institutions to reduce the number of teaching staff. Clearly, budgets and financial resources are top priorities that must be examined closely, especially juxtaposing conflicting demands against limited funds. 3.2. Working conditions Heavy workload, large class size, and lack of opportunities for advancement are also major areas of dissatisfaction and disincentive for choosing teaching as a career. Teaching hours are not standardized, with teachers in primary schools and lower secondary schools teaching more hours than those in higher levels. The teacher-student ratio is generally too high to allow for individual attention, especially given the wide spectrum of student abilities and styles of learning. Professional advancement and promotion can increase job satisfaction and therefore help to attract and retain teachers. Given the heavy workload, it is difficult when teachers take time off for professional development to ensure that regular classroom activities are not interrupted. Still, teachers need to upgrade their knowledge and skills, which in turn will enhance the quality of education. Reports on inadequate opportunities for participating in professional development courses are matched by

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complaints of too many training and refreshment courses. Apparently, a balance between the two extremes is needed. Furthermore, criteria for promotion are not clearly stated, or linked to performance appraisal. Even if they are, they may not be followed or transparent. In many cases, promotion takes place too slowly to reassure teachers that their efforts are valued and appreciated; and even when promoted, teachers see no change in the nature of their jobs or responsibilities. Another area of concern is the difficulty in deploying teachers to poor rural and remote areas, where working conditions appear to be less attractive to most teachers. In some countries, incentives for accepting placement in remote areas are no guarantee that teachers will accept the assignment. Even teachers who originate from these areas often choose not to return to their home provinces. Training teachers to teach multi-grade classes is one alternative to cope with the problem. There is an urgent need to develop strategies to improve the working conditions and welfare of teachers, and provide multiple opportunities for career advancement and perhaps even competitive compensation linked to increasing instructional expertise and qualifications, greater roles and responsibilities as teachers move up the ranks, complemented by attention to the schemes to encourage teachers to move to remote areas. 3.3. Quality and relevance of teacher education The number of untrained and under-trained teachers is a cause for concern and many countries have taken steps to address this issue. In fact, they are moving towards training university-level teachers. On the other hand, several developing countries are still trying to upgrade their teachers’ professional competencies continuously and systematically, and at the same time ensure that such training are certified and will be factored into the teachers’ records, especially when it comes to salary increase, performance appraisal and promotion. Rapid development and globalization have contributed to changing social values and norms. The curriculum of teacher education has yet to be fully re-orientated to enable teachers to cope with a new generation of students who have different value systems and priorities. Teacher education today must be relevant in addressing a world of depleting and limiting resources, in creating and using innovations and new technologies, in coping with social ills and health problems such as HIV/AIDS, in educating future generations about sustainability, racial and religious tolerance. These issues have to be addressed and incorporated into teacher education, with sufficient flexibility to allow adaptations and modifications to meet changing needs and demands, for now and in the future.

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3.4. Social dialogue As can be seen, the role of teachers has expanded beyond teaching subject-specific topics. Teachers have to satisfy the expectations and demands of multiple shareholders. Expectations from parents and societies, for example, have added another layer of accountability to the workload of teachers – that of teaching responsible citizenship to students. The other primary stakeholders are women, the major proportion of the teacher population, and children. These two social groups wield little clout or power in any social dialogue related to education. To enable teachers to be able to deal with these extra responsibilities and represent their clients effectively, an open and receptive social dialogue among the many stakeholders is necessary. Unfortunately, in a sector where management is often top-down, teacher organizations have a hard time trying to persuade educational authorities to listen to their opinions and views. The question is how can teachers effect societal change if they have no say in the ‘why’, ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘how’ and ‘by whom’ educational reforms are to take place. 3.5. Gender issues The feminization of the teaching profession is exacerbated by the reverse reality in the management level of the educational sector. In a male-dominated arena where decisions are made by men who cannot be expected to fully comprehend the needs and obligations of their female colleagues, it is not surprising that gender stereotyping continues in this age and time. Progress towards alleviating such a divide is seen in the inclusion of gender-related training programmes in some countries, and the design of measures to address inequalities, sexual harassment and discrimination. Gender issues cannot be divorced from the society and culture in which they occur. Therefore, approaches to address gender issues must be sensitive to the needs of each country, and to ethnic or social groups within each country. 4. Recommendations Asia is a highly diverse region and conditions in the countries are not homogenous. While it may be possible to identify some common grounds and approaches to improve the status of teachers, it should be borne in mind that any recommendation provided should only be seen as suggestions that should be adapted and used as each country sees fit. Therefore, the following recommendations presented at the Seminar are not definitive, but examples meant to stimulate further ideas and approaches. 4.1. Resources and financial issues • Provide scholarships to teacher trainees to attract high school graduates • Provide extra incentives and rewards for merit and model teachers • Provide additional fringe benefits (e.g. Remote Area Trust Fund for teachers),

welfare, housing and special promotion scheme for remote area teachers

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• Provide additional payment for the teachers who teach over the standard teaching load

• Provide extra incentives and rewards for school managerial and administrative staff

4.2. Career development • Establish Professional Teacher Associations or Professional Development

Networks to coordinate professional development programmes • Link professional development to the performance appraisal of teachers, and

reward or promote high achievers • Enable the transfer of credits from in-service training to their performance

appraisal, which can be linked to promotional prospects • Introduce a fast track promotion system • Review responsibilities of teachers after promotion to match their status and

capacities • Place teachers in schools that best match their interest and professional

specialization • Increase access of teachers from ethnic groups and remote areas to professional

development programmes through various modes, e.g. distance learning • Assist poor performing teachers to develop their own training programme • Create titles and positions to increase the status and prestige of teachers • Provide sabbatical leave, refresher course, research and exchange programmes • Enable teachers to acquire ICT knowledge and skills 4.3. Working conditions • Create a sound institutional environment to facilitate personnel reforms,

standardize teacher employment, appointment procedures, improve teacher status and working conditions

• Deploy teachers who are working in remote areas to near-home schools • Improve physical facilities and equipment at teacher education institutions and

teacher training centres • Organize social activities to promote the status of teachers, especially on

important occasions, such as the National Teachers’ Day 4.4. Quality and relevance • Standardize and implement teacher certificate systems • Conduct regular training needs assessment to ensure new information can be

incorporated into pre-service and in-service training • Integrate courses on the knowledge of children, multi-grade classroom teaching,

inclusive education and coverage of important current issues in pre-service programmes

• Incorporate practical teaching into pre-service teacher education in schools supported by school-based mentors

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• Integrate pre-service and in-service teacher-professional-development programmes as part of lifelong learning

• Set up more teacher training bases and engage universities and teacher training colleges in in-service training

• Implement mandatory in-service training, which can be school-based, or through external educational training institutions and private sector establishments, e.g., hotels, banks and restaurants, to broaden their perspectives and improve interpersonal skills

• Facilitate collaboration and strengthen relationships among primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions to include more relevant and practical approaches and curricula

• Introduce special licenses for experts and resource persons outside of schools to participate in teaching and administrative activities to broaden the scope of the curriculum especially at the upper secondary schools, and to change the “closed climate” of schools

• Establish and implement a monitoring and evaluation system for the quality and relevance of teacher education

4.5. Social dialogue • Encourage an open social dialogue among all stakeholders • Enable a school-based approach rather than centralized and top-down measures • Build capacity for effective social dialogue through regular training programmes • Identify and share best practices of social dialogue • Establish networks to facilitate social dialogue • Encourage partnerships for priority setting, design, implementation, evaluation

and monitoring 4.6. Gender issues • Raise gender awareness among policy makers, planners and teachers • Ensure that ‘safe school’ and anti-harassment policies and teacher codes of

conduct also address sexual harassment of female teachers, specific reporting and follow-up procedures, training for male teachers to challenge male students

• Eliminate sexual bias in recruitment procedures • Develop creative recruitment campaigns in the local media directed at women and

promote the active role that women can play in education, targeting secondary school leavers, older women in the community and ethnic minorities using local languages and media channels

• Increase number of women in management positions and teacher representation in schools, Boards, Ministries of Education and Training, trade unions and committees

• Ensure that female teachers are fully involved in decision-making processes and that they participate in all meetings and activities, not just in subordinate roles in schools

• Provide career guidance for all new teachers to promote gender parity in all subjects among teachers and students

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• Conduct gender training in teacher training institutions to avoid stereotyping in classroom performance

• Include gender equality as a specific topic of study • Develop more flexible teacher training programmes • Provide scholarships and incentives to women for pre-service training • Work with local women’s organizations to encourage them to support potential

female teachers • Use creative deployment strategies to ensure that well-qualified female teachers

are attracted to rural schools, e.g., rural incentive allowances, employ two female teachers to work and live together, coordinate with other government departments on husbands’ transfers, encourage communities to set up welcoming support structures for female teachers moving in from the outside

• Create local networks or study groups of female teachers • Set up mentoring programmes for new female teachers 5. Conclusions One of UNESCO’s roles is to help Member States in synchronizing their teacher policies, teacher education and labour practices with national development priorities to make EFA a reality, and teacher training is a UNESCO priority area to accelerate progress towards EFA by 2015. The general trends in the status of teacher education as highlighted from the Seminar indicate that many issues have to be addressed to realize this goal. The emphasis on lifelong learning and continual professional development is essential to the development of a dynamic teaching force. The need to infuse quality into education will require innovative approaches to teacher education and they should include Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in teacher training; reorienting teacher education towards Education for Sustainable Development (ESD); training teachers for inclusive education, preventive education on HIV/AIDS, and World Heritage Education (WHE), as advocated by UNESCO. Teacher education has to incorporate these initiatives into the curriculum and seek ways to use them in enhancing their professional development and status. This Seminar has provided an opportunity for countries to share lessons learnt from their experiences in attracting talented young people to the teaching profession, supporting their professional growth, increasing retention rates by motivating them to remain in the profession, improving levels of teacher satisfaction and collegiality. Good practices aimed at teacher advancement should be shared bearing in mind that the ultimate goal of such efforts are clearly linked to increased student achievement. The outcomes of the Seminar will be a useful contribution to the Ninth Session of CEART in October 2006.

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Annex 1: Seminar programme

Asia Regional Seminar on the Status of Teachers: Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers

1-3 August 2006 Windsor Suites Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand

Agenda

Day 1: Tuesday, 1 August 2006 08.30 – 09.00 Registration 09.00 – 09.45 Opening session - Self-introduction - Group photo 09.45 – 10.30 Session 1: Overview (Chair: Maki Hayashikawa) - Keynote Address (Cheng Yin-Cheong) 10.30 – 11.00 Tea/Coffee Break 11.00 – 12.30 Session 1: Overview (cont.) - 2006 UIS Global Teachers’ Report (AIMS) - ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of

Teachers & Report of the 8th Session of CEART (UNESCO Paris)

- Gender Equality Promotion in Teaching: ILO experience (ILO Bangkok)

12.30 – 13.30 Lunch 13.30 – 15.00 Session 2: Recruitment, employment and career of teachers (Chair: Molly Lee) Country issue presentation - Nepal (Bishnu Nepal) - Thailand (Siriporn Boonyananta) Q & A, Discussion (40 minutes) 15.00 – 15.30 Tea/Coffee Break 15.30 – 16.30 Session 2: Recruitment, employment and career of teachers (cont.) Country issue presentation - Kazakhstan (Klara Kozakhmetova) Q & A, Discussion (20 minutes) 18.00 Reception Dinner

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Day 2: Wednesday, 2 August 2006 08.30 – 10.30 Session 3: Status and working conditions of teachers (Chair: T.M. Qureshi) Country issue presentation - Cambodia (Nath Bunroeun) - Hong Kong (CHAN Kwok Kuen) - Lao PDR (Varadune Amarathithada) - Thailand (Mana Sudsanguan) Q & A, Discussion (40 minutes) 10.30 – 11.00 Tea/Coffee Break 11.00 – 12.00 Session 4: Teacher Education – initial and in-service (Chair: Lucio Sia, Jr.) Country issue presentation - Japan (Yoshinori Tabata) - Malaysia (Aminah Ayob) Q & A, Discussion (20 minutes) 12.00 – 13.30 Lunch 13.30 – 14.30 Session 4: Teacher Education – initial and in-service (cont.) - Mongolia (Nadmidyn Begz) - Pakistan (Rukhsana Zia) Q & A, Discussion (20 minutes) 14.30 – 15.00 Tea/Coffee Break 15.00 – 17.00 Session 5: Social dialogue in education (Chair: Aminah Ayob) Strengthening Social Dialogue in Education (ILO Bangkok) Country issue presentation - China (Ren Youqun) - Japan (Tamaki Terazawa, Keiko Uchida) - Malaysia (Lok Yim Pheng) Q & A, Discussion (40 minutes)

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Day 3: Thursday, 3 August 2006 08.30 – 10:00 Session 6: Exploring and Understanding Gender Issues in the

Teaching Profession (Chair: Jackie Kirk) - Introduction of the session (Maki Hayashikawa) - Overview of Gender Issues in the Teaching Profession (Jackie

Kirk) - Gender-responsive Classroom Instruction: A Case from the

Republic of Korea (Kyungah Jung) - The Status of Female Teachers in Nepal (Koto Kanno) Q & A (20 minutes) 10:00 –10:30 Tea/Coffee Break 10:30 – 12:00 Session 6: Exploring and Understanding Gender Issues in the

Teaching Profession (cont.) - The Feminization of the Teaching Profession in Kazakhstan

(Klara Kozakhmetova) Q & A, Discussion (50 minutes) 12.00 – 13.30 Lunch 13.30 – 15.00 Session 7 (Panel Session): Innovative Approaches (Chair: Nath Bunroeun) - Inclusive education (Ochirkhuyag Gankhuyag) - Information Communication Technology (Alan Jolliffe) - Education for Sustainable Development (Riikka Vuorela) Q & A, Discussion (30 minutes) 15.00 – 15.30 Tea/Coffee Break 15.30 – 16.30 Session 7 (Panel Session): Innovative Approaches (cont.) - World Heritage Education (Patricia Alberth) - Preventive Education on HIV/AIDS (Simon Baker) Q & A, Discussion (20 minutes) 16.30 – 17.00 Closing Session (Chair: Molly Lee)

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Annex 2: List of participants CAMBODIA Mr. Nath Bunroeun Undersecretary of State Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports 80 Blvd, Preah Norodom, Phnom Penh Tel: (855-23) 360-234 Fax: (855-23) 215-096

Ms. Nhim Vanchankan Deputy Inspector-General and Gender Focal Point Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports 133 Norodom Boulevard, Phnom Penh Tel: (855-23) 362-341 Fax: (855-23) 212-512 E-mail: efa_cambodia@online.com.kh

CHINA Mr. Cheng Yin-Cheong Chairman Asia-Pacific Centre for Education Leadership and School Quality Hong Kong Institute of Education 10 Lo Ping Road Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong Fax: (85-2) 2948-7721 E-mail: yccheng@ied.edu.hk

Mr. Chan Kwok Kuen Publication Department Director Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union (HKPTU) 8/F, Good Hope Building 618 Nathan Road, Mong Kok, Kowloon Tel: (85-2) 2780-7337 Fax: (85-2) 2770-2209 E-mail: feedback@hkptu.org

Mr. Ren Youqun Director, APEID Associated Centre East China Normal University Zhong-Shan-Bei-Lu #3663, Shanghai Fax: (86-21) 6257-6217 E-mail: yqren@admin.ecnu.edu.cn

JAPAN Mr. Yoshinori Tabata Professor, Department of Educational Development (Teacher Education System) Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation Hiroshima University 1-3-2 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima Tel: (81-82) 424-6937 Fax: (81-82) 424-5076 E-mail: tabata@hiroshima-u.ac.jp

Ms. Tamaki Terazawa International Department Japan Teachers’ Union (JTU) Nihon Kyoiku-kaikan 2-6-2 Hitotsubashi Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0003 Tel: (81-3) 3265-2192 Fax: (81-3) 3230-0172/3230-0209 E-mail: international@jtu-net.or.jp

Ms. Keiko Uchida International Department Japan Teachers’ Union (JTU) Nihon Kyoiku-kaikan 2-6-2 Hitotsubashi Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0003 Tel: (81-3) 3265-2192 Fax: (81-3) 3230-0172/3230-0209 E-mail: international@jtu-net.or.jp

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LAO PDR Ms. Varadune Amarathithada Deputy Director Teacher Training Department Ministry of Education P.O. Box 067, Lane Xang Ave. Vientiane Tel: (856-21) 243-315 Fax: (856-21) 243-313 E-mail: varathithada@yahoo.com

Ms. Yangxia Lee Head and Gender Focal Point Gender and Ethnic Minority Education Unit Ministry of Education Lanexang Road, B.P. 67 Vientiane Tel: (856-21) 223-262 Fax: (856-21) 223-262 E-mail: yangxialee@yahoo.com

KAZAKHSTAN Ms. Klara Kozakhmetova Vice-Rector Department of Science and International Cooperation Kazakh State Women’s Pedagogical Institute 99 Aiteke bi Street, 480091 Almaty Tel: 7-3272-396841 Fax: 7-3272-322737 E-mail: zhenpi@mail.online.kz

MALAYSIA Ms. Aminah Ayob Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic and International) Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris 35900 Tanjong Malim E-mail: aminahayob@upsi.edu.my

Ms. Lok Yim Pheng Secretary-General National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) 13 & 15 Jalan Murai Dua Kompleks Batu, Off Jalan Ipoh 51100 Kuala Lumpur Tel: (60-3) 6251-0621/60251-0623 Fax: (60-3) 6251-1060/6258-2946 E-mail: chelvi@nutp.org; nutp@tm.net.my/nutok@pd.jaring.my

Ms. Siti Eshah Mokshein Educational Policy Planning & Research Division Ministry of Education Level 2, Block J Pusat Bandar Damansara 50604 Kuala Lumpur E-mail: eshah_moe@yahoo.com

MONGOLIA Mr. Begz Nadmidyn Director and Gender Focal Point Institute of Education Ministry of Education, Culture and Science Barilgachdiin talbai – 2 Ulaanbaatar 46 Tel: (976) 11 325286 Fax: (976) 11 325286 E-mail: begzn@yahoo.com.hk

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NEPAL Mr. Bishnu Nepal Senior Instructor National Center for Educational Development Educational Training Centre Ministry of Education and Sports Sanothimi, Bhaktapur Tel: (977-1) 663-1276 Fax: (977-1) 663-1486

Ms. Renuka Pandey Section Officer and Gender Focal Point Change Management Unit Ministry of Education and Sports Chainpur V.D.C., Ward No.1, Chitwan Tel: (977-1) 441-8783 E-mail: baburam1@yahoo.com

PAKISTAN Mr. T.M. Qureshi Deputy Educational Adviser P&P Wing and Gender Focal Point Ministry of Education No: 13/3- E, Street: 6, Sector G-10/3 Main Ibne-Seena Road Islamabad Tel: (90-51) 926-2043 E-mail: tmqureshi2000@yahoo.com

Ms. Rukhsana Zia Director Directorate of Staff Development (DSD) Wahdat Colony Road Lahore E-mail: ziarukhsana1@hotmail.com

THAILAND Ms. Siriporn Boonyananta Deputy Secretary-General Office of the Education Council Ministry of Education Sukhotai Road, Dusit Bangkok 10300 E-mail: siriboon@once.go.th

Mr. Mana Sudsanguan President National Thai Teachers’ Union (NTTU) Bankaew School Muang District Chanthaburi 22000 E-mail: ninmana@yahoo.co.uk

Ms. Pimjai Mestsusai Senior Educator and Gender Focal Point Office of Non-formal Education Commission Ministry of Education Dusit, Bangkok 10300 Tel: (66-2) 282-1746 Fax: (66-2) 282-2858 E-mail: pimjai2544@hotmail.com

Ms. Mullawee Rochefolle Officer Office of Basic Education Commission Ministry of Education Dusit, Bangkok 10300 E-mail: mullawee@hotmail.com

VIETNAM Ms. Doan Thi Bich Loan Researcher National Institute for Educational Strategies and Curriculum 101 Tran Hung Dao Hanoi E-mail: loaneta@yahoo.com

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RESOURCE PERSONS Ms. Jackie Kirk Independent Consultant 5324 Rue Hutchison Outremont Quebec, H2V 4B3 Canada E-mail: jackie.kirk@mail.mcgill.ca

Ms. Kyungah Jung Researcher Department of Human Resources Development Research Korean Women's Development Institute 1-363 Bulkwang-dong, Eunpyeong-gu Seoul 122-707 Republic of Korea Tel: (82-2) 3156-7127 Email: jkah@kwdi.re.kr

Ms. Koto Kanno Head UNESCO Kathmandu Office P.O. Box 14391 Kathmandu, Nepal Tel: (977) (1) 555 4769, 555 4396 Fax: (977) (1) 555 4450 E-mail: k.kanno@unesco.org

OBSERVERS Ms. Oratip Nimkannon Reporter The Bangkok Post

Ms. Bussaba Kaewtipayanate Senior Programme Producer Radio Thailand

ILO Ms. Christine Nathan Specialist on Workers’ Activities ILO Bangkok Office E-mail: nathan@ilo.org

Ms. Nelien Haspels Specialist on Gender ILO Bangkok Office E-mail: haspels@ilo.org

UNICEF Mr. Cliff Meyers Regional Adviser for Education UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office 19 Phra Atit Road Bangkok 10200 Thailand Tel: (66 2) 356-9421 Fax: (66 2) 280-3563 E-mail: cmeyers@unicef.org

Ms. Emmanuelle Abrioux Regional Project Officer- Life Skills Education UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific Regional Office 19 Pra Atit Road Bangkok 10200 Thailand Telephone: (66-2) 280-5931 Facsimile: (66-2) 280-3563 E-mail: eabrioux@unicef.org

Mr. Gary Keith Ovington Project Officer - Education in Emergencies UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO) 19 Pra Atit Road Bangkok 10200 Thailand Telephone: (66-2) 356-9422 Facsimile: (66-2) 280-3563 E-mail: govington@unicef.org

Ms. Misung Lee Intern UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office 19 Phra Atit Road Bangkok 10200 Thailand Tel: (66-2) 356-9421 Fax: (66-2) 280-3563 E-mail: mlee@unicef.org

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UNESCO Headquarters Mr. Lucio Sia, Jr. Programme Specialist Division of Higher Education Section for Teacher Education Tel: (33-1) 4568-1092 Fax: (33-1) 4568-5626 E-mail: l.sia@unesco.org

UNESCO Bangkok 920 Sukhumvit Bangkok 10110 Thailand Tel: (66-2) 391-0577 Fax: (66-2) 391-0866

Mr. Abdul Hameed Hakeem Coordinator of APPEAL E-mail: a.hakeem@unescobkk.org

Ms. Molly Lee Coordinator of APEID E-mail: m.lee@unescobkk.org

Mr. Alan Jolliffe Project Officer, ICT in Education E-mail: a.jolliffe@unescobkk.org

Ms. Anuje Pina Sirikit Public Information Officer, IKM E-mail. a.sirikit@unescobkk.org

Mr. John T. Denny ICT Project Assistant, APEID E-mail: jt.denny@unescobkk.org

Ms. Ju-Hui Lee Associate Expert in Higher Education, APEID E-mail: jh.lee@unescobkk.org

Ms. Maki Hayashikawa Programme Specialist in Gender and Quality Basic Education, APPEAL E-mail: m.hayashikawa@unescobkk.org

Ms. Mita Gupta Programme Officer – Resource Mobilization and Gender and Basic Education, APPEAL E-mail: m.gupta@unescobkk.org

Mr. Nyi Nyi Thaung Programme Specialist, AIMS E-mail: nn.thaung@unescobkk.org

Mr. Ochirkhuyag Gankhuyag Programme Assistant – Gender and Quality Education, APPEAL E-mail: o.gankhuyag@unescobkk.org

Ms. Patricia Alberth Culture E-mail: p.alberth@unescobkk.org

Ms. Riika Vuorela Associate Expert in ESD, APEID E-mail: r.vuorela@unescobkk.org

Mr. Simon Baker HIV/AIDS E-mail: s.baker@unescobkk.org

Ms. Miho Arimura Intern, APPEAL E-mail: m.arimura@unescobkk.org

Ms. Sam Ching Pey Intern, APEID E-mail: cp.sam@unescobkk.org

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Annex 3: Summary of questionnaire to gender focal points (GFPs) 1 A questionnaire was addressed to the Gender Focal Points (GFPs) of the Gender in Education Network in Asia (GENIA) in 8 countries enquiring about the current status and situation of gender training programmes and materials in teacher training in their countries. These 8 countries were Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand and Viet Nam. Some responses were based on the GFPs’ personal views and opinions and may not represent the official government views or data. A. Gender training and materials for pre-and/or in-service teacher training Five out of 8 countries responded that they have gender training programmes and materials for teacher training, and 2 of them had gender training programmes only in in-service teacher training (See Table 1). In Viet Nam, there are ad hoc gender training programmes but no official gender training for teachers. In Pakistan and Thailand, there is currently no in- or pre-service gender training. Table 1. “Does your country have gender training programme and materials for pre- and/or in-service teacher training?”

Cambodia Kazakhstan Lao PDR Mongoloa Nepal Pakistan Thailand Viet NamIn-service TT Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No NoPre-service TT Yes Yes No No No No No No In the 5 countries that reported to have gender training programmes and materials for pre- and/or in-service teacher training, the programmes and materials were developed by Teacher Training Centers (Cambodia), Institute of Teachers/Education (Kazakhstan, Lao PDR, Mongolia) as well as, in one case, the Gender Focal Point (Mongolia). This is done, in several instances, in cooperation with partner agencies (Kazakhstan, Lao PDR, Nepal). Table 2 shows the responses from the 5 countries.

1 The information provided in this summary is solely based on the responses given in the questionnaires completed by the GFPs and may be limited in scope and not explain the situation in the whole country.

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Table 2. “When and by whom were the gender training programmes and materials developed?” 1

Cambodia Kazakhstan Lao PDR Mongolia Nepal

When Academic year ’06 - ‘07

2002 - 2004 2/ n/a3/ 2001 with UNICEF’s support

2005 2003

By whom

Technical Working group

The Scientific Center for Gender Study at the Kazakh Women’s Institute, with UNICEF

Institute to teachers

Supported by UNESCO & UNICEF. Later GFP – GEMEU adapted in educational context.

Institute of Education and Gender Focal Point unit

NCED in cooperation with various MOE dept. and stakeholders. Materials by trainers.

1/ For details, see the answer-matrix of the questionnaire 2/ Gender training Programme 3/ Material

In most cases, the gender training programmes are offered as part of official training courses and workshops/seminars at education institutes targeting teachers, students at teacher’s colleges or institutes, senior educators, primary and secondary teachers, vice principals, and principals. The programmes and materials are also offered and/or used as part of gender workshops for educators or capacity building programmes, often supported by partner agencies. The time allocated to gender training differs from country to country. In some cases, this training is included as part of general teacher training courses and in other cases it is provided separately, in the form of a few-days of intensive training. In countries in which training on gender in education is provided as part of formal pre- and/or in-service teacher training, (Cambodia, Mongolia, Nepal), gender training is compulsory. B. Materials and methodologies used for gender training In all of the 5 countries, both pre- and in-service training institutions are required to use the existing gender training materials. In Mongolia, gender training is not included in pre-service training due to lack of expertise and human and financial resources. Evaluation of gender programmes and materials have not yet been conducted in any of these countries.

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Table 3. Details of the gender training programmes / materials in 5 countries Cambodia Kazakhstan Lao PDR Mongolia Nepal

Where are the programmes offered and materials used? At which level?

Both pre- and in-service training

Institute’s training course on gender

- gender workshops for senior educators, - lecture from education institute and VS - primary school teacher training workshop

Official in-service training

Training Center under NCED

In – or Pre-service

Both Both In-service In-service Both

How are they used?

As a part of - formal primary school teacher training curriculum -in-service training for basic edu. Teachers - capacity building programme for school principals

- Several other trainings conducted by USAID, UNIFEM and others - Gender training for pre-school teachers

4-day training workshops. (Not in formal training / self studying/study distance learning)

As official in-service training

Part of formal curriculum as well as distance learning

# of lessons / hours

6 modules for 18 hours

40 hours 7 hours x 4 days = 28hrs

8 hours 4 days

Compulsory or optional

compulsory Compulsory within the Kazakh Women’s Institute

Optional Compulsory Compulsory

Gender material required?

Required Required Required Required Required

Evaluation n/a n/a Conducted for update

No, but have plan to undertake evaluation.

No - but feedback is received

Regarding the gender programme, materials and methodologies, the GFP from Lao PDR indicated that these were very useful for in-service training, but should be adjusted or integrated into the pre-service training curriculum as well, as it was felt by the GFP that teachers should be trained at the initial stages, given their potential role as the key transmitters and shapers of knowledge and perspectives on gender to younger generations. The GFP from Lao PDR expressed her strong belief in the importance of gender training for teachers in order to achieve gender equality in education. In Mongolia, gender training seems to have had positive impacts on creating a gender-friendly environment. According to the GFP, teachers who have completed gender training have a better understanding of their students and have more positive skills to manage their classrooms and communicate effectively with female and male students. In Nepal, the GFP responded that gender training should be participatory as it leads to self-sensitization. She also recommended that materials be developed based on concrete experiences of teachers. The GFPs from Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Nepal and Viet Nam all voiced the view that their training methodology was not sufficient for raising

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teachers’ gender-responsiveness. The GFP from Cambodia pointed out that she did not know the impact of the training provided. The GFP from Lao PDR pointed out that with only 4 days of training focusing on theory, it was hard for teachers to understand gender concepts, given the lack of concrete examples and practical experience. Also, gender is seen as a very sensitive issue in Lao culture. The GFP from Nepal suggested that gender issues be integrated into the regular teaching process, such as using gender neutral language, conducting gender-sensitive activities with gender-balanced groups. Although the GFP from Viet Nam reported that there was no gender training provided as part of pre- or in-service teacher training, she noted that gender mainstreaming in teacher training was not monitored adequately. The Lao GFP reported that the gender training materials utilized in teacher training adequately address gender issues in education and meet the needs of primary school teachers as the materials cover practical training on sex-disaggregated data analysis on enrolment, repetition, and transition and repetition rates and address gender roles and chores in families and schools. In Nepal, there are no specific gender training materials and the teacher training curriculum has little gender-specific content. In improving gender training for teachers, there were suggestions for UNESCO to provide some training on how to improve the quality of materials and to support study visits to learn from other countries. The importance of effective monitoring and evaluation, as well as community and school efforts, were also emphasized (See Table 4). Table 4. Opinions of GFPs on improving gender training offered to teachers

Country Suggestions for Improvement of Gender Training for Teachers Lao PDR ・ Provision of training on how to improve the quality of materials, how to update

the materials to suit the current situation ・ Arrangement of study visits by UNESCO and other agencies

Nepal ・ Development of specific but holistic gender training programme for teachers ・ Effective monitoring and evaluation

Viet Nam ・ More practical activities beyond theoretical training Table 5 shows a list of the content of training materials by country2.

2 The Viet Nam GFP responded that there was no official gender training in pre- or in-service teacher training, but has provided an example of a list of training content from general gender training programmes available in the country.

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Table 5. Contents of training materials Country List of contents

Cambodia ・ What is gender? ・ Strategies for gender and development ・ Gender mainstreaming in development plans ・ Advocacy ・ Gender Indicators ・ Gender lenses

Lao PDR ・ Legislation and law: Family and Labor Equality Policies ・ Education law: Compulsory education law ・ CEDAW key articles ・ Beijing Platform for Action ・ Child rights ・ Development of basic knowledge ・ Development of a participatory approach ・ Basic gender analysis with exercises ・ ‘Difference between sex and gender’ exercises ・ Tasks dividing exercises ・ Access ・ Control ・ Needs and exercises ・ Women’s empowerment ・ Gender Statistics and exercises ・ Gender sensitive development ・ Primary senior students’ activities: involving children in simple gender roles in school &

family Mongolia ・ Gender concepts

・ Diverse learning backgrounds of boys and girls ・ Issues of communication with boys and girls ・ Gender imbalance between male and female students and the possible reasons ・ Drop-outs in rural areas ・ Elimination of the worst forms of child labour ・ Attracting boys to education ・ Education data analysis ・ Discussion on sub-national gender in education policy and strategies

Nepal ・ Gender cultural concept ・ Girls’ and dalit students’ needs and their participation in the learning

environment ・ Managing diversity ・ Help and advocacy ・ Problem-solving ・ Women’s empowerment ・ Gender equity ・ Negative impact of gender bias and discrimination on girls’ and disadvantaged

children’s education ・ Explanation of teachers’ professional obligation towards girls’ and disadvantaged

children’s education ・ Classroom management of girls ・ Remedies for achieving gender equity

Viet Nam ・ Basic gender concepts ・ New approach on gender ・ Gender lenses and gender analysis

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C. Reasons for the absence of gender training in teacher training The GFP from Pakistan reported that the main reason there was no gender training within the teacher training curriculum was the lack of gender sensitivity on the part of policy makers, as well as lack of expertise in the area of gender and development. In Thailand, the GFP indicated that a specific gender programme is not considered to be necessary, but instead, gender issues are integrated in all courses and activities in academic institutions. However, a gender in education training programme for teachers is currently being developed. In addition to Thailand, there are plans in Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Pakistan to develop and introduce gender training materials and programmes in teacher training/education. D. Issue of teachers With regard to the issue of teachers, most of the countries responding to this questionnaire identified the following as the main gender issues: gender imbalance in the teaching profession, gender-unfriendly school environment, and lack of awareness of gender issues in education in general. Table 6 outlines the opinions by country. Table 6. Main gender issues in relation to teachers

Country Gender Issues Cambodia ・ Lack of women in school management positions

・ Lack of gender sensitivity on the part of teachers ・ Unequal opportunities for promotion ・ Few female math and science teachers at the secondary education level

Kazakhstan ・ Gender imbalance in the education system ・ Unequal opportunities for promotion

Lao PDR ・ Predominately female teachers in urban primary schools and mostly male teachers in rural schools

・ Very few role models for girls in rural areas ・ More male teachers in higher education as women had less access to

education in the past Mongolia ・ Gender imbalance in the teaching profession

・ Poor skills in communicating effectively with male and female students due to lack of gender training

Pakistan ・ Male-dominated teaching force with increasing numbers of women teachers at lower levels of education

・ Male-dominated leadership positions ・ Role models for women and girls are virtually non-existent ・ Schools are not gender-sensitive/friendly ・ School environment does not meet women teachers’ needs ・ Lack career advancement opportunities for women teachers ・ Women teachers find themselves at the bottom of selection for in-service

training

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Thailand ・ Imbalance in the teaching profession

・ Teachers’ gender bias towards girls’ achievement in math/science ・ Small share of female school principals and administrators, but a largely

female teaching force Viet Nam ・ Female-dominated ECCE teaching force

・ Mostly male teachers at the tertiary education level ・ Few female administrators ・ Level of education (qualification) of female lecturers at colleges and

universities are quite lower than male lecturers ・ Gender preconception in recruitment and promotion of female teachers

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Annex 4: Country fact sheets

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