Project SMaLL: Taking Stock of Small Schools’ Big Tasks

From 2010 to 2012, SEAMEO INNOTECH embarked on a project aimed towards strengthening the capacity of small disadvantaged schools in dealing with the challenges of reaching the learners from rural communities in Southeast Asia and promoting inclusive education. The “Small Schools Management for Lifelong Learning” or Project SMaLL was one of the Center’s key interventions to pursuing the global thrust of education for all (EFA) 2015. Under SEAMEO’s Ten Collaborative Projects to reach the unreached in Southeast Asia, the project was designed to be a community-based, participatory action research activity implemented in Lao PDR, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

This publication looks at the unique condition of small schools and offers lessons learned from the implementation of Project SMaLL. It also provides a preview of other evidence-based studies and interventions that the Center has worked on through the years and is continuously working on to improve access to quality education in communities where education for all is not within immediate reach.