<P><FONT color=#33711E><STRONG>Day 2 – Session 4D: <br>Reform and Policy for ESD</STRONG></FONT></P>
Queen’s Park 6, 2nd Floor
13.00 – 13.20
4.D.1 Curriculum Reform: Lessons from China
Daming Feng, East China Normal University, People’s Republic of China
The most recent curriculum reform in China is a fundamental and systematic change based on a policy framework. After describing the framework, this paper will discuss the progress and problems associated with the curriculum reform being implemented in 38 pilot districts of China’s 27 provinces. The paper argues that the foremost challenges involved in China’s curriculum reform include such things as the dilemma resulting from the conflict between western and traditional Chinese culture. The most critical issue in achieving the goals and objectives of the curriculum reform is how to identify the causational factors behind the problems and how to create effective solutions. In this sense, the next stage of China’s curriculum reform of basic education largely relies on support from empirical research.
Download the paper (word, 70kb) and presentation (pdf, 50kb)
13.20 – 13.40
4.D.2 Improving Management, Service, and Participation In Indonesian Decentralized Education System
Didik Suhardi, Agus Haryanto and Mohammad Abduh, Ministry of Education, Republic of Indonesia
Following the 1998 economic crisis, the Indonesian Government enacted law no.22/1999 which ushered in the decentralization era. Soon after decentralization was implemented, the structure and authority of each government level was reformatted. Since the enactment of the 1999 reforms, additional measures have been promulgated aimed at improving the quality of education and local participation in educational decision making. If a further reform of education, based on concepts such as “education for sustainable development” (ESD), is to be introduced and implemented throughout the entire Indonesian decentralized education system, it is important to ensure that management capacity, district office service quality, and community participation are improved accordingly. In addition, effective policies and institutional change are necessary. If this is not done, concepts such as ESD will remain merely a theoretical discourse among a few interested scholars. Implementing educational reform and promoting education for sustainable development involves a number of challenges. This paper explores these challenges and describes how they are addressed by members of the Indonesian Ministry of National Education.
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13.40 – 14.00
4.D.3 Education for National Development: A Difficult Road Ahead
Tie Fatt Hee, University of Malaya, Malaysia
The Malaysian Education Act of 1996 states that the purpose of education is to equip individuals with a command of the knowledge, skills, and values that are prerequisites in a highly competitive global economy. Education is recognized as an important tool to achieve sustainable development. It is deemed significant as it is a means by which to achieve the nation’s vision of a fully developed nation. However, recent developments indicate that the education system is not entirely effective in achieving the stated aims. There are a number of challenges and obstacles to be overcome. This paper examines the difficulties that are encountered and suggests some possible alternatives.
Download the paper (word, 90kb) and presentation (pdf, 60kb)