<p><font color="#33711E"><strong>Day 2 – Session 3C: Curriculum Development in Higher Education</strong></font></p>

Queen's Park 5, 08:30 - 10:00

08:30 - 08:50

3.C.1. Challenges in Education for Sustainable Development at Iwate University

Masaaki Minami, Masahisa Sato, Shinnosuke Tama, Kenji Yamazaki and Aturou Miki

Iwate University, Japan

The International Symposium on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) was held in Iwate prefecture, Japan, from 30 August to 2 September, 2007. It was co-organized by Iwate University and Iwate Prefectural University. Participants included researchers, government officers and university governors from five Asian countries. The purpose of the symposium is to exchange experiences on ESD implementation and to discuss the role of ESD in higher education in each Asian country. This paper provides an overview of the symposium discussions and presents our the Iwate University ESD programme, which began in 2006 and is open to all liberal arts students.

Download the paper (pdf, 40kb) and presentation (pdf, 380kb)

08:50 - 09:10
3.C.2. Writing Intensive Courses at Chonnam National University: Perspectives from Students and Faculty
Yeom Min-Ho and Kim Hyeonjeong
Chonnam National University, Republic of Korea

This study analyses the perspectives of students and faculty regarding intensive writing courses that were provided, in 42 subjects and 13 colleges at Chonnam National University (Republic of Korea) in 2007, and discusses strategies and tools for curricula change. Employing a survey questionnaire, seven research questions examined the motivations and workloads for teaching the courses, responses to reports and feedback, interaction between instructors and students, the course contribution to the enhancement of basic competencies, the course contribution to acquiring knowledge in the various fields, overall evaluation of the course, and suggestions for improvement. The report concludes that students and professors were satisfied with the courses as they were intended. Issues identified in the study, include heavy teaching workloads for providing feedback, students' reluctance to take the courses, and a lack of institutional management of the courses. The authors suggest alternatives for expanding and improving the courses in terms of changing curricula, including reviewing syllabi for the course proposals, constructing a Writing Centre, offering various writing courses adjusted to students' and faculty members' needs, implementing one or two required courses in each department, and creating a Writing Committee.

Download the paper (pdf, 110kb) and presentation (pdf, 90kb)

09:10 - 09:30
3.C.3. International Programme for Teacher Education: An Approach to Tackling Problems of English Education in Thailand
Pattanida Punthumasen
Office of the Education Council, Ministry of Education, Thailand

Over the past decade, international programmes in higher education institutions in Thailand have increased very rapidly in order to meet demand. As the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) becomes more prevalent, particularly the Internet, English language is becoming a vital skill. Most countries are trying to raise the level of English ability among their citizens. Thailand, like many other countries where English is not the native language, has been facing problems related to the quality of teachers of the English language as well as issues with using English as a medium of instruction. Those problems have resulted in a low standard of English achievement among Thai students. The Ministry of Education has made great efforts and allocated a large budget to train teachers of English throughout the country. In addition to this, the English Programme Schools (E.P. schools) have hired native English speakers to teach English as a medium of instruction. In spite of these efforts, there is still a lack of high quality English language teaching. This paper provides a case study which explores the contribution of an international programme for teacher education which has had success in producing teachers competent in English. This paper outlines the objectives and target groups of the international programme; describes the curriculum content and teaching staff; and provides an analysis of how the programme can address some problems in English education in Thailand.