Ministry of Education and Sports and Australia collaborate to enhance inclusive teaching practices

Throughout February and March, the Ministry of Educations and Sports (MoES), with the support of the Australian Government through the Basic Education Quality and Access in Lao PDR (BEQUAL) program is collaborating with vision impairment experts to deliver orientation training and support to a team of teaching resource development specialists at Savannakhet Teacher Training College (TTC).

Assoc. Prof. Ms Vongdeuane Osay, Director General, Department of Teacher Education (DTE), says “Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is vital for enhancing the skills and knowledge of teachers throughout their careers. In early 2024, DTE, with support of Australia, established Resource Development (RD) teams in three target TTCs located in Luang Namtha, Khang Khai and Savannakhet. Their role is to develop practical and user-friendly CPD resources for primary teachers and the pedagogical staff supporting them. This year, six lecturers from the RD team in Savannakhet will develop a teacher support pack on “Supporting Students with Disability in the Classroom.”

The Teacher Support Packs (TSP) are the first CPD resource that the RD teams have been tasked with creating. The TSPs consist of standalone modules, each focusing on a specific area of teaching. They offer useful suggestions and practical strategies to respond to common teaching challenges and enhance teaching practices. Teachers and pedagogical support staff can select modules from the TSP that best align with their learning needs. The topics of the modules are identified based on data and feedback collected through monitoring of the CPD system, incorporating insights from teachers and teacher education teams at national and subnational levels. The topics also respond to MoES priorities emerging through the development of the draft ESSDP 2026-2030. CPD system monitoring data shows that teachers struggle with supporting the learning of students with different needs.

Ms Vanessa Hegarty, First Secretary, Australian Embassy said “Children with disability face significant barriers to accessing quality education in Laos, including negative beliefs and attitudes about the causes of disability and the capabilities of persons with disability. Many teachers have expressed a desire to learn effective teaching strategies for overcoming these barriers. Ensuring that all children, especially those experiencing disadvantage, are included and thrive in school is a shared commitment of MoES and Australia.”