Key educational leaders from Asia and Near East engaged in a three-day exchange of knowledge and experiences in the “Quest for Quality Forum.”

Dubbed by INNOTECH Director Dr. Erlinda C. Pefianco as an “interesting and interactive sharing of East and West experiences in the unending quest for quality,” the forum had participants from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and USA; and three international organizations, which included the Asian Development Bank, the UNESCO in Bangkok and SEAMEO INNOTECH.

Forum sessions included a mix of formal presentation of country experiences in addressing issues regarding quality, small group discussions, and an informal dialogue between the presenters and the participants. Most of the information and materials used during the forum were developed and provided by the IEQ Project.

Some of the papers presented delved into issues like the processes for improving quality, policy implications of classroom research, and the facets and meanings of quality indicators.

Among those who made presentations were Dr. Jane Schubert, IEQ Project Director; Mr. Sheldon Shaeffer, Director, UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau for Education; Ms. Joy Du Plessis, Education Specialist, and Ms. Rose Thomas, Project Manager, both from American Institutes for Research; Mr. Siddiqur Rahman, Professor, Institute of Education and Research, Bangladesh; Dr. Steve Anzalone, Director, Research and Evaluation, Education Development Center, USA; Dr. Rosario J. de Guzman, Director, Bureau of Nonformal Education, Philippines; Dr. Nilo L. Rosas, University President, Philippine Normal University; and Dr. Ester Garcia, Chair, Commission on Higher Education, Philippines.

Dr. Schubert provided an overview of the IEQ process (see sidebar, next page) in examining quality at the local level and using research findings to change policies and practices. She said, there is an inherent conflict in reform and this refers to the gap between the quantity of people who goes to schools and the quality of education they receive. Most often, quality cannot keep up with quantity. In addressing this concern, IEQ assesses the situation, acts on their findings, and analyses the results.

Dr. Shaeffer basically defined quality education with emphasis on the Dakar Framework for Action, a collective commitment to the achievement of education for all (EFA), adopted by participants in the World Education Forum held in Bangladesh in April 2000.

Ms. Du Plessis talked about IEQ initiatives to improve teacher assessment practices in Malawi and Jamaica. She also presented a resource for teacher development, titled In My Classroom, which includes a chapter on continuous assessment. One of the things she mentioned was the development of an integrated curriculum for the college level in Jamaica, after IEQ discovered that the teachers lack an understanding of integrated curriculum.

Prof. Rahman’s presentation focused on a three-year technical assistance project, called the Primary School Monitoring Project, intended to complement the quantitative monitoring being done by the Bangladesh government.

Dr. Anzalone gave a review of international experiences in using alternative models to provide secondary school education. His presentation detailed the IEQ-assisted activity in Honduras as an alternative path to secondary education.

Dr. Rosario J. de Guzman shared the Philippine experience in deve-loping an accredi-tation and equiva-lency program for the BNFE. The Nonformal Education Accreditation and Equivalency (NFE A&E) system is an alternative learning system for the basically literate out-of-school youth and adults, ages 15 years old and above. It was awarded the UNESCO NOMA Literacy Prize for Year 2000 in recognition of its significance in making education accessible to all sectors of society.

Ms. Thomas presented the IEQ website. The site has various links to a number of tested research instruments for measuring teaching and learning. Likewise, Ms. Thomas conducted an interactive application exercise for the participants.

Dr. Rosas revealed how PNU reinvented and restructured its policies to respond to current challenges. Focusing on the experience of PNU in improving the quality of pre-service and in-service training of teachers, Dr. Rosas emphasized the importance of reinventing teachers’ preparation and development. His advice was to fix the teacher recruitment process and put only qualified teachers in the classroom. He had, as well, declared that every learner is entitled to caring and qualified teachers.