Bandar Seri Begawan - Seamed Voctech is taking the first step in the formulation of a standardised curriculum for tourism-related educational programmes by conducting a training on "VTET (Vocational and Technical Education Training) Curriculum For Sustainable Development" which began yesterday.
Acting Director of Seameo Voctech Alias Hj Mau Bakar said that information collected during the two-week course would be used to formulate the basis of a curriculum standard which could be used by those who wished to implement it for their educational programmes.
"During the Seameo education conference held earlier this year in Cebu, Philippines, it was agreed and endorsed that Voctech will work together with the Indonesia's Ministry of Education to develop some sort of standards for curriculum development for all Asean countries," he said, adding that tourism was a good start because Mean countries place emphasis on the tourism industry. "Tourism is one of the important economic drive and development of many of the South East Asian countries which contributes a lot to the economy," said Alias.
"Also the curriculum for tourism can be done without needing huge infrastructure such as engineering which requires different disciplines, applications and techniques for each individual countries to apply," he added.
The acting director informed The Brunei Times that the training course is only the first step towards a standardised curriculum. "After this we will have to meet with our peers and counterparts. It is quite challenging but it will be beneficial for all countries in the long run," he said.
The training course being held from April 19 to May 1, is attended by some 17 participants comprising directors, administrators, teachers and lecturers from all Seameo member countries. The main focus of the programme is the integration of "Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into the existing VTET curriculum. It also intends to provide participants with the knowledge and skills in identifying the ESD contents of VTET curriculum, developing ESD learning activities and projects and developing indicators for ESD programme monitoring.
The acting director also spoke on the importance of having a curriculum which is well planned and developed.
"Without doubt, the curriculum must be dynamic and significant to the needs of sustainable development. A curriculum that is developed in the national level must be adapted upon by institutions that can address the needs of the environment, economy and society," he said.
Meanwhile the acting director disclosed that the centre will be hosting the second International Conference on VTET Networking in June, this year.
Alias said that the conference, carrying the theme "Exploring Best VTET Policies and Practices through Research and Networking Initiatives", will be held on June 23-24 at Rizqun International Hotel. It will be a venue for sharing research experiences in the vocational and technical education of South East Asia member states. "We want to share information on the current trends and future development of best practices of VTET among the participants form the Asia Pacific region." he told The Brunei Times. The conference is hoped will strengthen networking efforts among vocational and technical education researchers, practitioners and policymakers in the region and beyond while also documenting and disseminating research findings of the undertaken research initiatives.
About 22 researchers representing II Seameo member countries under the Southeast Asian Vocational Education Research Network (Seavern) will also be invited to present their research findings from the 2nd and 3rd cycles of Seavern projects in parallel sessions.
According to information provided by the Seameo Voctech website, the Seavern project acts as a venue for collaboration among researchers in Southeast Asia to generate, manage, and disseminate information based on research activities.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times (DATE_FORMAT_LC2)
Source: http://www.brudirect.com
Acting Director of Seameo Voctech Alias Hj Mau Bakar said that information collected during the two-week course would be used to formulate the basis of a curriculum standard which could be used by those who wished to implement it for their educational programmes.
"During the Seameo education conference held earlier this year in Cebu, Philippines, it was agreed and endorsed that Voctech will work together with the Indonesia's Ministry of Education to develop some sort of standards for curriculum development for all Asean countries," he said, adding that tourism was a good start because Mean countries place emphasis on the tourism industry. "Tourism is one of the important economic drive and development of many of the South East Asian countries which contributes a lot to the economy," said Alias.
"Also the curriculum for tourism can be done without needing huge infrastructure such as engineering which requires different disciplines, applications and techniques for each individual countries to apply," he added.
The acting director informed The Brunei Times that the training course is only the first step towards a standardised curriculum. "After this we will have to meet with our peers and counterparts. It is quite challenging but it will be beneficial for all countries in the long run," he said.
The training course being held from April 19 to May 1, is attended by some 17 participants comprising directors, administrators, teachers and lecturers from all Seameo member countries. The main focus of the programme is the integration of "Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into the existing VTET curriculum. It also intends to provide participants with the knowledge and skills in identifying the ESD contents of VTET curriculum, developing ESD learning activities and projects and developing indicators for ESD programme monitoring.
The acting director also spoke on the importance of having a curriculum which is well planned and developed.
"Without doubt, the curriculum must be dynamic and significant to the needs of sustainable development. A curriculum that is developed in the national level must be adapted upon by institutions that can address the needs of the environment, economy and society," he said.
Meanwhile the acting director disclosed that the centre will be hosting the second International Conference on VTET Networking in June, this year.
Alias said that the conference, carrying the theme "Exploring Best VTET Policies and Practices through Research and Networking Initiatives", will be held on June 23-24 at Rizqun International Hotel. It will be a venue for sharing research experiences in the vocational and technical education of South East Asia member states. "We want to share information on the current trends and future development of best practices of VTET among the participants form the Asia Pacific region." he told The Brunei Times. The conference is hoped will strengthen networking efforts among vocational and technical education researchers, practitioners and policymakers in the region and beyond while also documenting and disseminating research findings of the undertaken research initiatives.
About 22 researchers representing II Seameo member countries under the Southeast Asian Vocational Education Research Network (Seavern) will also be invited to present their research findings from the 2nd and 3rd cycles of Seavern projects in parallel sessions.
According to information provided by the Seameo Voctech website, the Seavern project acts as a venue for collaboration among researchers in Southeast Asia to generate, manage, and disseminate information based on research activities.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times (DATE_FORMAT_LC2)
Source: http://www.brudirect.com
