New professional development resources provide primary teachers with practical strategies for meeting the learning needs of students with disability.

First orientation training delivered online by experts on vision impairment

(KPL) 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 the 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).

 “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,” said Director General, Department of Teacher Education (DTE), Ms Vongdeuane Osay.  

During the second orientation training, the team learnt the basics of Braille

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.

The Teacher Support Pack modules are full of easy applicable teaching strategies

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.”

The resource development team developping a new module on supporting students with disability in the classroom

The new TSP module “Supporting Students with Disability in the Classroom” will be divided into four parts. The first part will describe strategies to support students with vision impairment. During February and March, several experts will work with the RD team in charge of writing the TSP content. Mr Aikeo Koomanivong, Director of the Disabilities Services Center (DSC), will focus on explaining the types of visual difficulties, their causes, recommended actions (do’s), and actions to avoid (don’ts). He will support the RD team to fully understand the capabilities of individuals with visual impairments and how teachers can help students with visual impairments to achieve their learning goals.

The resource development team in Savannakhet reviewing teacher support packs

Ms. Chitpaseuth Phaphoungeoun, Head of the Academic Service and Inclusive Education Unit at the National University of Laos (NuoL) will provide an orientation on creating appropriate environments for students with visual impairments in schools. She will share her experience of creating supportive learning environments for visually impaired students at NuoL. Mr. Khamkeo Xongbouakham, Director of the Visual Impairment and Blindness school in Vientiane will train the RD team in methods to assist visually impaired individuals and use essential assistive devices.

Ms Vongdeaune noted that “This new TSP on “Supporting Students with Disability in the Classroom” will be a longer module than usual to ensure it provides detailed and easily applicable strategies for supporting students with diverse learning support needs. This topic responds to the growing awareness of the need for primary teachers to be able to support students with disability in their classroom, to ensure all students have access to quality primary education. This topic will build on and incorporate existing resources and expertise within MoES. In partnership with BEQUAL, we will collaborate with experts in the field to ensure that a comprehensive module of support is developed. It is expected that this module will be completed by the end of 2025.”

Ms Vanessa concludes “Australia’s new Disability Equity and Rights Strategy was launched in November 2024, placing partnerships with person with disability at the heart of our international engagement. We are honoured to work closely with the Department of Teacher Education and experts from organization of persons with disability (OPD) to provide teachers with strategies to meet the needs of all learners.”

KPL