Myanmar: International Consultant – Reviewing of Teacher Education Curriculum Materials

INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANT –

Reviewing of Teacher Education Curriculum Materials

(Position located in Yangon, Myanmar)

Terms of Reference

Date Issued: 12 June 2019

Functional Title: International Consultant – Reviewing of Teacher Education Curriculum Materials

Organizational unit: UNESCO Myanmar Project Office

Duty Station: Yangon, Myanmar

Duration of the contract: 1 August 2019 to 30 June 2020

Application deadline: 1 July 2019

Background:

UNESCO, in partnership with the Ministry of Education (MoE), is working to strengthen pre-service teacher education in Myanmar through reform measures outlined in the National Education Strategic Plan (NESP) 2016-21. The project named “Strengthening pre-service Teacher Education in Myanmar (STEM)” addresses four fundamentally important aspects of pre-service teacher education. These include:

· formulating a policy framework of pre-service teacher education and identifying standards for quality assurance,

· improving a system of pre-service teacher training institutions - Education Degree Colleges (EDCs)[1] by designing the new four-year degree programme of pre-service teacher education and creating good networks to accumulate and share knowledge and experiences of all EDCs,

· developing institutional/management and human resource capacities of EDCs, and

· mainstreaming inclusion and equity issues in teacher education.

The project is improving teacher education in the area of governance, policy development around teacher education, review of learning resources and development of curriculum, and building capacity of staff in management and teaching. Under the project, UNESCO is supporting MoE to produce syllabi, student teacher textbooks (TBs) and teacher educator guides (TGs) for the new four-year EDC programme, to be implemented in 25 EDCs across all 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 EDC degree is to train primary and middle school teachers for Myanmar basic education schools and needs to align with the new basic education curriculum, which is being implemented gradually in Myanmar[1].

According to the EDC Curriculum Framework, the four-year EDC programme will follow a competency-based approach. The focus is not just on subject content but also on the skills and attitudes needed to effectively apply knowledge, skills and values in teaching and learning situations, with specific age groups.

The four-year EDC programme is also designed as a spiral curriculum. Throughout the four years, student teachers return to familiar concepts, each time deepening their knowledge and understanding. The programme is divided into two cycles. The first cycle (Year 1 and Year 2) is repeated at a deeper level in the second cycle (Year 3 and Year 4) to enable student teachers to return to the ideas learnt from the first cycle, experiment with them, and use a wider range of practices in the classroom. Year 1 and Year 2 are regarded as foundation years for student teachers. Year 1 focuses on giving introduction to primary school curriculum and the related strategies to teach while Year 2 focuses on giving introduction to secondary school curriculum and the related strategies to teach.

In line with this process, UNESCO supports MoE and its Curriculum Core Team (CCT)[2] in developing Education Degree College (EDC) curriculum and related materials of 11 subjects and four learning areas[3]. The development of Year 2 syllabi, TBs and TGs will commence in July 2019, with support from MoE, CCT, UNESCO and international and national curriculum authors. The subjects of the Year 2 EDC curriculum are as follows:

· Educational Studies

· Practicum

· Reflective Practice and Essential Skills

· Myanmar

· English

· Mathematics

· Science

· Social Studies (History and Geography)

· Physical Education

· Life Skills

· Art (Performing Arts and Visual Arts)

· Morality and Civics

· Local Curriculum

· ICT (Information Communication Technology)

International consultants, who have expertise in any one or more of the above subjects, are sought to review the draft syllabi, TBs and TGs, developed by CCT and curriculum authors, and to provide technical input throughout the curriculum development process between August 2019 to June 2020. The focus of this review process is to ensure that the newly developed curriculum materials, in terms of overarching concepts, content, sequences, learning activities, teaching and learning strategies and assessment approaches, meet the international standards.

The tentative schedule of the major tasks is as follows. Please note that the schedule is tentative and subject to confirmation in consultation with UNESCO and curriculum authors.

August - early September 2019

To review and provide technical input on draft syllabi

September - mid-October 2019

To review and provide technical input on 15% to 20% of the first draft TBs and TGs

November - December 2019

To review and provide technical input on first full draft TBs and TGs

February - March 2020

To review and provide technical input on second full draft TBs and TGs

April - May 2020

To review and provide technical input on third full draft TBs and TGs

Work Assignment:

The international consultants will perform the tasks under the overall authority of the Director of UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, the direct supervision of the Head of Office of UNESCO Myanmar Project Office, the day-to-day guidance of the Senior Education Project Officer and in close collaboration with the STEM project team. The international consultants will be responsible for reviewing and providing technical inputs on the draft syllabi, TBs and TGs of Year 2 EDC curriculum in Myanmar. The consultant’s responsibilities include, among others,

· Getting familiar with the key EDC curriculum documents, including but not limited to curriculum framework, Teacher Competency Standards Framework, Year 1 syllabi, TBs and TGs and basic education syllabi, TBs and TGs;

· Reviewing and providing technical comments on the draft Year 2 syllabi, including but not limited to alignment with basic education curriculum, coherence of the strands and sub-strands, scope and sequence; learning outcomes, lesson topics and learning activities; improvement of the assessment/evaluation scheme; and enhancement of the list of relevant learning resources;

· Reviewing and providing technical comments on the draft TBs and TGs, based on the guidelines on reviewing curriculum materials provided by UNESCO, at least four times at different stages of the curriculum development process (15% to 20% of the first draft TBs and TGs, the first full draft, the second full draft, and the third full draft);

· Proposing various evidence-based and concrete educational practice and approach examples to improve the draft syllabi, TBs and TGs, including but not limited to the concepts, content, learning activities, teaching and learning strategies and assessment approaches;

· Communicating with UNESCO and, if necessary, curriculum authors, regularly to provide updates on the progress and to make clarifications on the comments on the draft syllabi, TBs and TGs; and

· Ensuring the integration of inclusive education content/approach and alignment with the international good practices in the draft syllabi, TBs and TGs.

Deliverables and Timeline:

All deliverables are submitted in English and in editable format (such as MS-Word format). Specific comments should be provided in track changes or in comment boxes on the draft documents while overall comments should be provided in a separate document.

1. Comments on draft syllabi by 23 August 2019;

2. Comments on 15% to 20% of the first draft TBs and TGs by 11 October 2019;

3. Comments on the first full draft TBs and TGs by 20 December 2019;

4. Comments on the second full draft TBs and TGs by 6 March 2020; and

5. Comments on the third full draft TBs and TGs by 31 May 2020.

Location and travel:

The work of the international consultants is home-based, with possibility to travel to Myanmar to attend curriculum development meetings/workshops in case of need.

Fees:

Middle-level or senior-level consultants depending on qualifications. Travel costs for missions undertaken within the context of the assignment will be reimbursed as per UNESCO rules and regulations.

Qualifications:

Education:

· At least Master’s degree with specialization in education or a related field in the subject area(s) of the curriculum that the consultants apply for.

Work experience:

· At least five years of experience in developing and/or reviewing curriculum and training materials, preferably relating to teacher training and on themes such as competency-based approach, teaching strategies, assessment approaches and inclusive education;

· Previous experience in teacher education curriculum development, preferably at the international level, would be desirable; and

· Good knowledge of the Myanmar country context or context similar to Myanmar as an asset.

Skills and competencies:

· Strong analytical skills;

· Excellent written and oral communication skills in English;

· Proficiency in using common office ICT productivity tools; and

· Ability to work independently on delegated tasks.

Interested applicants are invited to submit in writing to the UNESCO Myanmar Project Office:

a) A cover letter (in English) and clearly referencing “International Consultant – Reviewing of Teacher Education Curriculum Materials”, 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) The subject(s) that you would like to work on; and

c) An up-to-date CV, with contact details including telephone numbers and email address.

Your application should be submitted by e-mail to yangon@unesco.org no later than 17:00 Hours (Yangon time) on 1 July 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.