Country: Myanmar
Closing date: 16 Jan 2019
Functional Title: International Consultant – Teacher Education Curriculum Development
Organizational unit: UNESCO Myanmar Project Office
Duty Station: Yangon, Myanmar
Duration of the contract: 11 Months
Application deadline: 16 January 2019
Start Date: 30 January 2019
Background:
UNESCO, in partnership with the Ministry of Education (MoE), is working to strengthen pre-service teacher education in Myanmar. A project named “Strengthening pre-service Teacher Education in Myanmar (STEM)” addresses four fundamentally important aspects of pre-service teacher education: to formulate a policy framework of pre-service teacher education and identify standards for quality assurance; to improve a system of pre-service teacher training institutions - Education Colleges (ECs) by restructuring and redesigning courses of teacher education and creating good networks to accumulate and share knowledge and experiences of all ECs; to develop institutional/management and human resource capacities of ECs; and to mainstream inclusion and equity issues in teacher education. The project is improving teacher education in the area of governance, policy development around teacher education, and review of the learning resources and development of curriculum, building capacity of staff in management and teaching.
Under the project, UNESCO is supporting MoE to produce syllabi, student teacher textbooks and teacher educator guides for the new four-year pre-service teacher education degree, to be implemented in 25 ECs across states and regions in Myanmar. The first and second years are considered to be foundation years, focusing on preparing student teachers to acquire basic knowledge and develop skills to teach primary and middle schools respectively while the third and fourth years provide primary and middle specialization tracks for student teachers to choose to get more in-depth knowledge and experience in teaching students of the particular schooling levels. The curriculum of the four-year pre-service teacher education degree is to align with the new basic education curriculum, which is being implemented gradually in Myanmar.
In 2017, UNESCO’s global Centre for Excellence for Curriculum Development, the International Bureau of Education (IBE), collaborated with UNESCO Project Office in Myanmar to support MoE in conducting three week-long training workshops to a team of MoE-appointed national teacher educators (known as Curriculum Core Team (CCT)) in curriculum development skills, drawing on a draft EC Curriculum Framework to develop a detailed course programme, subject syllabi, student teacher textbooks, and teacher educator guides for a new competency-based teacher education curriculum for the four-year degree programme in 25 ECs. The curriculum of a total of 14 subjects/ learning areas are being developed.
The national CCT consists of around 60 to 70 teacher educators with a wide range of the number of teaching experience from the 25 ECs and three Universities of Education. This ensures that the skills they acquire during the training of curriculum development skills will benefit Myanmar for continued revisions and improvement of the teacher education curriculum for decades to come.
UNESCO facilitated a team of international and national experts to support the curriculum development process. The Year 1 student teacher textbooks and teacher educator guides are being developed in both Myanmar and English language versions and are being revised several times as part of a comprehensive national consultation process with UNESCO, curriculum experts and the CCT members. The CCT, together with MoE, UNESCO, and other supporting development partners, are guiding the drafting process through review of drafts. Overall guidance of the work is provided by the Department of Higher Education (DHE), MoE.
The drafting of Year 1 student teacher textbooks and teacher educator guides will continue through a process of three drafts and revisions until May 2019. Draft one was reviewed with CCT during October – December 2018; draft two will be reviewed and piloted in two ECs in February 2019, and the third and final draft will be revised by the end of May 2019. After necessary approval process by the relevant Government committees, the Year 1 student teacher textbooks and teacher educator guides will start being used in all 25 ECs in December 2019.
The development of Year 2 student teacher textbooks and teacher educator guides is expected to start in the second quarter of 2019 to follow the same process as for Year 1 student teacher textbook and teacher educator guide development. In this connection, draft subject syllabi, with well-defined learning outcomes and scope and sequence, will need to be revised in early 2019 to provide guidance on the drafting of further years of student teacher textbooks and teacher educator guides.
In addition to the curriculum development process, UNESCO is to support MoE to plan, design, and start an orientation of the new curriculum and implementation of a professional development programme for teacher educators to prepare them for teaching the new competency-based EC curriculum, in areas such as curriculum development skills and inclusive education.
An international consultant is sought to support the above curriculum development process in 2019.
Work Assignment:
Under the overall authority of the Director of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, the direct supervision of Head of Project Office in Myanmar, the day-to-day guidance of the Senior Education Project Officer and in close collaboration with the STEM project team, the consultant will support the curriculum development process for the new four-year pre-service teacher education degree programme through performing the following tasks:
Review and provide technical comments on the second and final draft Year 1 student teacher textbooks and teacher educator guides and the first and second draft Year 2 student teacher textbooks and teacher educator guides, including but not limited to reviewing the proposed assessment methods and ensuring integration of inclusive education content/ approach across the subjects;
Update draft Year 1 subject syllabi incorporating any changes in the second and final draft Year 1 student teacher textbooks and teacher educator guides;
Revise draft Years 2, 3 and 4 learning outcomes on the EC subject syllabi based on the updated Year 1 learning outcomes on the EC subject syllabi and basic education subject syllabi;
Support the coordination of the translation of the subject syllabi, and the translation and layout design of the draft Year 1 and Year 2 student teacher textbooks and teacher educator guides, together with the project team and other contractors;
Assist in the implementation of the piloting and orientation of the draft Year 1 and Year 2 student teacher textbooks and teacher educator guides with selected ECs; and
Develop and assist in the delivery of professional development modules on curriculum development skills and inclusive education, tailored to prepare teacher educators to teach specific chapters of Educational Studies and other relevant subjects.
Deliverables and Timeline:
Monthly progress reports on the achievements and challenges encountered in delivering the outputs related to the work assignment by the end of each month between February and November 2019.
A final report summarizing the activities carried out, achievements, challenges and lessons learnt over the contract period to be completed end of December 2019.
Location and travel:
The consultant will be based in UNESCO Myanmar Project Office in Yangon, with travel to field sites as required.
Fees:
Mid-level consultant depending on qualifications.
Travel costs for missions undertaken within the context of the assignment will be reimbursed as per UNESCO rules and regulations.
Required Qualifications for Specialized Knowledge/Experience:
Education and experience:
At least Master’s degree with specialization in education, international development or a related field;
At least five years of experience in the field of education development, preferably relating to curriculum development, inclusive education, assessment, teaching and/or educational research. Previous experience in teacher education reforms, preferably at the international level, would be desirable; and
Good knowledge of the Myanmar country context would be desirable.
Skills and competencies:
Proven research and analytical skills; proficiency in using common office ICT productivity tools; ability to work independently on delegated tasks; excellent communication skills; and excellent writing and speaking skills in English.
How to apply:
How to apply:
Interested applicants are invited to submit in writing to the UNESCO Project Office in Myanmar:
a) A cover letter (in English) and clearly referencing “International Consultant – Teacher Education Curriculum Development”, indicating how your qualifications and experience make you suitable for the assignment, and the methodology and approach(es) to be adopted to carry out the assignment and expected fee;
b) An up-to-date CV, with contact details including telephone numbers and email address; and
c) A writing sample in English.
Your application should be submitted by e-mail to yangon@unesco.org no later than 17:00 Hours (Yangon time) on Wednesday, 16 January 2019.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
In line with UNESCO’s overall gender mainstreaming strategy, the incumbent is expected to integrate a gender perspective in all activities and apply gender analysis and mainstreaming concepts whenever feasible.