Meta analysis of Case Studies on TVET for Sustainable Development in SEAMEO member countries

Paryono SEAMEO VOCTECH Brunei Darussalam paryono@voctech.og.bn Abstract There are many factors that affect the degree to which a country incorporate the concept of sustainable development in their TVET system. Considering that the 11 SEAMEO (Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization) member countries vary in their socio, economic, geographic, and political background and also in their preconditions for sustainable development (SD), the roles of TVET for SD may also vary. This paper discusses the development of TVET for SD in SEAMEO member countries by examining relevant research reports from 2 conferences/forums and participants reports of SEAMEO VOCTECH regular training programmes in 2007/2008, including the initiatives taken by regional organisations in the region. The paper also offers a synthesis of the countries status in TVET for sustainable development and recommendations to enhance the adoption of SD in TVET programmes. Key words: sustainable development, vocational and technical education and training, Southeast Asia. Background The eleven SEAMEO (Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization) member countries Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam vary in their socio, economic, political backgrounds and their preconditions to sustainable development (SD). The salient preconditions for SD suggested by Bagnall (2007) include the level of understanding, ownership, the will or commitment, and capacity of the policymakers and practitioners in the respective countries.

TVET

policymakers

and

practitioners

have

different

levels

of

understanding of what TVET for sustainable development is. Referring to the three pillars of sustainable development-- economy, environmental, and social sustainability suggested by UNESCO-UNEVOC, in the case of Southeast Asia, the author suspects that some countries havent had clear ideas of the scope. Considering that their backgrounds in economic development and socio-political are also very different, the focus of TVET for SD in SEAMEO member countries may also vary; some may focus only on the economic sustainability while others may focus on environment or social sustainability. Their understanding about ownerships or benefits of integrating sustainable development also varies between countries or even within the countries. Some still think that integrating the idea of sustainable development in the programmes was more due to external pressures; therefore they perceived that the benefits were for others, not for them. This situation is likely to occur when the sense of ownerships is low or unclear. The level of their commitment may also vary; much of it is influenced by their level of understanding, ownerships, and the capacity to integrate SD in the programmes. In Southeast Asia, the commitment of TVET policymakers and practitioners in SD could be reflected in their programmes, but could not be easily found in a written policy, reports or documents. During the training programmes conducted at SEAMEO VOCTECH Brunei Darusslam, when we inquired about certain aspects or programmes on SD, the participants from SEAMEO member countries responded that they have the programmes already, but no written policies or reports could be found. In this paper, therefore, the meta-analysis was not only based on the written reports but also from oral reports of SEAMEO VOCTECH training participants during regular training programmes. To assure the accuracy, the sources of information will be cited. Realizing the importance of SD in the region, this paper tries to explain the development and the roles TVET for SD in the eleven member countries by analysing various sources and coming up with synthesis and recommendations for improvement. Scope of TVET for Sustainable Development in this paper

According to World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Further, UNESCO-UNEVOC noted that sustainable development is not a fixed concept; rather it is a culturally-directed search for a dynamic balance in the relationships between social, economic and natural systems. A balance seeks to promote equity between present and future, countries, social classes, genders, and races (UNESCO-UNEVOC, 2005). Adopting the broad definition of SD, this paper will include any initiatives that directly or indirectly contribute to the improvement of TVET and SD in the three pillarssocio, economic, and environmental, and more importantly the contribution of TVET to SD. Agreeing that TVET should play a pivotal roles in following up and achieving the goals written in the recommendations of the 2 nd International Congress on TVE (1999), the goals set out at the World Forum on Education (2000), the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (2000), the SEAMEO member countries and relevant regional organisations are expected to take some actions to strengthen TVET programmes for sustainable development. The initiatives to bring TVET to the centre by integrating TVET in education at all levels should be monitored and as much as possible will be reported in this paper. The scope of TVET should be broadened not only focusing on preparing the learners with knowledge and skills related to the job but also values and attitudes to become productive and responsible citizens; those who appreciate the dignity of work and contribute to sustainable societies (UNESCO-UNEVOC, 2005). This paper also aims to report initiatives or programmes to modernize TVET function as a means to productive livelihoods, alleviate poverty, promote equity, support youth in crisis and rural communities and excluded groups, promote environmental conservation and social well-being. In short, this paper will discuss what is happening in the SEAMEO region in terms of TVET programmes that address the three pillars of sustainable development: economic, environmental, and social sustainability or any actions that may contribute to knowledge, skills, and values development that leads to economically viable, environmentally sound and sustainable communities.

Realising the limited number of papers being reviewed, the analysis depth of the analysis is also inadequate . The author has realized this limitation, but is still encouraged to cover SD initiatives as much as possible for providing holistic perspective and stimulate further discussions. TVET for Sustainable Development in SEAMEO member countries The Bonn Declaration in 2004 clearly stated that Since education is considered the key to effective development strategies, TVET must be the master key that can alleviate poverty, promote peace, conserve the environment, improve the quality of life for all and help achieve sustainable development. (UNESCO-UNEVOC, 2005). TVET should play important roles in achieving Education for All (EFA) programmes, especially in integrating skills development of the learners completing basic education. Based on various sources consisting of conference papers related to sustainable development, the summary of initiatives/programmes in each member country is listed Table 1 followed by the summary of general status of TVET and Sustainable development in each member country. Table 1. Sustainable Development in and through TVET in SEAMEO-member Countries Country Brunei TVET Programme Relevant to SD Integration of common skills/life skills in TVET institutions (not taught but monitored) Provision of industrial attachment Apprenticeship scheme Training for school leavers (Dept. of Labour) Malay Islamic Monarchy as the educational philosophy to preserve Cambodia the culture Entrepreneurship skills in TVET Cambodia Country Report, 2007 Source Brunei Report, 2008 Fung & Roziana, 2008

Country

Improvement of TVET programme on Tourism to support tourism industry and national economy

Davin 2008

&

Sokh

Tha,

Training programme in rural areas to address various issues such as safety and cleanliness. Access and equity: Reaching minorities and disadvantaged groups, especially those who live in rural areas to enrol in TVET

Indonesia

Directorate of Technical Vocational Education, 2005

Increasing students

the enrol in

proportion TVET. It

of is

expected to be 70:30 (70 TVET students and 30 Academic students by 20151) Partnership with business/industry: o o Industrial/business study visit programmes Practical Experience in Industry to learn both jobrelated knowledge and skills and environmental conservation o Dual-training programme Suryatri Darmiatun, 2008 (Conference paper) Machmud Sugandi, 2008 Assistance in job placement School Financial Sustainability (Community support, school production unit) Soft skills integration I Made Suarta, 2008 Wagiran, 2008 Indonesia Country Report, 2008

Environmental education/courses Implementation of ISO 9001:2001 for environment in TVET institutions

Lao PDR

Education reform Management and teacher training Improvement of TVET Initiatives to increase enrolment Cooperation communities: in developing with industries internship curriculum, and in dual

Nivone Moungkhounsavath, 2007

Soulikhamkone Sisoulath / Vannalek Leuang, 2008

industry/on-the-job training, partner training programme in one school, Vocational guidance (still limited) Development Enhancement economy Malaysia Partnership with industry through Time Sector Privatization (TSP) policy. The TSP consists of several programs which are known as Joint Training Programmes, Customized Training Programme and Modular Training Programme. Implementation of dual-training system Competency-based curriculum Articulation scheme Sustainable Curriculum: soft skills/common skills integration Myanmar Introducing competency-based curriculum Entrepreneurial training Myanmar Country report, 2007 Myint, 2007 Zakaria Kasa, 2008 Malaysia Country Report, 2007 of Entrepreneurial of Tourism Lao PDR Country Report, 2007

skills for sustainable development programme to support the countrys

programmes Establishing institutions Promoting high-tech training Initiating research and development Still less 20% of Small-Medium with TVET Philippines Country Report, 2007 Hnin Si & Cho Cho Myint, 2008 more training

Industries Philippine s

partnered

institutions. Implementation of Competencybased Curriculum Implementation of Dualised Training System

Singapore

Moving toward decentralisation Life skills integration. Life skills are considered as the key to sustainable success in economic, social and personal areas of life

Samual Ng & Tang Buay Choo, 2008

Application of a Holistic Learning Environment: Hands-on, Minds-on, and Hearts-on.

Singapore Country Report, 2007

Thailand

Competency-based curriculum Project-based learning approach specified and used SD has been adopted as a framework for the National Economic Development Plan. There were efforts to develop indicators at the Ninth NSED Plan (2002-2006): well being index, economy index, and environmental quality. However, no indicators for evaluating TVET system for SD. Jantrakool & Banleng, 2008

A Flag-Ship program for increasing

of product efficiency Social Service Activities to enhance students knowledge, skills, and values at the same time serving the community, e.g. FIX It Programmes Project-based Learning: New Invention Research and Technology Innovation Fostering New Entrepreneurs/Selfemployed Workers Implement Competency-based Curriculum Prescribing new teacher roles Adopted 4 pillars of SD: economic, environmental, social, and cultural In the process of coming up with VTET-SD Index: o Economic VTET-SD index covers stability and equity, product efficiency, and self reliance. o Social VTET-SD index covers equity and participation, quality of life, lifelong learning, learning organization, research for selfemployed work, labour demand, and community network strengthening o Environmental VTET-SD index covers environment management in school, and educational resources sharing among schools in a major program or a region. Jantrakool & Sramoon, 2008 Choonom, 2007 Wongsombat, 2007

VTET cultural-SD index covers the cultural and traditional diversity, understanding life skills, and sufficiency.

Timor Leste

Integrated SD in TVET Curriculum Churches, NGOs also businesses/industries, operate a range of Tilman, Code, Afonso, & Da Cruz, 2008

vocational training programs (60% of students enrolled in these type of training providers) The Government of Timor-Leste is about to start forming three Vocational Institutions Vietnam Enhancement of access and equity. Reaching traditionally un-reached groups by having effective raining models. This initiative also contributes to hunger alleviation, poverty reduction, employment opportunity, improve socio-economic development and contribute to SD. Career guidance and job placement are underway Enhancement of curriculum Provision of trained labour force for production Improving intellectual level, values, and work performance Part of the solution to employment issues (60-70% graduates found jobs after graduation) Truong & Han, 2007 Vietnam Country Report, 2007 Hien et al., 2007

Note: Country reports were written or reported orally by regular training participants of SEAMEO VOCTECH for the fiscal year 2007/2008. The papers analyzed in this report consists of research papers written by SEAVERN research coordinators presented in International Conference on Research and Networking, Bali, 7-8 July 2008 and papers presented in International Consultation on Education for Sustainable Development: TVET Teacher Education towards Sustainability, Chiang Mai, 19-24 August 2007.

Analysis From Table 1, Thailand seems to be moving ahead in translating the concept of sustainable development in the educational plan, especially integrating it with TVET. Thailand has defined each pillars of SD according to its context. Spearheaded by OVEC, Thailand has come up with indexes or indicators to measure the contribution of TVET to four pillars of sustainable development: economical, environmental, social, and cultural sustainability. This progress has been followed by other SEAMEO member countries with different focus and speed. Many of the SEAMEO member countries are focusing on improving the TVET programmes, bringing the TVET from periphery to the centre, improving access and equity to reach the previously unreachable groups. Some has started incorporating environmental sustainability in the curriculum. Among the three pillars suggested by UNESCO-UNEVOC, most of the initiatives in Southeast Asia are still addressing around economic sustainability. At some degree, even though not explicitly written in a document, some countries have addressed the environmental and social sustainability indirectly. The activity to observe companies in preserving the environment and the efforts to address the access and equity by encouraging women, minorities, and other disadvantaged groups to participate in TVET to name a few, are some examples of initiatives relevant to environmental and social sustainability. TVET for Sustainable Development Initiatives at Regional and

International Level There are various regional and international organisations that assist countries in Southeast Asia in TVET for sustainable development. To name a few SEAMEO VOCTECH, ASEAN, Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC), UNESCO, including

UNESCO-UNEVOC and UNESCO Bangkok, and ILO have been very active in providing assistance to the Southeast Asian countries. The SEAMEO VOCTECH Regional Centre has been very active in assisting the member countries in strengthening TVET through capacity building/training programmes, research and networking, consultation, and information sharing. Since 1997 the Southeast Asian Vocational Education Research Network or SEAVERN has been established under coordination of SEAMEO VOCTECH Regional Centre. Research coordinators and members from eleven member countries have been appointed and trained. Every year each country representatives conduct one country-level research in the area of TVET, compile research findings from various sources to be submitted to SEAVERN Online Journal System, and present their research paper in a conference. Through this network and its activities, it is expected that the online database will have a large collections of research information in Southeast Asia that is open to all for continues improvement. The latest activity under SEAVERN was the International Conference on Research and Networking conducted in Bali in July 2008. The next conference will be in Brunei Darussalam in 2010. ASEAN in partnerships with ILO and SEAMEO VOCTECH is addressing the issue of labour mobility in the region. So far, they have done mapping the qualification framework and proposing several scenarios of recognizing skills across nations. Due to the complexity and diversity of the educational systems in Southeast Asia, pilot testing the skills recognition in limited occupancies and countries are advisable. At this time, the pilot testing is focused on Hospitality and Tourism in some countries including Thailand and other countries in Mekong River. Concluding remarks As a dynamic concept, TVET for sustainable development has been perceived and responded differently in SEAMEO member countries. From the meta-study, we can see that each country has different ways of addressing and incorporating the idea of SD in TVET programmes. This reflects that their interpretations on SD vary among them, not to mention the difference in their commitment and capacity to act on it.

Clear and more explicit guidelines may be needed by the SEAMEO member countries, especially by spelling out the criteria to measure the impact of TVET on the three pillars: economic, environmental, and social sustainability. The guidelines should not be exhaustive that will hinder creativity in interpreting and connecting with its own context. Realizing the importance of TVET and the roles of TVET for sustainable development, we must work hand-in-hand to address various issues that still linger around TVET in a comprehensive and a strategic way and at the same time improving its relevance to sustainable development. The issue about image, being marginalized, lacking of its relevance, among others should be addressed concurrently to optimize the impact of it to sustainable development.

Contribution of TVET to ESD:

References Bagnall, R.G. (2007). Mapping and enhancing the contribution of TVET teacher education to education for sustainable development. Paper Presented at International Consultation on Education for Sustainable Development: TVET Teacher Education towards Sustainability, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 1924 August 2007. Directorate of Technical Vocational Education. (2005). The Roadmap of Technical and Vocational Education in Indonesia. Jakarta: Directorate of Technical Vocational Education Jantrakool, R. & Sramoon, B. (2008). Toward Concepts of Sustainable

Development in Alternative TVET Programme of Thailand . Paper presented at Bali Conference on VTET Research and Networking, 7-8July 2008.

Tien, V.M., Diep, N.T.N & Duong, N.V. (2008). Patterns of Enrolment Distribution in TVET Selected Courses in Vietnam. Paper presented at Bali Conference on VTET Research and Networking, 7-8July 2008. The World Commission on Environment and Development. (1986). The concept of sustainable development. Fung, G.C.W. & Roziana, S. (2008). The New National Education System for Brunei Darussalam the SPN 21: Issues, Problems and Challenges faced by Bruneis TVET Providers. Paper presented at Bali Conference on VTET Research and Networking, 7-8July 2008. Si, H. & Myint, C.C.. (2008). The Expectations Of Small And Medium Enterprises Towards Their Employee As A Means Of Improving TVET Institutions: A Case Study In Myanmar. Paper presented at Bali Conference on VTET Research and Networking, 7-8July 2008. UNESCO-UNEVOC (2005). Bonn Declaration in sustainable development and TVET. Meeting on Learning for Work, Citizenship and Sustainability (Seoul + 5) hosted by the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for TVET, in Bonn, Germany.