Rethinking Schooling for the 21st Century

official documents devote some space to discussing issues of environmental
sustainability and natural resource management, there is a lack of any holistic
or coherent critique of unsustainable development in theory or practice. SEP
fails to define sustainable consumption, address inequalities in the distribution
of wealth and power, or promote a vision of interconnectedness beyond the
homogenising definition of Thainess and national identity on which it is premised
(see the next section of this chapter on challenges of nationalism).
State Instrumentalism and Student Empowerment
In Southeast Asia, as in other Asian sub-regions, policy discourse suggests
widespread consensus concerning a need to shift from teacher-centred pedagogy
and rote learning to student-centred and inquiry-based learning. This is salient
across the countries surveyed, from Cambodia, which has Least Developed Country
(LDC) status, to Singapore, at the other end of the ‘developmental’ spectrum.
Cambodian documents discuss the importance of participatory learning (see,
In Southeast Asia, as in
other Asian sub-regions,
policy discourse suggests
widespread consensus
concerning a need to
shift from teachercentred
pedagogy and
rote learning to studentcentred
and inquirybased
learning
for example, the ESP), while curricula in Viet
Nam ostensibly promote student-centred
learning, calling for pedagogical approaches
that enhance students’ learning and creativity,
allowing them to learn at their own pace (e.g.
Moral Education, p. 168; History and Geography,
p. 221; Biology, p. 301). Singapore, whose
‘Thinking Schools, Learning Nation’ initiative
was noted above, now encourages students to
‘learn more actively and independently’, while a
review of assessment methods aims to ensure
a reduction of ‘reliance on rote learning’. 51
Official documents in the Philippines call for
student-centred and transformative learning,
so that students may understand and act on social, political and environmental
issues. 52 In Indonesia, official espousal of the language of multiculturalism in
theory creates space for bringing discussions of diversity into the classroom,
especially given simultaneous calls to replace rote learning with the fostering
of analytical skills and character development. In short, a superficial perusal of
state documents might lead the observer to adopt a strikingly optimistic view
regarding education’s contribution to fostering tolerant, active and critically
engaged citizens across the region.
However, other evidence suggests that moves away from the traditional
pedagogical focus on formal lectures, recitation and memorisation — or, more
to the point, from the authoritarian ethos that underpins such methods —
51 See https://www.moe.gov.sg/education/education-system/nurturing-students.
52 See Republic Act No. 10533 or An Act Enhancing the Philippine Basic Education System
by Strengthening its Curriculum and Increasing the Number of Years for Basic Education
(Implementing Rules and Regulations), Sec. 5(e) (2013).
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Chapter 4: Southeast Asia