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Keynote

Linking Research and Policy Practice Towards Quality Learning: Why and How?

Time: Wednesday, July 6, 09:30-10:15
Location: Loke Yew Hall, 1/F, Main Building, The University of Hong Kong

  • Dr.Gwang-Jo KimBorn in the Republic of Korea, Dr Gwang-Jo KIM holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from Korea University (1978), a Master’s degree (1984) and a PhD (1994) in Education from Harvard University.
  • Dr Kim began his senior responsibilities in Korea, where he advised and assisted former President Young Sam Kim in the fields of education and social policy (1995–1997). He played a key role in the planning of the nation-wide education reform initiative, entitled “531 Education Reform” aimed at restructuring the entire Korean education system.
  • Between 2001 and 2004, Dr Kim was affiliated with the World Bank as Senior Education Specialist at its Headquarters in Washington DC.
  • In 2004, Dr Kim was appointed Director-General of the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (MOEHRD) in Korea where he led and prepared cross-ministerial human resources development policies, i.e., the Five Year National Human Resources Development Plan. From 2005 to 2008, Dr Kim was Deputy-Minister of Education and Human Resources Development of the Republic of Korea. He coordinated cross-ministerial human resources development policy initiatives and initiated and launched the Global Human Resources Forum in Seoul in 2006.
  • Dr Kim is a member of various professional associations on education policy, finance and economics, has published works in his area of expertise on education, and has represented the South Korean Government at various ministerial-level meetings.
  • In 2009, Dr Kim was appointed Director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in Asia- Pacific, as well as UNESCO Representative to Thailand, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Singapore.

The reason for the question of "why" seems rather obvious: There have been ever-growing demands on education reform to prepare students for the 21st century skills yet research on learning does not seem to provide a clear guidance as to how and what to reform, not to mention massive investment on ICT in education that still requires justification. Given these arguments, I would thus raise the second question — the question of "how": How could we improve quality of learning through linking research on learning and educational policy and practice? More specifically, how can research on ICT-supported learning inform educational policies to promote access, equity, efficiency and quality of education? To this end, I will review and present the trends in both research and policy practice in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. I will also introduce some of the initiatives that UNESCO Asia-Pacific Bureau for Education undertakes to create evidence-based supportive environments for policy makers for the effective ICT-pedagogy integration. Further areas and projects that need research-informed frameworks will be discussed to invite researchers for collaborative opportunities.

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Last modified on July 6, 2011