Thailand-Burma Volunteering Roles

Inclusive Early Intervention Advisor

Location:  Mae Sot/Mae Sariang, Thailand

Package: Volunteer allowance, medical insurance, return flights, accommodation, training and support.

Duration:  14 months

Departure Dates from the UK:  July and September 2010, February 2011

Reference:  Thai Burma Primary01 

What you'll be doing

Continuing civil war in the Eastern Burma region has subsequently forced displacement of the Karen people from the Karen State region in Burma who are migrating to camps along the Thai-Burma border. Refugees and migrants do not have a legal status and are not recognised by Thailand.

VSO is working alongside other partners to realise the rights of these migrants and refugees including the most disadvantaged members of ethnic minorities, including women, young people, children and those with disabilities.

Thousands of vulnerable migrant and refugee children don’t have access to a good education, and VSO’s education programme supports the education of displaced people living in the camps and in migrant communities, and also those of ethnic young people and children living inside Burma, in Karen State, where receiving education is even more challenging because of the ongoing conflicts in this area.

Many migrant schools on the Thai-Burma border aren’t formally recognised by the Thai authorities. As a result, migrant children’s achievements are not recognised and the children cannot go on to higher education. Without a decent education, their already vulnerable future looks even bleaker.

VSO and the Karen Women Organisation (KWO) are working together to improve the direct impact on the quality of education given to some of the most disadvantaged children in Thailand.  A Special Education programme is being implemented across seven Karen refugee camps along the Thai-Border, and focuses on developing and delivering curriculum training to teachers, trainers and staff throughout the migrant camps.

About the role:

We need an education volunteer to work alongside teachers, trainers and staff to both strengthen their capacity and to help develop better quality education that will allow children living in refugee camps to receive an education that will secure greater opportunities for their future, as well as helping to educate the most disadvantaged children including those with disabilities and special education needs.

Main responsibilities will be to:

• Support the Karen Women Organisation (KWO) in developing, planning and implementing the Early Intervention Education programme.
• Assess the skills of KWO staff and develop appropriate measures to improve their skills.
• Work in collaboration with staff to develop training, and also develop skills of teams and assistant teachers particularly in assessing and managing Multiple Profound Learning Difficulties (MPLD) and early intervention practices.
• Observe, support and give feedback to teachers and assess if they are using the skills that have been taught effectively.
• Give ongoing development to teams by helping to build the KWO’s English skills and assist in the writing of proposals and reports where required.
  

What you'll need

You’ll need to have a teaching qualification in special education at early childhood and/or primary level, and have at least 5 years’ experience in early childhood and/or primary school teaching. Knowledge and/or experience of Portage techniques.

You’ll have at least 5 years’ experience in working with young children with special needs, especially Multiple Profound Learning Difficulties (MPLD). You’ll also have experience in inclusive education and be familiar with rights-based and child-centred approaches to inclusive education.  Knowledge and/or experience inn Portage techniques are essential.

This role requires extensive travel and you would be required to stay 2-4 weeks at a time in refugee camps. You’ll also need to be willing to learn to ride a motorbike (full training is given), as motorbike travel is essential in order to travel between locations.  You’ll ideally have experience of working in a multi-cultural and multi-lingual environment, and experience working in a rural environment and/or other culture with limited resources is desirable, although not essential. Training and coaching skills are also desirable.

You’ll be resourceful, a self-starter and be able to collaborate easily with teams to build relationships. You’ll have strong communications skills to be able to deal with a variety of people at all levels and from differing cultural backgrounds. You’ll also have bags of confidence and initiative, and have a sympathetic approach to working with children with disabilities and their parents and carers.

And the rest...

How to apply: Please go to http://www.vso.org.uk/volunteer/apply-now/ and register online. to ensure that you're matched with this vacancy, where it says ` Complete this section if you are interested in a particular program of a specific Specialist Assignment or one-off job placement',  please insert the Job Reference:Thai Burma Primary01.

Inclusive Early Intervention Advisor

Location:  Mae Sot/Mae Sariang, Thailand

Package: Volunteer allowance, medical insurance, return flights, accommodation, training and support.

Duration:  26 months

Departure Dates from the UK:  July and September 2010, February 2011

Reference:  Thai Burma Education Advisors02

What you'll be doing

Continuing civil war in the Eastern Burma region has subsequently forced displacement of the Karen people from the Karen State region in Burma who are migrating to camps along the Thai-Burma border. Refugees and migrants do not have a legal status and are not recognised by Thailand.

VSO is working alongside other partners to realise the rights of these migrants and refugees including the most disadvantaged members of ethnic minorities, including women, young people, children and those with disabilities. Thousands of vulnerable migrant and refugee children don’t have access to a good education, and VSO’s education programme supports the education of displaced people living in the camps and in migrant communities, and also those of ethnic young people and children living inside Burma, in Karen State, where receiving education is even more challenging because of the ongoing conflicts in this area.

Many migrant schools on the Thai-Burma border aren’t formally recognised by the Thai authorities. As a result, migrant children’s achievements are not recognised and the children cannot go on to higher education. Without a decent education, their already vulnerable futures look even bleaker.

VSO and the Karen Teacher Working Group (KTWG) are working together to develop and deliver a better standard of education, working towards improving the future for the Karen children so that they can realise their potential and secure their future.

We need a number of Education Advisors to work alongside teachers to both strengthen their capacity and to help develop better quality education that will allow children living in Karen State and in migrant camps to receive an education that will secure greater opportunities for their future.

Main responsibilities will be to:

• Develop and improve the Karen Teacher Training College curriculum in order to meet the needs of teachers and education leaders.
• Improve monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of in-service and pre-service teacher training, identify issues and trends and implement solutions, and develop processes and standardsfor effective monitoring and evaluation.
• Develop and provide ongoing training and coaching to the teacher training team and regional team leaders where required to improve overall teaching skills
• Look at how to improve the education in the  Learning Centres and Thai Schools system
• Strong networking skills to get involved in external relations with donors, local government officials, NGOs and other international organisations.

What you'll need

You’ll be a qualified head teacher, school inspector, deputy head teacher, local education adviser or a senior level teacher with at least three to five years’ senior or middle management experience. You’ll have a Batchelor’s degree and you will also need at least 3-5 years’ primary teaching experience.

You’ll need to have experience and knowledge of inclusive education and be able to proactively promote inclusive education practices and activities. You’ll also need to have experience of working in a multi-cultural and multi-lingual environment.  You’ll ideally have training and coaching skills, and strong communications skills to be able to deal with a variety of people at all levels and from differing cultural backgrounds. You will also have excellent interpersonal skills to be able to build trust between Thai and Migrant organisations.

For some of the roles, experience in the education of children with special needs using child-centred methodology is essential,  and you’ll also have experience in collaborative approaches and practices.  You’ll need to be resourceful, creative and be able to think outside of the box, as well as being flexible and self-motivated. You’ll also need to have bags of initiative, be a self-starter, and have strong organisational skills.

Because a limited number of staff can communicate in English, VSO will provide training in both Thai and Karen language to a working level, so you’ll ideally have proven language learning skills in order to pick up the language.

Some travel is required to learning centres in remote locations, so you’ll need to be willing to learn to ride a motorbike (full training is given)., as well as being committed to the 26 months’ duration of this volunteering role.

And the rest...

How to apply

Please go to http://www.vso.org.uk/volunteer/apply-now/ and register online. To ensure that we match you to this vacancy, where it says `Complete this section if you are interested in a particular program of a specific Specialist Assignment or one-off job placement',  please insert the Job Reference: Thai Burma Education Advisers02