THE TEACHER PROFESSIONALS IN THE ASEAN AND BEYOND

 Discuss the current situation, circumstances, teaching workplace, qualifications, career

pathways, benefits and other factors that influence education.
 Provide a clear landscape of how it is to be a teacher here and abroad.

10 MEMBER STATES OF THE ASEAN

 BRUNEI
 CAMBODIA
 INDONESIA
 LAO PDR
 MALAYSIA
 MYANMAR
 PHILIPPINES
 THAILAND
 SINGAPORE
 VIETNAM

THE ASEAN: ONE VISION, ONE IDENTITY, ONE COMMUNITY

A. The Levels of Schooling as a Teaching Meliu

1. Primary Level
− composed of Pre-primary (Playschool, Pre-K, Kindergarten) and the Primary Level
− refers to elementary level
- Grade 1 aged 6 yrs. old
Two Sub Levels
- Grade 2 aged 7 yrs. old
- Grade 3 aged 8 yrs. old
Primary Grades
- Kindergarten to Grade 4 - Grade 4 aged 9 yrs. old
- Grade 5 aged 10 yrs. old
Intermediate Grades - Grade 6 aged 11 yrs. old
- Grade 5 and Grade 6

2. Secondary Level
− composed of Junior High School and the Senior High School
− slighter variations in some countries − The graduate from Senior High School can proceed to
Lower Secondary college or find a job appropriate to the qualification.
Level
- three years with
Grades 7, 8 and 9.
Junior High School
Upper Secondary - composed of Grades 7, 8, 9 and 10
Level
- composed of Grades Senior High School
10, 11 and 12. - composed of Grades 11 and 12
 Variations Levels of Schooling and Number of Years

Primary/Elementary Lower Upper Total Countries

Secondary Secondary number of (as o f 2013)
Years
Version 1 5 yrs 4 yrs 3 yrs 12 yrs Lao PDR
Version 1 5 yrs 4 yrs 2 yrs 11 yrs Myanmar
Version 3 6 yrs 3 yrs 2 yrs 11 yrs Malaysia
Version 4 6 yrs 3 yrs 3 yrs 12 yrs Brunei,
Cambodia,
Indonesia,
Thailand,
Vietnam
Version 5 6 yrs 4 yrs 2 yrs (pre- 12 yrs Singapore,
university of Philippines
Singapore

3. Tertiary Level
− is beyond the basic education in all the countries in the ASEAN
− The ladder of educational system where the student earns a bachelor’s degree in teacher
education.
A requirement to take a
licensure examination to
become a professional
teacher
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)
− provides diploma and training certificates o f lifelong learning.
− assists in the implementation of the senior high school technical-vocational tracks

Pre-service teacher
− gets appropriate qualification degree in the tertiary level in order to teach in either the
elementary or secondary levels of the education system in either the public o private school in a
particular country

B. The Teacher Professionals across the ASEAN

1. Academic Preparations of Teacher Professionals in Basic Education

Lao PDR, Indonesia, Myanmar and Cambodia

- Pre-school, pre-primary o kindergarten future teachers can
have 9 years of basic education (Grade 9)
- get an advanced training of 3 years to become teachers
(9 years of basic education + 3 years preparation) or 10 years of
basic education plus 3 yeas o teacher preparation
Teachers of Lower Secondary Level
− Future teachers should have 12 years of basic education and 2 years of teacher preparation to
earn a Diploma in Teaching.

Teachers of Upper Secondary Level

− Future teachers should have 12 years of basic education plus 4 to 5 years of teacher
preparation to earn a Bachelor’s degree.
− For non-education degree graduates
− They can take the post graduate diploma in Education/Teaching
− This will mean an equivalent of 12 years of basic education plus 4 to 5
years of Baccalaureate Degree plus one year of Graduate Diploma

2. Components of Teacher Preparation

 General knowledge and understanding

− are embedded in the general education o f liberal arts education subjects in college
as preparatory to the core content subjects in the professional education
− Cluster of subjects in the liberal education
- provides the development of the person-hood of the future teacher

 Pedagogy
− provides variety of teaching delivery approaches beyond the traditional methods o f
teaching
− Innovative methods
- Student-centered approaches, cooperative lea rning, project-based learning

 Teaching Practicum/Experiential Learning

− Knowledge, theories, principles and pedagogies leaned a re validated in real life
situation as teaches.
− These are required as a component of training or for certification to teach.
− (Immersion to the real world of teaching / Practicum/Teaching Internship)

 Specialized knowledge/ Major courses

− Major content courses are leaned for those who will teach the content of discipline
in the upper elementary or the secondary levels.
− The common degree titles
- Bachelor of Education (BEd)
- Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEEd)
- Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSEd)
- Diploma in Education either Pre- baccalaureate/
Post Gradate (PGDip)

− Most common standard and competencies as a guide for all teachers

1. Skills in the 21st century

2. Professionalism and accountability
3. Pedagogical competence
4. Teacher’s characteristics/ qualities
5. Knowledge competence
C. The Teaching Profession Practices in the ASEAN

1. Teachers Major Responsibilities

− have to be carried out in the teaching hours required which is 6-8 hours per day, 40-45
hours per week, 4 weeks per month and 10 months per year

Three Major Responsibilities

 Actual Teaching
− refers to the time of engagement of the teacher with the learners
− happens within the official teaching hours
− vary from country to country and from school to school
− refers to contact time or time on task

 Management of Learning
− refers to activities that support the actual teaching
− This can be remediation or enhancement, homework, o co-curricular activities

 Administrative work
− refers to the teacher’s job that includes writing test items, checking and recording test
paper results, attending to parents, making reports and other related activities

2. Teacher Licensing and Recruitment

− Most teachers are licensed as professionals or are certified to teach by the country’s
appropriate agencies:
 Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) “Philippines”
 National Institute for Education (NIE) “Singapore”
 Teacher Education Council (Khurusapha) “Thailand”
− In Indonesia, Akta IV teacher license is given by the teacher colleges for an authority to
teach.
− In other countries where no licensing is provided, certification is issued instead.

Ministry of Education
− guides the teacher recruitment process and qualifications for the public schools and the
individual private schools under the guidance and policies of each country’s ministry

D. The Teacher and the Teaching Profession Beyond the ASEAN

Three Countries beyond the ASEAN

 China
 Japan
 United States

These countries were included as samples in the 2013 Global Teacher

Status Index.
1. China
− most populous county that has over 200 million students attending public schools taught by
over 9 million teachers in the elementary, junior and senior high schools

Teachers in China
− form the largest teaching force in the world

Education system
− Highly centralized such that course syllabi are written by scientists and professors hired by
National Educational Commission

New Educational System

 Six years of primary education
 Three years of junior middle school, three years of senior middle school
 Six years of university
 varieties of technical and vocational schools

Two Main Categories of Teachers in China

 Gongban (state paid)
- Teachers who earn salary comparable with other state employees in state-owned
enterprises.
- are categorized into grades according to their years of service and their standard
performance
The five-grade system
 Super-grade teachers
− Highest level which occupy the upper-level o 5% of the teaching force
 Senior-grade teachers
− Occupy 6% of the teaching force in 1990 where most of the primary level
teachers belong
 Third-grade teachers
 Second-grade teachers
− include the majority of the secondary teachers
 First-grade teachers
− Some of the newly hired primary teachers

 Minban (community-paid)
- Teachers who are paid by local community depending on the community income.

China’s Teaching Licensing

 Examinations are standardized for the secondary teachers by the central government.
 Examinations for the elementary teachers are the responsibility of each province.
 Primary teaches should have at least graduated from secondary normal schools or
senior secondary schools while the junior secondary teachers should have at least have
a teaching diploma from junior teacher colleges.
 The senior secondary teachers shall graduate from a normal university or teacher
colleges and holder of degrees from tertiary institutions.
Chinese Teachers Enjoy Unquestionable Authority
Students are guided by the following tenets:
 Important knowledge comes from teachers and textbooks.
 Leaning involves listening, thinking and silent practice.
 Knowledge espoused by the teacher and the textbook is not to be challenged.

2. Japan
 Education is free and compulsory from children from 6 to 15 years.
 Classes are large and teaching methods are usually lectures.
 Students spend 243 days a year in school.

Japanese educational system

− Highly centralized and is administered by the Mombusho or Ministry of Education
− Sometimes seen as a model on how to operate schools
− Gives us a mental picture of obedient, quiet school children sitting on their desks, listening to
the teacher and working hard to pass the various entrance examinations

Five Basic Levels of Japanese Educational System

 Kindergarten
 Elementary School (six years)
− Covers six years of schooling from Grade 1 to Grade 6
− Most of the teachers are females
 Lower secondary school (three years)
− Covers grade seven, eight and nine
− Men compose two-thirds of the teachers in this level
− Class size average is 38 and the periods are fifty minutes long
 Upper secondary school (three years)
− Offers academic, technical and vocational programs
− The first-year courses include Japanese language, English, Science and Math
− Vocational programs include information processing, navigation, fish farming,
ceramics and business English
 University (usually around four years)
− Ranked based on their success in placing graduating students into prestigious
universities

School system
 From kindergarten through university serves about 24 million
− Going to the university (10%)
− Going to the private schools (one third)
− The rest are enrolled in the public school system

Standard Curriculum
 Japanese language
 Social Studies
 Math
 Science
  Art
 Music
 Home Economics
 Physical Education
 Greatest emphasis on learning the Japanese language

The Teaching Profession in Japan

Japanese Teachers
− Essential element in the success story of the country
− Entrusted for moral education and character development and for instilling values, attitudes
and living habits in student at all levels
− Expected to infuse cultural values throughout school activities including student’s lives, both in
school or even at home and community

Global Teacher Status Index (2013): The average annual salary of teachers in Japanese is
equivalent to 43,775.00 dollars annually, which is second to Singapore.

Teacher Certification in Japan

Different Legal requirements for Certification
 First class certificate
− issued to teach in the preschool, elementary or secondary teachers with basic
qualification of having earned a Bachelor’s Degree
− To teach in the upper secondary level, the basic qualification is a Master’s Degree
 Second class certificate
− has a basic

qualification o 2 yeas o study (62 credit units) in a university or other post-secondary

institution
− To teach in the secondary level, without a Master’s degree, the Second Class
Certificate will be issued

Prospective Teachers
− Must earn a prescribed number of credits in education studies and in the subjects to be taught

Becoming Employed as a Teacher

Prefectures
− play an important role in the selection and hiring of teachers

In completing a degree
 Teacher applicant must secure a license to teach from the prefectural board of
education.
 Teacher applicant is required to take prefectural appointment examinations.
Given in two stages
First Stage
− consists of written tests in general education and specialized fields and skills test for P.E.
Music and Art
− All applicants for lower secondary teaching jobs are required to take a test in physical fitness.

Second stage
− consists of interviews

3. United States of America

The American Educational System

− has greatly influenced the Philippine Educational System specifically the making of the Filipino
teacher

Thomasites
− The coming of the first American teachers

Basic Education, the Avenue for Teaching Jobs in USA

Levels of Education
 Pre-primary education
− providing this education are kindergarten, nursery schools, preschool programs,
child/day care centers
− Age level is 4-6 years old, and the duration is 2 years
 Primary education
− Elementary school
− There are varied levels of schooling in primary education
 Middle school education
− Grades 4-6, 5-7, or 6-8
 Secondary education
− High school
− Grades 7-12 or 8-12
 Junior high school
− Grades 7-8, 7-9, or 8-
 Senior high school
− Grades 9-12, or 10-12

Duration of compulsory education

− From entry of 6 years old to exit of 18 years old
Becoming a Professional Teacher in the USA

Pre-service students who are preparing to teach in any levels

− must attend a college or a university for our years, major or minor in education and earn a
teaching certificate.

Earning Teaching Certificates

 United States of America

− has a decentralized educational system
 State Education Agency (SEA)
− has its own guidelines and requirements of earning and maintaining a
teaching certificate
 Teaching Certificate
− earned in one state may or may not be recognized in another
 National Teacher Examination (NTE)
− A test that must be passed before they are allowed to enter the profession
− Praxis I or Praxis II written test

Recruitment of Teachers

 Superintendent
− approves the applicant and then forwards a recommendation to hire to the
local school board
 Teacher
− has a legally binding contract to work, unless guilty of crime, fails to show
teaching competency, or demonstrates egregious professional conduct
− expected to complete teaching during the term of his/her contract, with
exception or pregnancy, medical leaves and unforeseen emergencies.

Salaries of Teachers

 Salary range
- determined by education and experience as locale
- teachers who have earned “master’s plus 30 doctorate units” earn more
than those with master’s degrees, while teachers with master’s degrees
receive a higher salary than the bachelor’s degree

What Makes a Good American Teacher?

 Elementary school teachers seemed more child-focused in their discussions and

believed that a good teacher is a kind person, one who is “understanding” and sensitive
to the needs of children”.
 Secondary school teachers consider themselves subject-matter specialists. Good
teachers have to know how to teach their subjects.
E. The Global Teacher Status Index of 2013
In 2013, the Varkey GEMS Foundation, a non-profit organization registered with
the Charity Commission for England and Wales conducted the first ever Global Teacher
Status Index. The study polled 21 countries all over the world that include:
 Brazil
 China
 Czech Republic
 Egypt
 Finland
 France
 Germany
 Greece
 Israel
 Italy
 Japan
 Netherlands
 New Zealand
 Portugal
 Turkey
 Singapore
 South Korea
 Spain
 Switzerland
 United Kingdom
 United States of America

Global Teacher Status Index, 2013

Country Index Rank Country Index Rank

Rating Rating
China 100 1 Spain 30.7 12
Greece 73.7 2 Finland 28.9 13
Turkey 68.0 3 Portugal 26.0 14
South Korea 62.0 4 Switzerland 23.8 15
New Zealand 54.0 5 Germany 21.6 16
Egypt 49.3 6 Japan 16.2 17
Singapore 46.3 7 Italy 13.0 18
Netherlands 40.3 8 Czech Republic 12.1 19
USA 38.4 9 Brazil 2.4 20
UK 36.7 10 Israel 2.0 21
France 32.3 11

1. Teacher Status
 Social Status of Teachers. Contextual understanding of the teachers status was
done by ranking teachers status was done by ranking teaching along side other
professions in the country.
 Two thirds of the countries Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the
Netherlands judged the status of teachers to be most similar to social
workers. The second closest status was to librarians (USA, Brazil,
France, Turkey) and in New Zealand, people think that the job of
teaching is most similar to nursing. Only China thinks of teachers as
being most closely compared to doctors.
 There is a higher regard of teachers in the primary/elementary school
teachers than in the secondary school teachers, and head teachers
against 14 other professions.

Teaching: Sought-After Profession. When parents were asked if they could

encourage their children to become teachers, the summarized answers are as
follows:
 50% of parents in China provide positive encouragement for child to
become teachers. China is joined by South Korea, Turkey and Egypt
while parents in Israel, Portugal, Brazil and Japan are least likely to
encourage their children to become teachers.

Pupil Respect for Teachers. Parents were asked to respond whether they
believed that teachers are respected by their pupils.

 In China, 75% of the respondents believe that students respect their

teachers, compared to only 27% average per country.
 Turkey, Egypt, and Singapore have a high level of belief that pupils
respect teachers with an average of 46%.
 Across Europe, there are higher levels of pessimism about student’s
respect for teachers than in Asia and the Middle East. In most of the
European countries, respondents thought that the pupils disrespect
teachers than respect them.

2. Perception of Teacher Reward

Below, is the average actual teacher salary in the countries surveyed. The
respondents were asked if the current salary is too little, too much or just enough.

Participating Actual Average Salary Participating Actual Average

Country per Year in USD $ Country Salary per Year in
USD $
China $17,730.00 Spain $29,475.00
Greece $23,341.00 Finland $28,780.00
Turkey $25,378.00 Portugal $23,614.00
South Korea $43,874.00 Switzerland $39,326.00
New Zealand $28,438.00 Germany $42,254.00
Egypt $10,604.00 Japan $43,775.00
Singapore $45,755.00 Italy $28,603.00
 Netherlands $37,218.00 Czech Republic $19,953.00
U. S. A $44,917.00 Brazil $18,550.00
U. K $33,377.00 Israel $32,447.00
France $28,828.00

Performance-Related Pay. Most countries believed that teachers salary should

be based on the achieved student learning outcomes. The performance-related
pay (PRP) should be used according to performance.
 In all the 21 countries, more than 59% of people thinks teachers
ought to be paid according to the performance of their pupils. The
average across countries was 75%.

3. Teacher Agency and Control

The status of the teacher is also dependent on the people’s trust to deliver
good education.

Trusting Teachers To Deliver Education. Based on the results of the survey:

 No country gave a rating below 5, suggesting that all countries placed
satisfactory to positive trust in their teachers.
 Finland and Brazil at the top of the table displaying strong trust in
their teachers, while Israel, Japan, South Korea and Egypt are at the
bottom of the table showing limited trust for their teachers.

LESSON 3: The Changing Global Landscape for the 21 st Century Teachers

Learning Outcomes:
 Identify the different changes occurring in the global teaching-learning
landscape.
 Identify the 21st century life and career skills for learners and teachers.
 Demonstrate understanding of the UNESCO’s Four Pillars of Learning as these
apply to the 21st century.

A. The Changing Global Landscape and the 21st Century Skills for Teachers

We are in an era of borderless “flat” world. Barriers have been broken by new
information and communication technologies.

Zhou, 2006 as mentioned in SEAMEO, INNOTECH 2011, identified some key

categories of the different changes and developments in the 21 st century teaching
and learning. To understand the categories, we will attempt to:
1. describe the new learning environment,
2. identify the new learning contents,
3. explain the new processes of learning and how these will be facilitated,
4. describe the new type of learners, and
5. describe the new type of teachers.
The New Learning Environment.

New learning environment is characterized by the following:

 learner-centered,
 new spaces and borderless,
 enhanced opportunity for creativity and innovations, and
 use of ICT.

The New Learning Contents.

New learning content has the following characteristics:

 integrated/interdisciplinary
 demand-driven
 emphasis on learning tools on how to retrieve knowledge; and
 balance of scientific, technological, cultural, global, local concepts.

The New Process of Learning and How These will be Facilitated.

New processes of learning include:

 Face-to-face – when leaners and teachers are confined in the same learning
space at the same time with the teacher facilitating learning.
 Distance Learning – when teaching-learning is mediated by traditional (modules
in print) or modern technology (on-line or off-line) without physical presence of
the teacher in a virtual class. It can be synchronous or asynchronous.
 Blended modalities – when teaching and learning is facilitated through face-to-
face or distance learning which enable to the teachers and learners to have both
physical presence or physical absence in the teaching-learning process.
 Experiential and lifelong – when learners are immersed into the real life
situation, such that learning becomes more authentic and meaningful.

The New Types of Learners.

New type of learner is:

 a confident person who thinks independently and critically and who
communicates effectively;
 self-directed and who questions, reflects and takes responsibility for his/her
own learning;
 a concerned citizen, informed about the world and local affairs, has a strong
sense of civic responsibilities and participates actively in improving the lives of
others;
 a member of the new generation: pop-culture, different ways of thinking,
responding.

Life and Career Skills

  Flexibility and Adaptability
Learners adapt to various roles, responsibilities and schedules. Despite
the complex condition, they are able to do the different tasks at one time.
 Initiative and Self-direction
A self-directed learner demonstrates life and career skills. Goals are set
and managed by themselves.
 Social and Cross-cultural skills
Requires learners to respect cultural differences and work effectively
with others, to be open-minded to different ideas in order to innovate and
improve quality of work.
 Productivity and Accountability
Individuals who possess these skills are able to produce results. They
respect teamwork and cooperation. They manage time very well and can do
multitask.
 Leadership and Responsibility
Good leaders use interpersonal and problem-solving skills with integrity
and ethical behavior to influence and guide others.

The New Type of Teachers

Teachers for 21st century learners teach within the context of new environment
new content or knowledge and new processes of teaching and learning. Hence the new
type of teachers must possess the following characteristics:
 Clear standards and accountability that their learners should know and be able
to do at the end of their schooling;
 Use broad pedagogies including inquiry-based learning, cooperative learning,
other pedagogies;
 Skillful in the integration of ICT in pedagogy;
 Skillful in the use of assessment to guide teaching and learning;
 Great understanding of local and global cultures;
 Skillful in action research to diagnose and solve classroom problems based on
evidence;
 Practice the core values of inspiring teachers; and
 Develop life and career skills for the 21 st century and beyond.

B. UNESCO’s Four Pillars of Learning from Delor’s Report: Learning: A Treasure from
Within

Our common future will depend on the degree to which we all become better
world citizens. There are huge changes that take place in our world. Too much is
being asked of schools and teachers hence there is a greater demand to cope and
strike a balance between what is unchanging and changing.
UNESCO’s Four Pillars of Learning are:

1. Learning to Know. This implies thirst for knowledge and acquisition of

such knowledge. More so, it is learning how to learn throughout one’s
life. After completing formal education, there should be a great desire
to gain more understanding of the world and other people.

Some definitions of the word Literacy made by the UNESCO:

 Literate – in 1958 it was defined as one who can, with understanding, both
read and write a short simple statement on his or her everyday life.
 Literate person – in 1980, it is the one who can engage in all activities to use
reading, writing and calculation for the community’s development.
 Literacy – in 2000, it was defined as the ability to read and write with
understanding a simple statement related to one’s daily life. It involves a
continuum of reading and writing skills and often includes, numeracy.
 Literacy – in 2003, it was redefined as the ability to identify, understand,
interpret, create, communicate and compute using printed and written
materials associated with varying context. It involves a continuum of
learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their
knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and
wider society.

2. Learning to Do. How can the knowledge and the methods be

incorporated and enhanced towards the development of skills? To apply
knowledge, one must have the 21st century skills. Qualifications now is
equated to skills and not to knowledge alone. Can the knowledge
gained be translated to application? Learning by doing is a pragmatist’s
view od life. Knowledge acquired is nothing unless applied in daily life.
3. Learning to Be. It implies developing the potentials of each individual.
Continuing education must improve self-knowledge and self-esteem.
4. Learning to Live Together. This refers to the relationships among
people. It is bringing in together a community to work harmoniously, to
live in peace and prosperity and to show respect and concern for others.
It also refers to interpersonal skills that will enable people to live side by
side with others at home, in school, in the community and the whole
world.