Last September 1 to 3, the UP College of Education hosted the 9th International Conference on Teacher Education (ICTED). The ICTED is a biennial event sponsored by the College of Education of the University of the Philippines – Diliman.
This year’s conference foregrounds the theme of teacher agency, defined as the exercise of individual and collective power of teachers in the midst of challenging situations. It aims to create a forum for educationists, social scientists, policy-makers, and students to discuss the central question: In what ways can educational reforms support or constrain teacher agency, for what purpose, under what conditions, and with what consequences? It seeks to foster interdisciplinary conversations among participants of diverse persuasions about policy and practice; capacity building; and curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment.
The keynote speaker for this year’s ICTED was Judy Durrant, the Faculty Director of Education Graduate Studies at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK, where she leads a research group focused on professional, organizational and leadership development. Judy is an internationally acclaimed scholar whose work on Teacher Leadership has had significant impact around the world.
The distinguished lectures were delivered by DepEd Undersecretary Dina Joana S. Ocampo and CHED Commissioner Maria Cynthia Rose Banzon Bautista.
Four plenary themes were also presented in the conference. The first theme was Teacher Agency in Governance which was discussed by Emma E Porio, Professor of sociology at the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) and Edicio Dela Torre, one of the founders of Education for Life Foundation.
This was followed by a plenary session on Teacher Agency in Curriculum and Instruction. This session was facilitated by Ma. Luisa T. Camagay, professor in the Department of History, University of the Philippines Diliman; Gerson Abesamis, founder of HABI Education Lab; and Efleda Preclaro Tolentino, professor of Early Childhood Education in Long Island University, New York.
The third plenary session was about Teacher Agency in Asia where John Pegg, professor and Director of the SiMERR National Research Centre; and Peter Grimes, Senior Specialist for Teacher Development of the Basic Education Sector Transformation Program’s (BEST) shared their insights and experiences in the region.
The final theme, Teacher Agency in Situ, was discussed by Carol Bumanglag, executive director of Lilik Foundation; Sister Aristea R. Bautista, FMM, founder of the PAMANA KA foundation; and Maisara C. Dandamun-Latiph, founder of the Khadija Center for Muslim Women Studies.
