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CHAPTER 5 Lesson 2 (The Teaching Profession in the ASEAN and Beyond)

INTRODUCTION
Lesson 2 describes the teacher professionals in the ASEAN and beyond. It also
discusses the current situation, circumstances, teaching work place, qualifications, career
pathways, benefits and other factors that influence quality education. This lesson provides a
clear landscape of how it is to be a teacher here and abroad. The lesson focuses on the
teachers in the 10 member states of the ASEAN: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Teaching as a profession will be the focus of this lesson to provide a clear view of
professional practices tor purposes of comparison and development of mutual respect among
countries.
Furthermore, excerpts from the first Global Teacher Status Index is included in this
lesson to provide a global picture on the world's respect for and trust in teachers and the
profession.

Discussion of the Topic

THE ASEAN: ONE VISION, ONE IDENTITY, ONE COMMUNITY
Let us now look closely at the teaching profession and professionals of the ten ASEAN
member countries as a whole.
A. The Levels of Schooling as a Teaching Meliu
In all the countries in the ASEAN, the levels of formal schooling in the educational
system are as follows:
1) Primary level. In the Philippines, primary level refers to elementary level. The
elementary level has two sub- levels, the primary grades which include Kindergarten
to Grade 4 and the intermediate grades which include Grade 5 and Grade 6.

Grade/Level Age range (years old) Two sub-levels

of Elementary
level

Pre-primary Play-school, Pre-K, (below

(Kindergarten) 6)

1 6
Primary grades
2 7

3 8

4 9

5 10 Intermediate
grades
6 11
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2) Secondary level follows the primary level. Generally, across the ASEAN, it is
composed of Junior High School and the Senior High School. The graduates from the
senior high school can proceed to college or find a job appropriate to the qualification.

However, there are slight variations such as:

Some Countries Grade level Philippines Grade level

Lower Secondary three years with Junior High Grades 7, 8, 9,

level Grades 7, 8 and 9 School 10

Upper Secondary Grades 10, 11 and Senior High Grades 11 and

level 12 school 12

Table 2: Variations in the number of years in basic education level across the ASEAN
members.
Levels of School and Number of Years*

Variation Primary/ Lower Upper Total Countries

Secondary Secondary Numbe
Elementar r of (as of 2013)
y (Years) (Years) Years
(Years)

Version 5 4 3 12 Lao PDR

1

Version 5 4 2 11 Myanmar
2

Version 6 3 2 11 Malaysia
3

Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Thailand,
Version 6 3 3 12
Vietnam
4

2 (2 yrs.
Pre-
Version 6 4 12 Singapore,
university
5 Philippines
for
Singapore)

*ASEAN State Education Report, 2013

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In summary, basic education levels in most ASEAN countries have 12 years of formal
schooling, divided into primary, lower secondary and upper secondary levels. All primary
education levels are compulsory, while in some countries the secondary level is voluntary
except in the Philippines. In Singapore, the last two year levels are pre-university levels. For
the secondary level, there is a variation of 5, 6 or 7 years which are either labeled as middle
school, junior high school, senior high school or lower or upper secondary level. There is a
universal kindergarten and pre-school education for all. The number of years in the primary is
from 5 to 6 years. The basic education levels of Elementary/ Primary and the Secondary
levels will provide the future jobs of teacher education pre-service graduates

3) The Tertiary level is the college level which is beyond basic education in all the
countries in the ASEAN. It is the ladder of educational system where the student earns
a bachelor's degree in teacher education, which is a requirement to take a licensure
examination to become a professional teacher.

In the Philippines, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority

(TESDA) provides diploma and training certificates for life-long learning. The agency also
assists in the implementation of the senior high school technical-vocational tracks.
The pre-service teacher gets appropriate qualification degree in the tertiary level in
order to teach in either the elementary or secondary levels of the education system in either
the public or private school in a particular country. In addition to the degree, most countries
have specific recruitment policies and guidelines.

B. The Teacher Professionals Across the ASEAN

Academic Preparations of Teacher Professionals in Basic Education
The admission to pre-service teacher education varies from the graduates of Grade 9
or Grade 12. In remote places of Lao PDR, Indonesia, Myanmar and Cambodia pre-school,
pre-primary of kindergarten future teachers can have 9 years of basic education (Grade 9) and
get an advanced training for 3 years to become teachers (9 years of basic education + 3 years
teacher preparation) or 10 years of basic education plus 3 years of teacher preparation.
For teachers of lower secondary level, future teachers should have 12 years of basic
education and 2 years of teacher preparation to earn a Diploma in Teaching.
For upper secondary level, the requirement is 12 years of basic education plus 4 to 5
years of teacher preparation to earn a Bachelor's degree. However for non-education degree
graduates they can take the post graduate diploma in Education/Teaching. This will mean an
equivalent to 12 years of basic education plus 4 to 5 years of Baccalaureate Degree plus one
year or Graduate Diploma.
Almost all teacher education provides a teaching practicum, student teaching or field
experience courses. This will provide them the opportunity to apply the theories and concepts
in the content and pedagogy courses in real class situation.
ASEAN countries have comparable academic teacher education preparations,
however there are those who have gone beyond their borders, while others are still
strengthening their programs. Differences are according to the context and needs and the
education system of the particular member country, their history culture and aspirations.
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Components of Teacher Preparation

Qualified, professionally trained, motivated and well supported teachers are the key to
quality education. The future teacher academic preparations should be responsive to this call.
Common to all the ASEAN countries, are four important components which are being
addressed in the preparation of teachers:
1. General knowledge and understanding This cluster of knowledge and
understanding are embedded in the general education or liberal arts education subjects in
college as preparatory to the core content subjects in the professional education. The cluster
of subjects in the liberal education provides the development of the person-hood of the future
teacher. (What to Know about Oneself and World.)
2. Pedagogy This component provides variety of teaching delivery approaches beyond
the traditional methods of teaching. The more innovative methods including student-centered
approaches, cooperative learning, project-based learning and many more based on
international values to enhance, peace education, sustainable development, respect for
diversity, inclusive education, and global citizenship. Pedagogical theories and principles are
also included. (How to Teach).
3. Teaching Practicum/Experiential Learning – In this cluster, knowledge, theories,
principles and pedagogies learned are validated in real life situation as teachers. In all
ASEAN countries, teaching practicum and experiential learning are required as a component
of training or for certification to teach. (lmmersion to the real world of teaching/Practicum/
Teaching Internship)
4. Specialized knowledge/ Major courses – For those who will teach the content or
discipline levels, in the upper elementary or the secondary levels, major content courses are
learned. For the early years (pre-school to Grade 3, a more comprehensive knowledge of
child growth and development is given emphasis. (What to teach in specific discipline or
subject area)
The Common degree titles include Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEEd);
Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSEd) and Diploma in Education either Pre-
baccalaureate/Post Graduate (PGDip). There are variations from country to country.
Several standards and competencies were developed as a guide for all teachers some
of which will be discussed in detail in the succeeding lesson. But the most common are
standards that revolve around or anchor on the following domains:
1. Skills in the 21st Century
2. Professionalism and accountability
3. Pedagogical competence
4. Teacher's characteristics/ qualities
5. Knowledge competence

C. The Teaching Profession Practices in the ASEAN

1. Teacher's Major Responsibilities
There are three major responsibilities of professional teachers across the different
countries. These are:
(1) Actual teaching;
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(2) Management of learning; and,

(3) Administrative work. All these responsibilities have to be carried out in the
teaching hours required which is 6-8 hours per day, 40-45 hours per week, 4 weeks per month
and 10 months per year. In between the teaching days, are holidays specific to the country
which may either be civic holiday or religious holidays.
Actual Teaching - refers to the time of engagement of the teacher with the learners.
This happens within the official teaching hours. The actual teaching hours vary from country
to country and from school to school. Sometimes actual teaching refers to contact time or
time on task.
Management of Learning refers to the activities that support the actual teaching time.
This can be beyond actual teaching time like remediation or enhancement, homework, or
curricular activities.
Administrative work - refers to the teachers' job that includes writing test items,
checking and recording of test paper results, attending to parents, making reports and other
related activities.
With all the responsibilities that the teacher is required to do, the salary of the teacher
varies across the different countries. In the ASEAN, teacher's salary ranges from as low as
USD 120.50 (Php 5,784.00) to as high as USD 2, 589.00 (Php 124,272.00) per month or even
higher as in the case of Singapore which is around $45,755.00 (Php 2,196,240.00) per year
according to the Global Teacher Status Index Report.
Salary is based on qualification, teaching experiences and level or grade assigned.
Teaching in the public schools will also have a different salary scale. In some countries, there
are fringe benefits provided like hardship pay, maternity pay and other bonuses. In the
primary level, teachers handle more than one specialized subject. In fact in some countries
including the Philippines, all the subjects in the grade level is taught by one teacher in a self-
contained classroom. In some cases, team teaching is practiced either vertically or
horizontally. In the vertical team teaching, for example, Elementary Science will be taught by
one science teacher from Grade 1 to Grade 6, while for the horizontal team teaching, science
will be taught by one teacher in one level with different sections or groups. On the other hand,
in the secondary level, the teacher teaches the specific subject area or major area in the same
level or in different grade levels, too.

2. Teacher Licensing and Recruitment

Most teachers are licensed professionals or are certified to teach by the country’s
appropriate agencies. Those who are not certified or licensed become para-professionals or
assistant teachers. In the Philippines, it is the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC)
while in Singapore it is the National Institute for Education (NIE). In Thailand, it is the
Teacher Education Council (Khurusapha) that gives a licensure test for teacher applicants
while in Indonesia, Akta IV teacher license is given by the teacher colleges for an authority to
teach. In other countries where no licensing is provided, certification is issued instead. This is
done by the Ministry of Education or the teacher education colleges or universities.
Teacher recruitment process and qualifications are guided by the Ministry of
Education for the public schools and the individual private schools under the guidance and
policies of each country's ministry.
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Learning Activities: Please answer the following questions and use the link given below
when you submit your answers.
1) If you have noticed, there was a change in the curriculum of the Basic Education,
from Grades 1 to 10 (before) and the K to 12 (the present). What do you think is the
reason why the Philippines decided to change the Basic Education Curriculum? Are
you in favor of this change? Justify your answer.
2) How does your academic preparation as a teacher differ from the academic
preparation of teachers in the ASEAN Countries? Focus your answer on teachers who
will be teaching in high school.
3) Secure a copy of our curriculum in the College of Education. Evaluate it considering
the components of Teacher Preparation discussed in the lecture notes. Are the
components present in our curriculum? Enrich your evaluation by enumerating the
number of units that are included for each component.
4) Actual teaching as one of the major responsibility of a teacher may be done through
the vertical or horizontal team teaching, as discussed in the notes. Which of these
would you consider as more effective? Justify your answer
5) Why are teachers required to be licensed professional teachers (LPT) before they
teach?
6) Do you think that giving the teachers a higher salary would increase their
effectiveness and productivity? Justify your answer.

Use this link for your activities in this lesson:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1GuzAnWPlSU-Llr6xk8mxHdwoYrnEtiXXgSrBXGGq1tM/edit