Paving the way: training the influentials in population education.

Abstract

A number of countries in Far East Asia are in the process of launching national population education programs. To get them off the ground and to keep them working needs the support of key personnel in the program. This means that basic training in population education should be given to key personnel to enable them to promote and efficiently run the population education programs. The Sub-Regional Group Training Course in Population Education organized by the Mobile Team of the Unesco Regional Office for Education in Asia and Oceania to be held in Bangkok from 18 August to 5 September is a response to this need. Training will be given to key personnel from Afghanistan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. The specific objectives of the course are to provide the participants with: 1) opportunities for exchanges of information and experience; exposure to and involvement in developing population education curricula, teaching units and sample instructional materials; 2) an understanding of various strategies for curriculum development and methodologies used for designing and implementing programs; and 3) preparation as teams from each Member State able to contribute to the promotion of population education in school and out of school in their countries. The training course has 5 main thrusts, namely: 1) sharing of experiences and clarification of the concepts of population education; 2) development of population education curriculum; 3) development of teaching units; 4) development of sample alternative instructional materials; and 5) field visit to ongoing population education programs in Thailand. The content will cover: 1) the knowledge base which includes concepts, nature, issues and status of population education; demographic concepts, population and development; and 2) strategies and approaches such as those used in curriculum development and teaching units, methods of teaching, and instructional materials development. The training methodologies will include lecture and panel discussions, film shows, and practicum.