SEAMEO INNOTECH presents proposed ECCE teacher competency framework in Fiji Islands and in Bangkok

SEAMEO INNOTECH presented the proposed Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Teacher Competency Framework during the sub-regional validation workshops organized by UNESCO Bangkok in Nadi, Fiji last June 20-22, 2017, and in Bangkok, Thailand, last August 7-9, 2017. The proposed framework was based from the results of the workshop held in the Philippines, as well as from the validation of identified teacher competencies across the involved regions.

(Related article: INNOTECH conducts workshop on ECCE Teacher Competencies)

During the two workshops, Dr. Sherlyne A. Almonte-Acosta, Senior Specialist of the Educational Research Unit of SEAMEO INNOTECH, presented results of the literature review and the survey on teacher competencies carried out in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Small Islands Developing States (SIDS). ECCE practitioners in each sub-region—including ministry officials, ECCE teachers, teacher-trainers from ECCE teacher—training institutions and regional ECCE experts shared insights and comments to further enrich the proposed ECCE teacher competency framework.

Workshop participants share their views on the proposed framework

The different insights of the participants from the said workshops confirmed the need to develop two distinct competency frameworks for ECCE teachers in Southeast Asia and the Pacific SIDS sub-regions. SEAMEO INNOTECH is currently working on two versions of the framework, one for each of the sub-regions, to specifically capture the different sub-regional contexts for ECCE and the most significant competencies for ECCE teachers.

The ECCE teacher competency frameworks are expected to be finalized by November 2017, in time for the implementation of the framework pilot-testing phase by UNESCO and selected partner institutions.

The project “ECCE Teacher Development in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Small Island Developing States” aims to develop an ECCE Teacher Competency Framework to define and articulate qualification requirements, standards and curricula in Southeast Asia and the Pacific SIDS. This is a commissioned work from UNESCO Bangkok with support from the Malaysia-Funds-in-Trust.