Project Small Schools Management for Lifelong Learning (Project SMaLL) SEAMEO INNOTECH Regional Education Program (SIREP) 1 | P a g e Small Schools Management for Lifelong Learning PUBLISHED BY SEAMEO INNOTECH 2016. A PDF copy of this publication may be downloaded free of charge from http://www.seameo-innotech.org. All photos used are courtesy of SEAMEO INNOTECH unless otherwise stated. 2 | P a g e Small Schools Management for Lifelong Learning ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS With sincerest thanks to the SEAMEO INNOTECH Governing Board for supporting the SEAMEO INNOTECH Regional Education Program (SIREP) on “reaching the unreached” small schools in SEAMEO Member Countries in line with the Ten Collaborative Projects of SEAMEO by 2015. Likewise, special gratitude to the national and sub-national education offices (i.e., province, district levels) of the Lao PDR Ministry of Education and Sports, the Malaysia Ministry of Education and the Philippine Department of Education, together with the seven project intervention schools, namely: 1) Ban Kouay Primary School, Lao PDR 2) Hawanay Elementary (Integrated) School, Philippines 3) Mainit Elementary School, Philippines 4) Phonsinuane Primary School, Lao PDR 5) Sekolah Kebangsaan Chenderong Kelubi, Malaysia 6) Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Perah, Malaysia 7) Sikhaitha Primary School, Lao PDR for their great contributions in SEAMEO INNOTECH’s Project on Small Schools Management for Lifelong Learning (SMaLL) from planning, implementation and monitoring of action plans as part of their commitment to the post-2015 Education for All agenda. Lastly, deepest appreciation to all students, school teachers, principals, parents, local government officials and members of community-based organizations such as: the Village Education Development Committee (VEDC) of Lao PDR; Orang Asli Affairs Department (JAKOA) and Village Councils of Malaysia; and, the Barangay Councils of the Philippines, that were actively engaged by the Project for their valuable experiences, insights and recommendations to continually improve the performance of disadvantaged small schools in remote rural communities in the context of school-based management/decentralized education management. 3 | P a g e Small Schools Management for Lifelong Learning CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... 3 LIST OF ACRONYMS .......................................................................................................... 9 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 25 CHAPTER II. REGIONAL CONTEXT OF SMALL SCHOOLS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA ..................... 29 1. Definition of Small Schools ........................................................................................................................... 30 2. The Regional Profile ...................................................................................................................................... 30 3. Characteristics of Small Schools in Southeast Asia ....................................................................................... 31 Cambodia ...................................................................................................................................................... 31 Indonesia ...................................................................................................................................................... 32 Lao PDR ......................................................................................................................................................... 32 Malaysia ....................................................................................................................................................... 33 Myanmar ...................................................................................................................................................... 34 Philippines ..................................................................................................................................................... 35 Timor-Leste ................................................................................................................................................... 36 Thailand ........................................................................................................................................................ 37 Vietnam ........................................................................................................................................................ 38 4. Needs and Challenges faced by Small Schools ............................................................................................. 39 5. Approaches to overcome the challenges in managing Small Schools .......................................................... 46 CAMBODIA .................................................................................................................................................... 46 INDONESIA .................................................................................................................................................... 48 LAO PDR ........................................................................................................................................................ 49 MALAYSIA ..................................................................................................................................................... 51 MYANMAR .................................................................................................................................................... 55 PHILIPPINES .................................................................................................................................................. 56 THAILAND ..................................................................................................................................................... 59 TIMOR-LESTE ................................................................................................................................................ 60 VIETNAM ....................................................................................................................................................... 61 CHAPTER III. PROJECT BACKGROUND .............................................................................. 63 1. SEAMEO’s Collaborative Response: Reaching the Unreached ..................................................................... 64 2. SEAMEO INNOTECH’s Response: Project SMaLL (Conceptual Overview)..................................................... 64 3. Capacity-building interventions provided: Lao PDR, Malaysia and Philippines ........................................... 69 4 | P a g e Small Schools Management for Lifelong Learning CHAPTER IV: THE PHILIPPINE EXPERIENCE ....................................................................... 71 1. CHARACTERISTICS OF PHILIPPINE SMALL SCHOOLS .................................................................................... 72 2. PHILIPPINE SMALL SCHOOL MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND PRACTICES ................................................. 75 3. BACKGROUND TO THE PHILIPPINE PROJECT SMALL INTERVENTIONS ........................................................ 82 4. THE PILOT SCHOOLS UNDER PROJECT SMALL: SCHOOL CONTEXT ............................................................... 84 Hawanay Elementary School (Hawanay ES) ................................................................................................. 84 Mainit Elementary School (Mainit ES) .......................................................................................................... 86 5. PROJECT SMaLL PROGRAM INTERVENTION ................................................................................................ 88 6. CHALLENGES & SUCCESSES .......................................................................................................................... 91 Hawanay Elementary School ........................................................................................................................ 96 Mainit Elementary School (Mainit Es) ........................................................................................................ 101 7. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE CASE EXPERIENCE OF THE PHILIPPINES ................ 106 CHAPTER V: THE MALAYSIAN EXPERIENCE .................................................................... 121 1. CHARACTERISTICS OF SMALL SCHOOLS IN MALAYSIA ................................................................................ 123 2. MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND PRACTICES IN ORANG ASLI SCHOOLS ................................................... 125 3. STATUS OF THE ORANG ASLI EDUCATION SYSTEM ................................................................................... 140 4. THE PILOT SCHOOLS UNDER PROJECT SMaLL: SCHOOL CONTEXT ............................................................. 155 Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Chenderong Kelubi............................................................................................. 156 Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Sungai Perah ...................................................................................................... 160 5. PROJECT SMALL PROGRAM INTERVENTION ..............................................................................................