News
UNESCO and partners host 9th Equitable Education Alliance (EEA) Meeting
UNESCO with the Equitable Education Fund (EEF) of Thailand and partnering organizations hosted the 9th Meeting of the Equitable Education Alliance (EEA), ‘Flexible Learning for Policy Development Towards Inclusion for All’, on 7 December 2023. The webinar emphasized the significance of developing policies for flexible learning targeting youth ‘Not in Education, Employment, or Training’ (NEET). Additionally, the 2023 end-of-year meeting of EEA emphasized the critical need to create a more inclusive environment for NEETs, LGBTIQ+ youth and students with special needs.
Facilitated by Ms Min-Seon Park, Programme Specialist, National Institute for Lifelong Education (NILE), the Republic of Korea, the webinar featured presentations by three education specialists: Mr Ilan Asqolani, Project Manager at the ASEAN Foundation; Dr Timo Ojanen, Lecturer at the Faculty of Learning Sciences and Education, Thammasat University; and Asst Prof. Chanisa Tantixalerm, Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University. The speakers shared research and project outcomes on fostering flexible learning and an inclusive education ecosystem in Thailand and across all ASEAN countries.
Opening Note
In her opening remarks, Ms Park underscored the importance of promoting flexible learning and inclusive policy development in Asia-Pacific:
In the Asia and Pacific region, we are seeing more young people receiving more education than ever. However, they face a vulnerable labour market, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis in 2020…And, many of these people have fallen into NEETs…Schools must provide an educational environment that meets the physical, social, and emotional needs of students regardless of their gender orientation, place of origin, and so forth. However, this has not always been the case for many of the youth in Asia-Pacific. This is why we see a need for creating a more inclusive environment for LGBTIQ+ youth, as well as the children with special needs.
‘Building Future Skills of ASEAN Youth and Instilling Stronger ASEAN Identity’
In his talk, ‘Building Future Skills of ASEAN Youth and Instilling Stronger ASEAN Identity’, Mr Asqolani introduced the ASEAN Foundation, an intergovernmental organization established in 1997 under the Charter of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Foundation’s primary goal is to foster a cohesive and prosperous ASEAN community by promoting cultural exchange, as well as to enhance awareness and identity. The Foundation is also dedicated to improving the lives of ASEAN peoples, particularly youth, through flexible upskilling and reskilling opportunities.
The ASEAN Foundation has formed diverse partnerships with governments, private sector actors, local communities, educational institutions, and media. Backed by ASEAN member governments, these collaborations empower the Foundation to reach a wider audience, including underrepresented communities. Corporations like Huawei and Microsoft contribute essential digital tools to various Foundation programmes.
In addressing the topic of inclusivity, Mr Asqolani highlighted the Foundation's commitment to prioritizing women. He also shed light on four major, ongoing upskilling and reskilling programmes, namely:
- (ASEAN DSE): Partners with SAP to enhance the digital skills of tertiary students in ASEAN
- (EYAA): Partners with Maybank to involve youth 19 to 35 years of age in developing community projects in ASEAN
- (ASEAN SEDP) 2.0: Partners with TikTok and SAP to support youth entrepreneurship
- (ASEAN STF): Partners with Huawei to foster ICT talents in ASEAN
‘Mental Health Service for Gender and Sexual Minority Youth: What Should the Education Sector Do?’
In 2022, Dr Ojanen led a national research study on gender and sexual minority youth 15 to 24 years of age in Thailand. The study was carried out in collaboration with Save the Children, Thammasat University, and Srinakharinwirot University. Nearly 3,100 participants completed an online survey, while researchers also conducted 38 online interviews.
The findings of this study indicated that during 2021, respondents had experienced different forms of victimization. The most prevalent form was ridicule (75.8 per cent), followed by offline sexual harassment (57.9 per cent), online sexual harassment (53.4 per cent), and physical violence (31.4 per cent). About 42.4 per cent of respondents reported encountering attempts to change their Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI), primarily instigated by family members.
Dr Ojanen reported that approximately 70 to 80 per cent of the respondents exhibited symptoms of depression and anxiety. About 58.2 per cent reported having thoughts of suicide, and 16 per cent had attempted suicide. One in four respondents had engaged in self-harm, such as cutting their bodies.
While more than half of the respondents felt that they had needed mental health services at the time, notably only one in five had actually used them. A majority of those who used mental health services reported feeling better for it, adding that the provider understood and respected their SOGI.
Dr Ojanen summarized that gender and sexual minority youth in Thailand have very high rates of anxiety, depression, suicidality, and self-harm. He suggested that the education sector should introduce whole-school anti-bullying measures, increase the inclusion of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) content in the curriculum, and establish school-based mental health services to support these youth.
Full details of the study can be accessed .
‘Breaking the inclusion barriers: Fostering equity in students with special needs’ transition to work’
In her talk, ‘Breaking the inclusion barriers: Fostering equity in students with special needs’ transition to work’, Dr Tantixalerm shared the latest national landscape of disability in Thailand for 2023, revealing that 3 per cent of the population—over 2,000,000 individuals—are living with disabilities. Among persons with disabilities between 15 to 59 years of age, approximately 36 per cent were employed, roughly two-thirds of them in the agricultural sector. As for students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in Vocational Education Training (VET) Schools, many of them graduated only from primary levels.
Addressing the challenges faced by SEN students in transitioning to work, Dr Tantixalerm identified attitudinal barriers in society, the need for support in self-determination, and a lack of facilities for individuals with physical disabilities at workplaces. She highlighted multiple strategies for supporting these students; to give one example, schools and workplaces can differentiate instructions based on the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, thereby helping to create a more welcoming work environment.
Dr Tantixalerm introduced an ‘Enhancement Program for Vocational Innovational Scholarships for SEN Students’. Granted by the EEF, the programme promotes the concept of ‘Making Special Needs Become Strength’, offers scholarships for SEN students living in poverty, and allocates grants for strengthening VET schools for SEN students. To date, the programme has granted scholarships to 315 SEN students, and cooperated with 10 institutes across 7 provinces. In 2022, 48 per cent of the students were employed, while 15 per cent were pursuing further studies after graduation.
The Enhancement Program focuses on six key areas and research themes (see illustration). Dr Tantixalerm has put forward implementation guidelines for assisting vocational institutions in promoting the transition to work for SEN students. These guidelines include:
- Promoting career readiness for SEN students
- Improving VET schools for better employment of SEN students
- Creating collaboration among stakeholders (students, parents, schools, and public and private workplaces)
Conclusion
The Q&A session focused on flexible learning, inclusive projects, and impact measurement. Each speaker suggested promoting flexible learning by raising awareness among educational practitioners, creating a project evaluation system to measure the impact of inclusive projects, and fostering an understanding of student well-being. Ms Min-Seon Park further emphasized that ‘leaving no one behind’ is the central principle of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is crucial to ensure inclusive and equitable education, which plays a vital role in promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.
The full Q&A list can be found on the Website, under ‘News’.
A recording of the session and the guest speakers’ presentations are available on the EEH website, under 'Video Resources' and 'Latest Slide Decks of EEA Meetings', or .
#EquitableEducation
More from UNESCO Bangkok
Share
About the authors
Yunkang Liu is Consultant, Literacy and Lifelong Learning Team, Section for Educational Innovation and Skills Development (EISD), at the UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok.
Wai Shan Ma is Intern at Literacy and Lifelong Learning Team, Section for Educational Innovation and Skills Development (EISD) at UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok.
Yuner Lin, is a trainee with the Literacy and Lifelong Learning Team, Section for Educational Innovation and Skills Development (EISD), at the UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok.
