ASEAN Regional Forum on the Future of Education

Prof Tan Oon Seng speaking on “Teacher Policies for Teacher Growth: A Singapore Sharing”

Group Photo - Participating regional experts and organizations on day 2 of the ASEAN Regional Forum on the Future of Education

The ASEAN Regional Forum on the Future of Education was attended ministerial delegations and educational leaders from ASEAN comprising participating nations from the Republic of Korea (ROK), Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao PDR, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore, USA, France and the People’s Republic of China. The three-day forum is the first in a series of events on the future of education under the ASEAN Socio Cultural Community (ASCC) Research and Development Programme funded by the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Cooperation Fund. Some 46 delegates attended the conference convened from 24 to 26 May 2023. Professor Tan Oon Seng, Dean of Special Projects and Centre Director of the Singapore Centre for Character and Citizenship Education, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore was invited by H.E. Ekkaphab Phanthavong, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN (Socio-Cultural Community) to be a Panel Speaker under the theme of Reimagining Teaching Standards in ASEAN: A Post-Pandemic Reform and Recovery Roadmap. Prof Tan spoke on “Teacher Policies for Teacher Growth: A Singapore Sharing”.  In his video address, Prof Tan highlighted the importance of understanding the aims of education and providing strong professional development for teachers.

In his video message, Prof Tan said: “The first goal of education is Character. Education must help learners develop their identity and awareness of their potentials to be the best that they can be. Character education involves getting our students to value relationships and work cooperatively with others. When our students are confident about themselves and their relationships, they will learn to make good choices. For example, when children learn diligence – they develop perseverance. They are not afraid to try or fail. Perseverance will lead to resilience later on in their lives. Thus, when we build the character of our students, they will be prepared to climb steep learning curves. Teachers play a key role in developing the dispositions of learning so as to prepare our students to confront an uncertain world. When teachers pay attention to character building they are equipping the young with the intra and inter personal intelligences that will not only give them personal resilience but also help them to collaborate, cooperate, and to be communicative and creative. So, the first most important goal of education is always Character.”

The press releases of the three days activity can be found on the following links:

Day 1: https://asean.org/forum-on-future-of-education-discusses-digital-transformation-green-education-in-asean/  

Day 2 (Prof Tan’s panel session): https://asean.org/education-forum-emphasises-teachers-professional-development-amid-changing-educational-landscapes/  

Day 3: https://asean.org/asean-regional-forum-concludes-with-call-for-transformative-approaches-to-education/