UNESCO Bangkok supports Thailand Review Workshop on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) E-Course for Teachers

UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education (UNESCO Bangkok) collaborates with the Ministry of Education Thailand, Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC)

As competent and confident teachers are the backbone of a successful Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) programme, adequate preparation of teachers is essential to ensure that they can engage appropriately with students about sexuality, and that they feel comfortable with the programme and have the required knowledge to effectively deliver key CSE topics. Evidence shows that teachers are more likely to focus classroom teaching on the content which they themselves have received training in, and for which they have been provided teaching resources, such as textbooks and teaching plans. In contexts where there is no stand-alone CSE subject, and in which teachers are expected to integrate CSE content into other carrier subjects, teachers may lack specific preparation in such approaches, making the strengthening of their capacities through well-designed, professional learning programmes all the more important.

In 2020, UNESCO Bangkok collaborated with the Ministry of Education Thailand, Office of Basic Education Commission (OBEC) and additional partners to carry out a rapid situation assessment of sexuality education in digital spaces in Thailand, and to explore new opportunities for formal education. The study findings revealed that of the 85,000 teachers registered for the OBEC CSE teacher e-course, only about 27,000 teachers were able to complete it. The findings also revealed that most teachers who teach CSE are Physical and Heath Education teachers. One conclusion of the study is that although the e-course registration may reflect teachers’ overall willingness and interests in the CSE course, the low proportion of registered teachers able to complete the course (31%) may reflect potential challenges faced by teachers in taking the course. Among the study’s recommendations is a call to further enhance teachers’ skills for quality CSE delivery and to extend better support to learners via the existing e-course; addtitionally, the study recommends a review of the e-course’s current content, and the potential integration of additional content.  

With the aims to complement OBEC’s efforts to scale-up the CSE e-course resource to reach more teachers under OBEC schools, and to empower teachers to continuously upskill their teaching approaches to, and knowledge of CSE, UNESCO and OBEC will jointly support a 3-day workshop with key stakeholders and partners supporting school-based CSE implementation in Thailand. The workshop will be informed by a recent rapid survey conducted by UNESCO and Love Frankie among teachers and OBEC Educational Service Area Office (ESAO) officers, reflecting insights into their experiences of the e-course and perceived opportunities to strengthen the course.

Workshop Objectives 
This consultation and review workshop aims to:
i)    facilitate discussion and exchange among OBEC officials, CSE classroom practitioners and stakeholders on their experiences, perceptions and expectations of implementing or taking the OBEC e-course; 
ii)    review the content and engagement strategies of the CSE e-course using participatory activities aimed at reaching consensus on the strengths and areas for potential improvement of the e-course; and,
iii)    brainstorm and propose recommendations on further inputs and approaches to CSE teacher training and support in Thailand, including through discussion guided by the UNESCO Sexuality Education Review and Assessment Tool (SERAT).

Expected Outcomes:
i)    Collective inputs from the workshop participants on CSE teachers’ promising classroom practices for further support by the e-course;
ii)    Proposed enhancements to the e-course that will help teachers in their classroom delivery of CSE and ESAO officers in their supportive supervision; 
iii)    Suggested strategies for enhancing teachers’ enrolment in, and completion of the e-course; and, 
iv)    SERAT report on CSE teacher training and support and considerations for their further strengthening both through, and in complementary relation to the OBEC e-course.

Workshop Participants (by invitation only):  Schoolteachers with a CSE role, ESAO officers, OBEC officers, local NGOs, UN and other partners working on school-based CSE.

Dates: 29 April – 1 May 2022
Format: In-person workshop
Languages: English, Thai 
Location: Bangkok  

Useful files and link:
-    Concept note and event agenda (Please see attached files below)
-    Report on situation assessment: Comprehensive Sexuality Education in digital spaces – opportunities for formal education in Thailand 

For further information or questions, contact Jenelle Babb, Regional Advisor, UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education (UNESCO Bangkok): j.babb(at)unesco(dot)org 

Main photo credit: shutterstock/MISTER DIN