The Effects and Trends of Teacher Education in Universities Arising from the ASEAN Community
THE EFFECTS AND TRENDS OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN UNIVERSITIES
ARISING FROM THE ASEAN COMMUNITY
Dr.Juraisiri Choorak
ABSTRACT
The article aimed to present the effects and trends of teacher education in universities as determined by policies stemming from the establishment and the progressive strengthening of the ASEAN Community. The policies of ASEAN and Thailand education were reviewed. The effects of the ASEAN Community in the aspect of teacher education were classified into 5 categories: 1) educational standard and qualification framework, 2) curriculum development, 3) teaching strategies, 4) technologies for education, and 5) lecturer qualification. The trends of teacher education in the 5 categories as follows: 1) teacher education standard and qualification will be developed to international standard and are considered ASEAN competency, 2) curricula in teacher education are diverse and international and also be cooperated among members of ASEAN community, 3) Having considered teaching strategies, academic staff are required not only to be good at English but also be able to understand other ASEAN languages. In addition, the “5C” skills needed for moving towards the living together in multicultural societies are developed. Moreover, courses and programs in the field of Mathematics, Sciences and Language tend to increase, 4) budget allocation in technology is provided adequately to support teacher education, and 5) the higher qualification of lecturers as well as the competency in using English, technology and research skills are required.
Keywords: Teacher Education, The ASEAN Community
INTRODUCTION
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN; namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Then Brunei Darussalam, Viet Nam, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Cambodia then joined respectively, making up what is today the ten member states of ASEAN. The aims and purposes of ASEAN are: 1) to accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavors in the spirit of equality and partnership in order to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian Nations, 2) to promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries of the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter, 3) to promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in the economic, social, cultural, technical, scientific and administrative fields, 4) to provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities in the educational, professional, technical and administrative spheres, 5) to collaborate more effectively for the greater utilization of their agriculture and industries, the expansion of their trade, including the study of the problems of international commodity trade, the improvement of their transportation and communications facilities and the raising of the living standards of their peoples, 6) to promote Southeast Asian studies, and 7) to maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international and regional organizations with similar aims and purposes, and explore all avenues for even closer cooperation among themselves. In their relations with one another, the ASEAN Member States have adopted the following fundamental principles; there are 1) mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, and national identity of all nations, 2) the right of every State to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion or coercion, 3) non-interference in the internal affairs of one another, 4) settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful manner, 5) renunciation of the threat or use of force, and 6) Effective cooperation among themselves. According to the fundamental principles, 10 ASEAN member countries stated the ASEAN charter; which is the original agreements that serves as a firm foundation in achieving the ASEAN Community by providing legal status and institutional framework for ASEAN. It also codifies ASEAN norms, rules and values; sets clear targets for ASEAN; and presents accountability and compliance. The ASEAN Charter entered into force on 15 December 2008. In effect, the ASEAN Charter has become a legally binding agreement among the 10 ASEAN Member States. The policy of the agreement has already begun and will be completely available in 2015 [1] [2].
The policies of ASEAN and Thailand education were reviewed as follows:
1.The three pillars of principle of the ASEAN Charter
The ASEAN Charter includes three pillars of principle; namely ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC). The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) The ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) which each pillar brought to the blueprint as the detail as follows [3] [4] [5].
1.1 ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC)
The APSC shall aim to ensure that countries in the region live at peace with one another and with the world in a just, democratic and harmonious environment. The members of the Community pledge to rely exclusively on peaceful processes in the settlement of intra-regional differences and regard their security as fundamentally linked to one another and bound by geographic location, common vision and objectives. It has the following components: political development; shaping and sharing of norms; conflict prevention; conflict resolution; post-conflict peace building; and implementing mechanisms. The APSC Blueprint envisages ASEAN to be a rules-based Community of shared values and norms; a cohesive, peaceful, stable and resilient region with shared responsibility for comprehensive security; as well as a dynamic and outward-looking region in an increasingly integrated and interdependent world.
1.2 ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)
The AEC shall be the goal of regional economic integration by 2015. AEC envisages the following key characteristics: 1) a single market and production base, 2) a highly competitive economic region, 3) a region of equitable economic development, and 4) a region fully integrated into the global economy. The AEC areas of cooperation include human resources development and capacity building; recognition of professional qualifications; closer consultation on macroeconomic and financial policies; trade financing measures; enhanced infrastructure and communications connectivity; development of electronic transactions through e-ASEAN; integrating industries across the region to promote regional sourcing; and enhancing private sector involvement for the building of the AEC. In short, the AEC will transform ASEAN into a region with free movement of goods, services, investment, skilled labor, and freer flow of capital. The AEC blueprint is served as a coherent master plan guiding the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community 2015.
1.3 ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC)
The ASCC aims to contribute to realizing an ASEAN Community that is people-oriented and socially responsible with a view to achieving enduring solidarity and unity among the peoples and Member States of ASEAN. It seeks to forge a common identity and build a caring and sharing society which is inclusive and where the well-being, livelihood, and welfare of the peoples are enhanced. The ASCC is focused on nurturing the human, cultural and natural resources for sustained development in a harmonious and people-oriented ASEAN. The ASCC Blueprint represents the human dimension of ASEAN cooperation and upholds ASEAN commitment to address the region’s aspiration to lift the quality of life of its peoples. The goals of the ASCC are envisaged to be achieved by implementing concrete and productive actions that are people-centered and socially responsible. This set of cooperative activities has been developed based on the assumption that the three pillars of the ASEAN Community are interdependent and interrelated and that linkages are imperative to ensure complementarities and unity of purpose.
In the author’s point of view, in the early step of stemming from the established and the progressive strengthening of the ASEAN community, the AEC Blueprint and the ASCC Blueprint are the main important blueprints affecting the education policies of the member countries. In the reason that education is the most important tool in developing human resources and then high qualified human resources are the important tool enhancing the ASEAN economic then. Anyway, moving the APSC Blueprint into practice clearly shall happen after people and their economic are strong already.
2. The ASEAN Educational policies
The perspective in Establishing the ASEAN Community that is education underpins the community building. Education lies at the core of ASEAN’s development process, creating a knowledge-based society and contributing to the enhancement of ASEAN competitiveness. ASEAN also views education as the vehicle to raise ASEAN awareness, inspire the “we feeling”, and create a sense of belonging to the ASEAN Community and understanding of the richness of ASEAN’s history, languages, culture and common values [6]. So it can conclude that education is the most important tool in developing the human resources of the ASEAN community the role of education is directly towards the ASEAN Community development in three pillars; Political-Security Community (APSC), the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC).
To take the education policies of ASEAN into practice, in 1965 The ASEAN Community established The Southeast Asian Minist