RECSAM
Encyclopedia
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
educational corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
headquartered in Penang, Malaysia. It is one of the founding sister centers of SEAMEO, the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization. SEAMEO was established on 30 November 1965 as a chartered international organization whose purpose is to promote cooperation in education, science and culture in the Southeast Asian region.
Since its inception in 1967, RECSAM has assisted in the principal development of educational manpower and served as a catalyst for the advancement of science and mathematics education at the primary and secondary school levels for its member countries, namely: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Lao Peoples' Democratic Republic
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, Malaysia, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Timor Leste and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. RECSAM has also been offering teachers and educators training opportunities to improve their skills and make them more adaptable to the changing educational environment.
The Centre welcomes teachers and educators, not only from the SEAMEO region, but also from beyond the region to its campus community, and continues to make every effort to help them towards the fulfillment of their personal and career goals. To date, well over six thousand teachers and key educators have benefited from the Centre’s regular courses.
Two main focuses of the Centre’s programs are on Training, and Research and Development.
Regular Courses
Development of skills and knowledge of key teachers and educators of the Southeast Asia has been the core business of RECSAM. The Centre will continuously conduct regular courses for participants coming from 10 SEAMEO member countries. From FY2006/2007 the Centre hopes to receive participants from Timor Leste, a newly independent country who has joined SEAMEO. The Centre will conduct 27 regular courses in the coming three years. Each course will be of 4 week duration. The proposed training courses for the next three fiscal years are extracted from RECSAM's 8th Five Year Plan (FY 2005/2006 – 2009/2010). The topics and outlines of these projects have been identified through an elaborate process of reviewing current and future trends in science and mathematics education, the needs of SEAMEO Member Countries and prioritizing them according to their importance.In-country Courses
Besides regular courses, the Centre will continue with in-country courses whereby the professionals from the Centre will train participants from the respective countries at their own country. For the year 2005/2006, the Centre has conducted 2 in-country courses that is Singapore and also Brunei. For the coming three years, six more SEAMEO countries will be involved in this programme. For the FY2006/2007, Thailand and Indonesia have been identified for the in-country courses. And for the FY2007/2008, Thailand and Vietnam have been identified for such courses.Diploma and Masters Programme
RECSAM started this programme in 2006 with Universiti Kebangsaan MalaysiaUniversiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
The National University of Malaysia is a public university located in Bangi, Selangor which is about 35 km south of Kuala Lumpur...
and the first batch of participants was from Bandung, Indonesia. This programme, a Post Graduate Certificate of Education in ICT leading to a Master of Education in IT & Resource, takes 11 months to complete. This programme will be a twinned programme with Deakin University
Deakin University
Deakin University is an Australian public university with nearly 40,000 higher education students in 2010. It receives more than A$600 million in operating revenue annually, and controls more than A$1.3 billion in assets. It received more than A$35 million in research income in 2009 and had 835...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Customised Courses
In 2005, a group of 5 KenyaKenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
n educators participated in our regular course as fee paying participants. Since the course was observed to be very relevant to them, the Centre was requested by JICA, the sponsor, to conduct more courses for the Kenyan. A contract with JICA has been signed to train the Kenyan educators for the next three years. In 2006, the Centre received 40 Kenyan educators to attend the customised courses. More customized course will be conducted if there is demand from local, regional and international participants. In 2007, another 40 Kenyan educators to attended customised courses for Math & Science at the Center. However, for the Ugandans, a customised course was held for the Science group. In the beginning of 2008, participants from Aceh, Indonesia were here.
Research and Development
The Centre recognizes that research and developmentResearch and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
is a critical area that needs to be addressed in order to enhance the quality and relevance of its training programmes. Research and Development Division undertakes various programmes and activities which are focused on Conduct of Research, Development of Resources, Dissemination and Review and Evaluation.
At most, two researches will be conducted a year which will include a classroom-based research and a long range research which may focus on policy formulation or towards the enhancement of teaching and learning of science and mathematics and integration of ICT. The possible research
topics are clustered along the following major areas:-
- Thinking and Meaningful Understanding in Science and Mathematics
- Classroom Learning Environment in Science and Mathematics
- Effective Teaching and Learning Strategies
- Assessing Teaching and Learning in Mathematics
- ICT in the Science and Mathematics Classrooms
- Impact and Evaluation Studies
To further enhance the relevance of its programme, RECSAM has also taken the initiative to promote Research and Development activities among students and also to encourage the setting up of Research and Development centres in the schools. Fourteen schools around Penang have been chosen to be partner schools in this programme. The MoU has been signed with the Education Department of Penang witnessed by the Principals, Headmasters or representatives of the respective schools.
Commemoration ceremony of RECSAM's 40th Anniversary 2007
The theme song of the anniversary was titled SEAMEO RECSAM, composed by Ahmad Ramli with lyrics written by Azian Abdullah. The members of the choir were Ms Rohaida (Finance), Ms Baizura (Marketing), Ms Che Om (Admin), Ms Fathilah Samad (Admin), Ms Ganthimathy (Int House), Ms Maimun (LRC), Ms Shaneem (Publication), Ms Jenny (R&D), Ms Fariza (ICT), Ms Renuka (Admin) and Ms Suzilawati (Finance).
SEAMEO RECSAM
Tempo: Slow pop
Speed :92 bpm
the name resounds in Southeast Asia
the centre that promotes
quality science and maths education
We set our hearts and minds
to fulfill our dreams and ambitions
producing quality teachers
creating children of the future
Chorus:
‘Passion for Learning’
‘Passion for Learning’
...a motto we stand by.
‘Passion for Learning’
‘Passion for Learning’
...a motto we strive for.
Let us all work together
in achieving this common vision
let our hearts be forever
forever staying true to our mission.