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As youth in protracted refugee situations reach adulthood, the challenges of providing education to them have increased. Along the Thai-Burmese border, some creative approaches are being taken in order to respond to their needs. This article describes four programs, each with a different character. Although available to relatively few, they demonstrate some roles that civil society, and in particular educators and educational institutions, can play in delivering or in ensuring access to higher education for refugee youth living in protracted situations. Most critical are creativity, flexibility, and respectful collaboration between educators and both refugee and host communities.

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In Myanmar, according to the National Education Strategic Plan (NESP) 2016-2021, the four-year Education College curriculum has been developed and implemented, in line with the pre-service teacher education reform. In the new curriculum, the Lesson Study (LS) model is integrated into the practicum. LS is an effective teacher professional development practice that originated in Japan and is becoming popular all over the world today, suited to both pre-service and in-service teacher education. The LS concept has been introduced to the Myanmar context since 2011 through international training projects and there are two LS research projects which focus on the impacts of the training. However, there is no follow-up research which explores teacher educators' understanding of LS and their LS practices after the training projects and there is no research related to the integration of LS into pre-service teacher education. This study explores the LS experiences and perspectives of teacher educators who have to take the responsibility of integrating LS into pre-service teacher education with the aim of assessing their readiness for that. Eight teacher educators from six Education Colleges in Myanmar participated in this qualitative research project. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for data collection. The results reveal that teacher educators are already familiar with the term 'LS' through the former LS projects. Moreover, the findings show two dimensions of teacher educators' lesson study experiences; namely, lesson study experiences as a tool of professional development and as a tool of teacher training. They have positive perceptions about the integration of LS into the practicum but it is still challenging for them.

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The importance of transitioning towards a greener economy, which is part of the sustainable development agenda, has been recognized throughout the world. This chapter analyzed greening initiatives at the regional, government and industry levels to understand the current and desirable role of partnerships for pushing the greening of economies to a new level. Intergovernmental collaboration between [Association of South East Asian Nations] ASEAN countries that deal with environmental issues and countries' initiatives illustrate the ways challenges have been addressed individually and through coordinated efforts. At the industry level, greening measures are also adopted driven by [corporate social responsibility] CSR policies and targets to decrease cost of running operations. The chapter suggests conceptualisation of current and future actions for greening hotels in Hong Kong through a shareholders' value framework enables a clarification of strategies required for improvement in a systematic manner as well as identifying ways in which partnerships between [technical and vocational education and training] TVET and the hotel industry can contribute to innovations for greening. It is a useful tool that allows hotels to focus attention on current and future actions that can bring green development for a company. Although this set of actions has been formulated in the context of Hong Kong, they can provide useful guidelines for the hotel industry throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

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The volume from which this chapter is taken is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 137.1084. Show less

This article examines youth transitions within a context of forced migration including rural areas in Eastern Myanmar and temporary shelters for displaced persons at the Thai-Myanmar border, as well as a Jesuit education project in Chiang Mai province. The study is informed by a life course approach that emphasizes the interlinkage between individual biographies and socio-political developments. Drawing on qualitative research methods such as participant observation, participatory research methods, essay writing and informal interviews, research data highlight the pivotal role of formal education even in a context of war and displacement. Making the vertical transition from one school stage to the next gives meaning and structure to the lives of the displaced youth who participated in this study and shapes their horizontal transitions between different geographical and social spaces along the Thai-Myanmar border. In this respect the study suggests that within the continuum of displacement at the Thai-Myanmar border ethnicity and citizenship status, coupled with social relations and individual skills for institutional networking, predominantly shape young Karen women's and men's pursuit for education, as well as their decisions to interrupt their studies for transition to work.

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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand the process of large-scale organizational change in a community-based enterprise in Myanmar. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative case study methodology was selected to understand the phenomenon of change in a community-based enterprise in Myanmar. Data were collected over a four-week period of fieldwork through individual interviews, focus groups, observations and document collection. Data were analyzed via a modified inductive analytic strategy using constant comparative analysis. Findings: Findings revealed the processes used in this large-scale organizational change as impacted by the national cultural dimensions of Myanmar and the social learning experienced by the participants. Learning about organization development and change and sharing that learning in the organization by its members who participated in a certificate program in organizational development designed by Payap University (Thailand) and the International Rescue Committee had a major role in the change processes. Myanmar's high power distance and collectivist culture facilitated social learning by highlighting authority figures as role models and providing high interaction environments conducive to learning. Originality/value: This study illuminates the change process in a community-based organization in the emerging economy of Myanmar where no roadmaps for change in these types of organizations exist. The findings of this study are transferrable to community-based organizations in emerging economies with similar national cultural characteristics and call for future case studies to understand the complexities of change in these unique organizations and environments.

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Context is a key factor in designing and delivering adult learning programmes, and in multilingual environments the choice of language plays a decisive role. Four programmes, two in Asia (Bhutan and Myanmar) and two in Africa (Ghana and Uganda), which focus on learning for development, integrate language considerations in different ways, related both to the broader socio-political contest and to the purposes and assumptions of the programmers themselves. Both the functional and the symbolic roles affect the choice of language, and its impact, and must be factored into the design and implementation of adult learning programmes.

Published abstract reprinted from ‘International journal of educational development’, copyright 2007, with permission from Elsevier. Show less

This article examines factors influencing English language education, participation and achievement among Karen refugee women in Australia. Data were drawn from ethnographic observations and interviews with 67 participants between 2009 and 2011, collected as part of a larger qualitative study exploring the well-being of Karen refugee women in Sydney. Participants unanimously described difficulty with English language proficiency and communication as the 'number one' problem affecting their well-being. Gendered, cultural and socio-political factors act as barriers to education. We argue that greater sensitivity to to refugees' backgrounds, culture and gender is necessary in education. Research is needed into the combined relationships between culture and gender across pre-displacement, displacement and resettlement and the impact of these factors on post-immigration educational opportunities. Training is needed to sensitise educators to the complex issues of refugee resettlement. The paper concludes with recommendations for service provision and policy.

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Most countries in Southeast Asia are now positioning technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in the mainstream of education system thus becoming a priority in their education agenda to support the socio-economic development of the nation (SEAMEO VOCTECH 2012). TVET teachers and instructors are still the pressing issue due to a lack of quality and quantity in most countries. Most TVET teachers are recruited from fresh graduates of vocational and technical colleges and universities, thus lacking industrial experiences. This paper focuses on issues around the preparation of TVET teachers based on a meta-analysis of nine country reports presented during [Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation Regional Centre for Vocational and Technical Education's] SEAMEO VOCTECH's Expert Meeting in collaboration with UNESCO UNEVOC in Thailand in December 2012 and updated from the country reports of training participants during the fiscal year 2013/2014, and SEAMEO VOCTECH's sharing sessions with the 2014 Governing Board Meeting.

Based on these reports, this paper analyses common policies and practices, challenges, strategies and proposes some recommendations. The salient findings from Brunei on the current policies and practices include the effort for ensuring high quality teachers, enhancing teachers' professional standards and enhancing the image of teaching as a first choice profession. Indonesia is focusing on teacher certification programs by stressing the importance of qualification and teacher competency standards. Lao and Cambodia are focusing on raising their teachers' qualification to higher diploma and baccalaureate. Malaysia is addressing the complexity of various providers and perspectives by forming the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) and transforming teachers' competencies by including industrial experience and considering industry needs, creating policy guidelines to develop highly effective instructors, and promoting teacher capacity building program by introducing a training levy. Myanmar is introducing e-learning systems to teachers to further their education and training in accordance with National Qualification Framework (NQF) standards and proposed ASEAN Qualification Standards (AQF). Singapore Institute of Technical Education is training its own teachers using competency-based curriculum (CBC) and an authentic learning approach using TPCK model (Technological, Pedagogical, Content, Working Knowledge). Thailand is emphasizing the importance of education for sustainable development for TVET teachers, introducing problem-based learning (PBL) and using instructional media. Vietnam is highlighting the importance of upgrading teaching staff both pre- and in-service focusing on management, contents, curricula, teaching and assessment methods.

This paper also discusses some challenges and issues in TVET teacher education: inter alia the lack of industrial experience, attracting certain gender in the teaching force, linking with industry, and issues of standardization. Selected strategies are also discussed, including recommendations to enhance the quality and quantity of teachers by addressing issues of flexibility and mobility.

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The research and innovation in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) are crucial in helping achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. However, most developing countries including Myanmar fail to systematically collect information on TVET, and research in TVET is regarded as a neglected area. Therefore, the aim of the study is to take a preliminary approach toward the development of the TVET research and development (R&D) sector in Myanmar by highlighting the insights on how to initiate and promote TVET research and innovation in the country.

To achieve the aim, the study conducted a literature review, a need analysis of the TVET R&D sector of the country and a contextual analysis of the focal TVET organization, and it identified the best practices from other countries. The drive to develop a concept of the TVET R&D sector in the country highlighted the need for the TVET sector development through R&D. Regarding the findings from the SWOT analysis, the focal TVET organization has to apply the suggested strategies including development of a R&D framework, training of the researchers, networking and cooperation to develop the TVET R&D sector in the country. Finally, a preliminary approach toward the TVET R&D sector development of Myanmar was taken for the sustainable development of the country.

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Today, every industry is calling for their workforce to develop new skill sets due to the dynamic of technological change. Every country needs to prepare its Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector for providing the required skills in the new industrial revolution (IR4.0). It is vitally important to assess TVET academics' awareness and perceptions of IR4.0 and to ascertain how prepared they are to strategically and effectively manage work-based learning. Which factors have an influence on the situation?

A survey based on 16 structured questionnaires was devised to measure the awareness, perception and preparation of 156 respondents, including TVET managers, teachers and students from different TVET institutions in Myanmar. Gender, major study, nature of employment and type of school were considered as influencing factors. Results were presented quantitatively for discussion and confirmed that gender, major study, nature of job and school influenced the awareness, perception and preparation of TVET academics. Strategic plans and reforms can be effectively introduced for future skills development in work-based learning scenarios which are relevant to major study, job nature and school nature.

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