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API: 11» ASIAN PROGRAMME OF EDUCATIONAL INNOVATION FOR DEVELOPMENT.
Documentation and Information Support for Educational Innovation^ Report of a Regional Seminar
Convened by the Asian Centre of Educational Innovation for Development (ACEID) and the International Bureau of Education (IBE)
Bangkok, 15-21 February 1977
ill UNESCO REGIONAL OFFICE FOR EDUCATION IN ASIA, BANGKOK, 1977
(cT) Unesco 1977
Published by the Unesco Regional Office for Education in Asia
920 Sukhumvit Road
C . P . O . Box 1425
Bangkok, Thailand
Opinions expressed in this publication represent the views of the
participants of the Regional Seminar and do not necessarily coincide with
the official position of Unesco. The designations employed and the pres
entation of the material herein do not imply the expression of any opinion
whatsoever on the part of Unesco concerning the legal status of any country,
or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitations of the frontiers of any
country or territory.
BKAM/77/BT/41 6-1000
TABLE OF-CONTENTS
I. Introduction 1
Definition of t e r m s 1
II. Need for information support for educational reforms and innovations 3
III. C o - o p e r a t i o n at the national level 5
1. Brief overview of documentation and information services in the participating centres 5
2. Organization of national services for information support: forms of organization; networking 10
IV. Co-operation at regional and international levels 17
1. Information development and diffusion at the regional level 17
2. Roles and relationships between the Associated Centres, A C E I D and IBE 18
3. Programme of action: areas in which strengthening is needed 20
V . Conclusions and recommendations 23
ANNEXES 27
I List of Participants 29
II Agenda 32
III Address by M r . Raja Roy Singh, Director, Unesco Regional Office for Education in Asia 33
APPENDICES 37
I Diagram showing the flow of documentation and information support for APEID 39
II Guidelines for :'
a) Preparation of short abstracts 40
b) Computer storage and print-outs 41
c) Microfiche reproduction 42
I. I N T R O D U C T I O N
The Regional Seminar on Documentation and Information Support for Edu
cational Innovation was organized jointly by the International Bureau of Education
(Geneva) and the Asian Centre of Educational Innovation for Development (ACEID),
Bangkok. It met at the Unesco Regional Office for Education in Asia, Bangkok,
from 15 to 21 February 1977 and brought together participants from eleven coun
tries in the Asian region (List of participants: Annex I).
The Seminar was invited to study the existing educational documentation
and information support services in the Asian M e m b e r States, and in the light of
such review, i) to identify the needs and problems in improving the flow of edu
cational documentation and information relating to educational innovation, and
the techniques appropriate for the purpose; and ii) to make suggestions for
organizing documentation and information services at the national and inter-
country levels. (Agenda of the Seminar: Annex II).
After an address of welcome by the Unesco Regional Director in Asia
(text: Annex III), "the Seminar commenced its business sessions by electing
Prof. G . S. Shrikantia (India) as Chairman and M r s . Mercedes M . Agpaoa
(Philippines) and M r . A . M . Ranaweera (Sri Lanka) as rapporteurs.
Following a review of the situation of documentation and information sup
port services in the participating countries, the Seminar addressed itself to two
main problems included in its remit; namely, organization and development of
documentation and information support services at the national level, and sec
ondly, development of the network of co-operation at the regional and inter
national levels. These topics were discussed in a series of plenary sessions
followed by more detailed discussions in two working groups. The present
report adopted by the Seminar at its closing session embodies the conclusions
and recommendations of these discussions.
The Seminar placed on record its thanks to IBE and A C E I D for making it
possible for the participants to get together at this meeting, and its appreciation
of the valuable technical documentation which the conveners made available to
the Seminar.
Definition of terms
To avoid confusion about the meaning of some terms and their related
institutional base, the following definitions were adopted for the purpose of the
Seminar:
Documentation is a system in which documents are gathered and pro
cessed, their content analysed, and the abstracted information stored for later
retrieval as well as for immediate dissemination to a defined group of users.
Documentation and information support for educational innovation
The term document is applied to all published and non-published materials
in either printed or other forms.
Information is the generation and communication of ideas, opinions, facts
and figures by written, oral or audio-visual means. It is new knowledge dis
seminated in accordance with the information requirements of a wide audience.
A library is a collection of documents which have been arranged, classi
fied and catalogued in such a way as to make the documents accessible both
physically and subject-wise. The purpose of a library is to respond to requests
for documents or information from its users.
A documentation centre uses its holdings of documents to provide services
to its users on its own initiative. In other words, it not only keeps its users
aware of new developments but also directs its activities to meet the anticipated
needs of its users. It analyses the content of the gathered documents and pro
duces indexes, catalogues, bibliographies and abstracting services for wide dis
semination to its clientele. Where information gaps exist and in response to
needs of its users, the documentation centre generates new documents. Further
more , it attempts to respond to individual requests for information. A documen
tation centre is also equipped to reproduce documents from its holdings.
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II. N E E D F O R I N F O R M A T I O N S U P P O R T F O R E D U C A T I O N A L
R E F O R M S A N D INNOVATIONS
Recent decades have witnessed all over the world a vast expansion of the
educational endeavour comprising new insights and knowledge about educational ,
processes and innovative attempts at changing or reorienting education systems.
In Asia, the countries are introducing extensive educational reforms in an
attempt to change in a fundamental way the existing education systems, their
social developmental roles and their methods of functioning. These reforms and
innovations in education affect very large segments of populations - thousands of
institutions and teachers and millions of pupils and communities.
One of the very significant factors contributing to the success of edu
cational endeavours is documentation and information support. The need for
systematic and effective educational documentation and information services is
underlined, on the one hand, by the fast developing body of knowledge and c o m
parative experience about educational processes, and on the other hand by the
imperative of involving in a meaningful way the vast number of educational per
sonnel in the educational endeavour. This is particularly só in educational
innovations. Those who design and initiate educational innovations should have
access to information on other relevant experiences and research findings; they
who carry out an innovation should have access not only to information and data
about that innovation but to other comparative experiences. In many instances
where carefully conceived educational reforms have failed when put' on the
ground, it is found that the failure is in no small measure due to lack of adequate
information support services.
It appears that in many national systems of education documentation and
information services for educational reforms and innovstions have not been given
a sufficiently high priority in their plans and programmes. The importance and
relevance of these services tend to be crowded out of consideration by other
urgent tasks such as preparing curriculum material or conducting in-service
training of teachers needed for the implementation of educational reforms or by
major problems such as expansion and improvement of educational facilities.
However, it should be realized that documentation and information are important
basic services which underpin and support all these educational activities, and
are essential for their success.
Recognizing the important role of documentation and information services
in supporting educational reforms and innovations, the International Bureau of
Education (Geneva) has been developing an International Educational Reporting
Service (IERS) in order to assemble and provide information about innovations
which have high relevance to developing countries. It is designed to serve edu
cational leaders in the countries, particularly those who decide policies and
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Documentation and information support for educational innovation
plan and administer education system, so that they may be aware of the various
possibilities open to them.
At the regional level in Asia, the Asian Centre of Educational Innovation
for Development (ACEID) has been assembling information about innovative
experiences in Asian M e m b e r States and disseminating it through its publications
and meetings.
These efforts at international levels however cannot be fully effective if
national systems of documentation and information support services are not at the
same time developed and strengthened.
4
III. C O - O P E R A T I O N A T T H E N A T I O N A L L E V E L
1. Brief overview of documentation and information services in the
participating centres *
The participants presented brief reports on the development of educational
documentation and information support services in their respective centres. The
following summarizes these presentations:
India
Development in education in India needs a systematically organized storage
and retrieval system of educational information. Previous attempts to develop
methodical documentation services in education did not succeed for a variety of
reasons. Documentation was interpreted in a highly restrictive scope such as
preparation of bibliographies and compilation of indices. Abstracting in the field
of education had hardly received any attention. It is now recognized that an
abstracting service is essential in respect to educational literature published in
India so that academics in different parts of the country m a y be aware of what is
going on in the country so that their efforts do not get wasted in duplication of
work. The National Council of Educational Research and Training ( N C E R T ) is
building up the necessary infrastructure from within itself and from without in
the country. It will adopt standardized procedures so that the end product of its
efforts can be shared by regional and international agencies. Its main need
would be reprographic equipment for microfiche which is hard to get since the
same is not manufactured in the country.
Indonesia
The Centre for Data Processing, Statistics and Concept Building is a part of
the Office of Educational and Cultural Research and Development (BP3K). The
main job of the Centre, besides doing data processing activities, is to co-ordinate
and to supervise similar activities within other units of the Ministry.
The information network operates in the following manner: i) raw data to
be processed into information flow from the elementary units (schools or univer
sities), to the central offices; ii) the reports from the elementary units to the
related Directorate General are copied to the Centre to be processed; iii) units
at the central/national level make an information network at the capital which is
co-ordinated by the Chairman of the BP3K.
Problems encountered consist of: scarcity of skilled and qualified per
sonnel; presence of a language barrier in the dissemination of information to
other countries.
* The country reports are available in microfiche
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Documentation and information support for educational innovation
Iran
The National Development Group (NDG) has its offices in the Secretariat
in Iran Documentation. It is represented by the Ministry of Science and Higher
Education, Ministry of Education, Tehran University, Education and Scientific
Research and Planning Institute, Literacy Corps, Bu Ali Sina University, Office
for Retarded Children, Tribal Education Department, National Centre for Adult
Education, The Plan and Budget Organization and the Iranian National Commission
for Unesco.
The N D G for Educational Innovation is responsible for collecting and dis
tributing relevant papers, documents, educational materials, and data among •
Iranian teachers. Its main function is to attract the attention and the interest of
the authorities in the country and make them aware of the concept of educational
innovation, and promote its timely implementation.
The existing problems are: i) operational inefficiency of archives due to
lack of classification and organization of accumulated documents; ii) lack of
access to materials which is also due to absence of retrieval devices; iii) short
age of trained and experienced staff stemming from lack of provisions for in-
service training and staff development; and iv) absence of indexing, abstracting,
and bibliographical services.
Japan
At present no national educational information centre exists, but because
the demand is very strong from every side, the Library attached to the National
Institute for Educational Research (NIER) serves as an alternative. With its
ample resource materials, and through the publication Education Index (quar
terly), it serves not only the staff of its mother institute but also policy-makers,
outside researchers, teachers and even journalists and T V producers.
Recently the demand for information and documentation services has in
creased remarkably, and the establishment of the Japan Educational (Resources)
Information Centre was proposed to the Ministry of Education by a Special
Advisory Committee. To prepare for this establishment, NIER will start in the
next fiscal year the compilation of a thesaurus for use in computerized process
ing. This is expected to solve one of its greatest problems. Other problems
are: i) information coverage which is co-ordinated only at the local level (sol
ution m a y be by the building up of a network); and ii) an overwhelming amount of
documents (a national and effective machinery for screening at the national level
is needed).
Republic of Korea
Since its inauguration in 1972, the Korean Educational Development Insti
tute (KEDI) has been serving as an information centre for educational innovation,
in addition to research and development work. KEDI is expected to have the
largest number of new educational materials in the Republic of Korea.
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Co-operation at the national level
However, some problems and needs in the documentation and information
services in KEDI still exist. Most important among them are:
1. í The information processing is dependent upon manual labour, and since
there is shortage of documentalists, this poses a problem. This makes it diffi
cult to carry out fully periodic dissemination, abstracting and retrieval of infor
mation to users. Thus, systematic organization of the information services as
well as the recruitment of more qualified documentalists are necessary.
2. There is no systematic information network which links the information
centre (KEDI) to schools in collecting and disseminating information. Although
the administrative structure is maintained by educational administrative auth
orities, which collect and provide educational statistics and administrative
orders, the schools in remote areas are out of the reach of the network for infor
mation on educational innovation. KEDI is now providing such schools with inno
vative information, which leads to qualitative improvement of school programmes.
3. The c o m m o n phenomenon is that those engaged in this field are either
those with a general librarian certificate but without subject knowledge, or those
with pedagogic background but without experience in documentation. A n ideal
combination of the two is what is needed.
4. There is a shortage of competent translators. The problem is less
serious in English and Japanese than in other foreign languages. Translators
with a good combination of language proficiency and discipline-oriented pro
fessionalism are a rare human resource and those that can be found require a
high price for their services.
Malaysia
The Resource Centre of the Curriculum Development Centre, Ministry of
Education, Malaysia, is a specialized facility designed to serve the needs of
curriculum workers. The current collection includes multi-media materials
dealing with various aspects of curriculum work, and substantive reference
materials, on the wide range of subjects which come into the development purview
of the Centre. Full documentation services are an evolving feature of the Cen
tre's work. In the Centre, information dissemination is carried out as part of
library service. Information is given to outside agencies in response to specific
requests. The documentation and information services within the Resource Cen
tre, as well as nationally, will be systematized in line with others in the region.
It is hoped that realistic working procedures will be evolved (at this seminar)
taking into account the limitations of manpower and time.
Pakistan
The Peoples' Open University Library, Documentation and Information
Services, established in 1974 in Islamabad, Pakistan, were equipped by 1976 with
multi-media collection consisting of: 10, 000 volumes, 140 (16mm) films; 100
audio tapes; 300 slides; 1,000 government documents; 80 national and inter
national subscriptions to periodicals. Manned by 2 professionals and 5 non-pro-
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Documentation and information support for educational innovation
fessionals, the Library provides services to faculty members , general admin
istrative staff, students; officers of Ministry of Education and others like re
search/visiting scholars. The Library (a) offers reference and referral ser
vices; (b) provides specific, descriptive and/or content illustrative materials to
help faculty members in writing course lesson-units; (c) stimulates an interest
and awareness in resources locally available or produced; (d) collects and pre
serves materials related to local history; and (e) issues monthly accession
lists.
The major problems encountered in the operation and maintenance of the
Library pertain to staffing and technical operation. There is shortage of trained
or experienced personnel for indexing, abstracting and bibliographical operations
in both print and non-print materials; inadequacy of in-service training oppor
tunities, scarcity of needed manpower to carry out information processing and
dissemination functions; and absence of information exchange with other pro
fessionals in the. country.
Philippines
The publication and documentation service is a component of every major
office, both public and private, in the Philippines. In the Department of Edu
cation and Culture, it is the major concern of the Publication and Information
Service, although such functions are also carried out among other units/depart
ments in the General Office in Manila, for example: The National Research and
Development Center for Teacher Education ( N R D C T E ) , Child Youth Study Center,
National Education Testing Center, Planning Service, Bureau of Elementary Edu
cation, Bureau of Secondary Education, Bureau of Higher Education, National
M u s e u m , Institute of National Language, National Historical Institute, and the
National Library as well as in each of the Regional Offices, other educational
institutions/offices/agencies within the 12 regions of the country.
The N R D C T E , established in 1973, is a centre which is associated in the
APEID network, and therefore takes care of the particular task of the publication
and documentation service for educational innovation. In general, there is a
marked absence of more sophisticated storage, retrieval and dissemination
schemes like microfiche and photocopying. People are barely conscious of the
benefits of abstracting, and documentation processes are still being performed in
the traditional manner. Efforts are, however, being exerted alongside with other
government programmes towards updating storage, retrieval and dissemination
processes; providing adequate manpower training; augmenting facilities; as
well as establishing a country-wide and international co-ordinated mechanism
with users and suppliers of information in order that documentation and infor
mation processes in the Philippines will go in step with those in other countries,
especially within the Asian region.
Singapore
Much thought has been given to the role which documentation and infor
mation support can play in promoting educational innovation aimed at improving
8
Co-opevation at the national level
the quality of education. T w o areas of major concern in this effort are: i) edu
cational reforms; and (ii) the development of educational practice. Both are
inter-related.
While the existence of a mechanism for dissemination ensures that infor
mation pertaining to educational reforms and innovations reach the classroom
practitioners, there is no mechanism which will provide feedback from grass
roots level on the value and usefulness that these innovations m a y have. It is not
known whether the innovations have significantly improved the quality of teaching
and learning in the classroom situations, and whether such innovative experi
ences are widely discussed and shared among teachers.
A system is being devised to, identify the various sources both inside and
outside the education enterprise from which information m a y be obtained,
collated, analyzed and presented in an easily assimilated form for the purpose of
reshaping national policies and educational practices so that the provision of edu
cation m a y be both responsive and relevant to the needs of the society.
Sri Lanka
In addition to the Curriculum Development Centre (C. D . C . ) in Sri Lanka,
documentation and information services relevant to educational innovations are
provided by several other divisions, departments and boards functioning under
the Ministry of Education. The Curriculum Development Centre, though not
adequately equipped and staffed for the purpose, provides the main documentation
services in the sphere of educational innovations. The Centre disseminates
information on action research pilot projects and innovations through project
handbooks and newsletters. The C . D . C . library specializes in books, period
icals and other documents, and caters for the needs of the curriculum
committees.
Modern facilities for documentation and information services such as
photocopying and microfiche facilities are not available. There is also a serious
dearth of trained professional staff. The expansion of the services is limited by
the shortage of funds, especially foreign exchange. The Centre depends mainly
on donations for the purchase of foreign books, periodicals and materials.
Thailand
Information and documentation services are provided in the National Edu
cation Commission (NEC) by its four divisions, namely: the Educational Planning
Division, the Educational Research Division, the Educational Statistics Division
and the Educational Promotion and Information Division. Starting from the Edu
cational Planning Division, information goes to the Research Division which,
brings out research reports from the projects executed. The Statistics Division
accomplishes various kinds of educational statistics including data analysis.
The Promotion and Information Division which consists of three sections (Infor
mation Section, Documents Section, and Meeting Section) assembles general
information on education which is disseminated on a bi-monthly basis through
the N E C Journal. In this Journal, viewpoints and controversies, articles,
9
Documentation and information support for educational innovation
reviews on research reports and missions related to education in Thailand are
presented. The Information Section also plays the role of a public liaison unit
for the N E C . The Document Section, to which the N E C library is attached,
collects educational documents disseminated by both internal and external
agencies. All books and materials collected by this office are classified and
shelved in the library for ready use.
2. Organization of national services for information support:
forms of organization; networking
At the national level, documentation and information services designed
specifically in support of educational reforms and innovations are beginning to
establish themselves in a few countries, but have yet to be systematically
organized. Clearly, such services at the national level would have to establish
links with international sources of documentation on the one hand, and on the
other hand cater for the information needs of "client groups" within the country.
This involves consideration of:
- the "client groups" or the users;
- the type of information to be selected;
- criteria for selection;
- methods of acquiring relevant information and data, their storage
and retrieval;
- methods for effective dissemination.
2.1 The "client groups" or the users
A sound information service is based on a definition of the users, along
with an effort to discover their needs. The users of data and information in the
field of educational innovations fall into several categories:
- those operating at the national policy making levels - they
are relatively small in number, but their interests are varied;
- those operating at the middle level of management;
- educational institutions - schools, colleges, etc. ;
- institutions of a specialized character, e.g. curriculum centres,
teacher education centres, etc. ;
- voluntary organizations, e.g. parent-teacher associations;
- individual workers, e.g. research workers, individual innovators;
- other agencies and organizations.
2. 2 Type of information to be selected and criteria for selection
For the education system as a whole, and the many groups involved in it,
there is a bewildering variety of information and of user needs. Hence the need
10
Co-operation at the national level
to examine the content of information. The question then arises: What aspects
of education ought to be given priority in information services if the goal is the
improvement of the educational system? Clearly, the national priorities for
educational development would provide the focal points around which information
support services should be organized. Broadly they would cover the following
areas:
a) reforms and innovations in education;
b) development of curriculum materials;
c) research studies and project reports;
d) statistical data bank.
The acquisition of documents m a y be by purchase, exchange or gift. This
task is not an easy one as evidenced by the fact that most persons in the field
have experienced serious difficulties. It is therefore necessary to emphasize
that a continuous and determined effort should be made to acquire print and non-
print documents from all possible sources.
2. 3 Selection criteria
It is important that documents taken into an information system are care
fully screened in order to avoid an overloading of the exchange mechanism.
Since the aim is to provide inquirers or users with material that is relevant to
their interests, the quality and relevance of the documents are more important
than quantity. Moreover, the gathering and analysing of documents and the
servicing of users are expensive operations, so that it becomes essential to
avoid unnecessary or wasteful elements in the data base.
The documents relating to educational innovation should:
a) relate to educational innovation. All aspects of formal and non-
formal education are of interest and even training or communication
activities well outside the recognized school system (e.g. in health
or agriculture) m a y be highly relevant;
b) describe an innovation that has potential for being generalized;
c) treat actual experience in some detail. A n innovation in progress
is more useful than a project still on the drawing board;
d) contain adequate information. A full account of an innovation
should show the background (the problems that cause the need for
change), the objectives sought, the course of action, the pro
visional results, along with an analysis of the resources used and
some evaluation of the innovation;
e) alternatively to c) and d), describe a wider reform. Here, how
ever, there m a y be need to separate out the parts and to avoid
presenting a complex process in too simple a way. A document
on an official reform m a y justify treatment through a derived,
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Documentation and information support for educational innovation
long abstract. T h e various experimental projects that precede or
a c c o m p a n y the reform should be traced through their documentation,
which can represent excellent material on innovation;
f) serve as a source or m a n u a l for those w h o are developing innovatory
projects and w h o therefore have to construct p r o g r a m m e s and in
structional materials. While the exempla ry value of such documents
is clear, care m u s t be taken to select only those which really add to
knowledge about the process of educational innovation;
g) be clear, comprehensible and" objective. Not all educational litera
ture is well written; preference should go to those documents which
set out the facts clearly, which explain difficulties and enable the
reader to learn, not simply leaving him to admire.
2. 4 Methods of acquiring relevant information and data; their
storage and retrieval
. Mere acquisition of documents is not of much help to the user. It is there
fore necessary to classify them, to catalogue them both for purposes of location
as well as for getting information content. For easy accessibility and retrieval,
the documents must be organized methodically in systems best suited to the
demands of the users, by competent and professionally qualified personnel.
C o m m o n procedures that are followed in rendering information accessible
m a y be stated under different levels :
The first level is cataloguing and bibliography, where c o m m o n standards
for making entries or references save a great deal of duplication of work. More
intensively, at the next level, there is abstracting and indexing to show the con
tents of documents in greater detail. This entails the use of a c o m m o n vocabu
lary or thesaurus as well as a standardized form of abstract writing.
Useful documents which remain inaccessible because of language barriers
m a y bé made accessible to users through a long abstract, giving a gist of the
document in an international language. Sometimes, short case studies m a y be
prepared in situations where various documents and pieces of information about
a project are not worth recording separately or they are too many or too
incomplete.
Guidelines for the preparation of such a) derived documents - long
abstracts and b) short case studies are given below:
a) Derived documents - long abstracts
The aim here is to provide network members with access to important
documents which are not easily read because of language difficulties or which
m a y otherwise be not easily available. (For example, how many teachers or
schools have easy access to what they need? )
The component items of the long abstract are:
i) bibliographical entry, in standard form;
12
Co-operation at the national level
ii) the subject index, a set of keywords corresponding, if
possible, to the descriptors in the Unesco: IBE Edu
cation Thesaurus;
iii) an introductory paragraph to set the document in its
national context. This part has to be provided by the
abstractor, as it is seldom explicitly stated in the
document;
iv) the content analysis proper, in a series of paragraphs
that sum up the ideas, provisions or findings of the
original. While the abstract must remain faithful to the
document, the abstractor will obviously select the elements
he considers most important for the reader and m a y have
to re-organize the material in a different order.
Some long texts that fall into distinct parts m a y be treated in two or
more abstracts, but this should be regarded as exceptional.
b) Short case studies
Not all educational innovations are adequately documented. At
times those concerned with action are too busy to record their experiences, at
times a variety of small, ephemeral documents are issued by nothing that syn
thesizes the project. Hence there m a y be use for a derived document, a sort of
abstract of an innovatory project.
The model here is provided by the A C E I D "Inventory of Edu
cational Innovations in Asia", already covering 95 projects. The main elements
of a brief case study are:
i) b a c k g r o u n d - to explain the context ;
ii) objectives of the project;
iii) implementat ion - a n orderly account of the steps taken;
iv) o u t c o m e s , including products and evaluation;
v) inputs - an account of resources involved;
vi) address and contact person;
As with other elements in the information system, the questions
of access and availability of these brief case studies need to be explored as the
records increase. There would appear to be two distinct steps which will make
the results of the work (writing and publishing) more generally available:
vii) a subject index by keywords, for each brief case study,
to be computerized;
viii) microfiche reproduction of sets of the brief case studies,
either grouped geographically, or by subject matter.
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Documentation and information support for educational innovation
2. 5 Methods of making information available - dissemination methods
One essential element of an efficient information service is that it
should get the right information to the right user at the right time. Usually the
people working at the central level have adequate access to information; but
those operating at the periphery have little or no access to the information that
is vital to them. Hence the methods of dissemination of information to the actual
users is an essential element in an information system. This necessitates the
production of multiple copies by some form of printing or duplication.
W h e n the original is bulky or written in an inaccessible language, a
long interpretative abstract, as described in 2. 4 above m a y be necessary. In
some cases, when single copies are needed, reproduction by photocopy m a y be
more convenient.
W h e n the volume of documents that are selected and indexed rises
above a certain level, computer storage is essential. While many countries in
Asia do not have computer facilities, there are some which are in a position to
make use of computer storage. This permits quick access for searchers as well
as easy printing of any part of the data base. The products are distributed to all
in printed form, and copies of the magnetic tape are available to centres with
access to a computer.
Often documents that justify wider circulation exist only in a limited
number of copies and soon become out of print. A complement to printing pro
cesses is provided by the microfiche, the photographic reduction of 60 pages of
text on a single 10 x 15 c m transparency. In this matter also, there are only a
few countries in Asia where the requisite facilities are available at present.
Their number is however growing. Advantages of this form are obvious: econ
omical storage and mailing, ease of copying in limited numbers either as micro
fiche or as hard copy (i. e. enlarged photocopies). In the APEID network some, if
not all, the documents put into the data base should be reproduced in microfiche.
In the long run, the processing might be handled by each centre; but for a start,
A C EID and IBE should launch the c o m m o n programme. The IBE has begun a
world-wide microfiche series (coded SIRE) and in partnership with the Bangkok
Office, an Asian sub-series has already been designed.
Some guidelines for a) preparation of short abstracts to be fed into
the date base; b) computer storage and print out; and c) microfiche reproduction
are given in Appendix II.
The growing range of technical devices for dissemination should not
lead us to ignore the power and effectiveness of some of the traditional methods
of information diffusion. These have to be used for educational purposes. In
deed in the context of the developing countries, there is a need for indigenous
innovations in dissemination of educational innovation just as there is need for "
innovations in education. Dissemination need not be print-bound in all cases.
Semi-processed material, oral tradition of communication and person-to-person
contact have important lessons to offer which are being utilized in areas such as
14
Co-opevation at the national level
agriculture or family planning and which m a y be found to have even greater
applicability to education.
2. 6 Provision for weeding out of obsolete/ephemeral information
from the system
While information about innovations continues to increase, some inno
vative experiments have been found to be unworkable in new settings, making the
innovations lose their significance. There is a danger that feedback m a y not be
utilized to weed out the obsolete information. Continuous monitoring of infor
mation has to be provided to enable weeding out of obsolete and ephemeral
information in the system.
2. 7 Organization of documentation and information support services
at the national level
The techniques for the collection, treatment and dissemination of
information are of little avail if there is no organization which responsible for
such collection and dissemination. For this reason, the Seminar repeatedly
stressed that the development of suitable organizations at the national level must
receive high priority.
The situation in the countries of the region varies so widely in terms
of their administrative set-up, educational development, resources and other
factors that no single model for national information support services can be
conceived as applicable to all the countries. Each country will have to develop
the form of organization best suited to its specific needs and conditions. The
factors and considerations which, however, need to be taken into account when
developing national information support services must include the following,
among others:
i) Since information support services are first and foremost intended
for users, and the users of educational information are spread as widely in a
country as there are educational institutions, the form of organization must be
suited to the geographical spread of the services it is to provide and take into
account the available means of communication.
ii) Given the inevitable constraints imposed by inadequacy of financial
resources and paucity of trained personnel, careful consideration must be given
in each case whether a new institutional structure for information support ser
vices should be built ground up or selected existing institutions should be
strengthened and equipped to be able to provide these services.
iii) Educational documentation and information cover a wide spectrum
of knowledge. Those who have to assemble this information and select from it
for dissemination must have access to persons who have specialized knowledge
of the various fields of education. This is relevant in considering whether a.
national centre for educational documentation and information should stand on its
own, or be a part of an institution with a wider educational mission (e. g. a cur
riculum development centre).
15
Documentation and information support for educational innovation
The Seminar discussed a variety of "models" for the organization of
information support services at the national level. These forms of organization
vary greatly, but one element in all of them is a "national centre", though the
functions of a "national centre" will necessarily be different in different forms
of organization. One of the important functions of the "national centre", what
ever form the overall organization m a y take, is to be the link between the
country and the international sources of information.
below:
Model A :
Model B :
Some of the "models" discussed at the Seminar are briefly described
A National Centre of Educational Documentation and Information
(preferably as a part of an existing national institution, for example,
Curriculum Development Institute or Educational Research and
Development Institute) responsible for collecting and organizing
documentation and information and disseminating them directly to
the users.
It was pointed out that this form of organization is suitable for a
country with relatively small "spread" of users to be served, and
which has adequate means of communication. It permits concen
tration of resources, particularly trained personnel.
In a large country where a single national centre (Model A ) will not
be adequate, each constituent area (province/state/region) has an
Educational Documentation and Information Centre (as a part of an
existing institution) serving the users in that area. The national
centre co-ordinates the area centres and networks their activities.
In multi-lingual countries, the area centres m a y be able to provide better services in the local languages.
Educational documentation and information services are developed in
selected existing institutions and are specialized by subject areas
relevant to education. A national centre will co-ordinate the activities
of the network of specialized centres.
Once the national service for information and dissemination has been
set up operating with procedures and practices easily transformable to other
systems, efforts m a y be made to communicate among the national centres them
selves and with regional and international centres by providing adequate outflow
of information. It will also be of considerable advantage to each country to draw
relevant information from various other countries through regional and inter
national networks particularly in areas of reform and innovation.
The foregoing activities mentioned require considerable investment
of funds towards the purchase of materials, payment of staff salaries, and for
other facilities and services. Strong, sustained and determined support by the
administrative authorities is essential to make the centres function effectively.
Model C :
16
IV. C O - O P E R A T I O N A T R E G I O N A L A N D I N T E R N A T I O N A L L E V E L S
1. Information development and diffusion at the regional level
In recent years, the governments in the region have launched extensive
efforts to reform their education systems and reorient them to national develop
ment goals. The constraints imposed by limited resources combined with the
complexity of the problems to which solutions have to be found have led to a
search for innovative methods and ways. At the regional level, this search is
reflected in the Asian Programme of Educational Innovation for Development
(APEID) as a co-operative endeavour among the participating M e m b e r States tö
strengthen the national efforts by pooling and sharing their experiences. It is of
utmost significance to note that while APEID covers a range of substantive areas
such as curriculum development, teacher training, science education etc., one
of its functions which is assuming major importance is to develop and encourage
active networks of information on educational innovation among the participating
M e m b e r States.
The main activities that were carried out in this regard in 1974-76 were
as follows:
Increasing awareness of educational innovation
1) Organization of national seminars on educational innovation. These
seminars have enabled educators to learn more about the innovative
projects that have been or are being undertaken within their respective
countries; and helped to promote information flow at the national
level.
Generating Organized Information about educational Innovation
2) Collection of national inventories of innovative educational projects.
So far ten countries have completed their national inventories, which
serve as the main source for A C E I D to draw upon in promoting the
regional flow of information. From these national inventories, A C E I D
has selected 95 projects so far and has made long abstracts for publi
cation in ACEID's "Inventory of Educational Innovations in Asia".
Copies have been disseminated to all the APEID Associated Centres
and the national educational authorities.
3) Case studies of innovative educational projects. A C E I D has contrac
ted several institutions to prepare short and long case studies for
wider regional dissemination. In addition, short studies presented to
a seminar or workshop on particular areas, e. g. teacher education,
have been published in the form of portfolio of case studies.
17
Documentation and information sup-port for educational innovation
Ten case studies have been published in the Asian series of the IBE-
ACEID series on "Experiments and Innovations in Education".
Dissemination of information on educational innovation
4) Experiences in Educational Innovations - Asia (in press). This publi
cation contains short notes on nine national inventories and brief
annotations on individual projects contained in the national inventories.
The titles of all the projects are also indexed.
5) Directory and Calendar of Activities of Associated Centres. This
publication aims at (a) supplying information about the Associated
Centres, their functions and programmes of activities each year;
(b) enabling governments of countries to select appropriate centres
of other countries where their scholars may be attached for study-
c u m - observation.
The 1977 Directory and Calendar will also contain information on
publications issued and the materials developed by each Associated
Centre. This should enable the Centres to approach other Centres
directly for publications and materials of interest to them in their
work.
6) A C E I D Newsletter. The Newsletter contains (a) information on inno
vative work in education in the Asian region; (b) reports on the
activities of A C E I D ; (c) readers views and opinions on APEID in gen
eral, and the Newsletter in particular. It also provides short abstracts
on selected innovative projects in education, and information on inno
vation taking place in other regions.
The above gives a picture of the existing means through which A C E I D has
been generating and maintaining the information flow. The Seminar recommend
ed that the Associated Centres should assume progressively the full responsi
bility for identifying the innovative programmes in their respective countries,
generating and organizing information about them, both for national distribution
and for the regional network.
The Seminar also requested ACEID to increase its distribution coverage
including in it all the Documentation Officers and/or Librarians of Associated
Centres.
2. Roles and relationships between the Associated Centres, ACEID and IBE
APEID consists of a co-operative group of centres, with one or more in
each M e m b e r State and with A C E I D providing support services. The c o m m o n
interest is educational innovation. The purpose of the information system is to
improve and speed up exchange of experiences so that innovative activities in
each country m a y be enriched or inspired by the experience gained in other
countries.
18
Co-opevation at regional and international levels
Relations between A C E I D and its network members are governed by prac
tices established in each M e m b e r State. Communication therefore takes place
either between the National Development Groups (NDGs) who co-ordinate activi
ties at the national level and ACEID or directly between the Associated Centres
and A C E I D .
The Seminar expressed the need for establishing a national focal point
through which information could be exchanged between the Associated Centres in
a country and ACEID. This could mean for example strengthening the N D G s or a
selected Associated Centre to take a leadership role with regard to information
and documentation flow.
It would be desirable for each Associated Centre to strengthen its capacities
so as to be able to contribute to the c o m m o n data base by:
a) selecting relevant documents ;
b) if these are not in an international language, preparing a short
abstract in English;
c) for important documents, preparing a long (reading substitution)
abstract in English;
d) sending the originals with short or long abstracts to the regional
centre, A C E I D , along with recommendations for microfiche
reproduction;
e) preparing short case studies on projects where documentation is
scattered or incomplete.
A s a first step towards overcoming language barriers, the Seminar rec
ommended that each document which has been selected for the c o m m o n data base
should be forwarded to A C E I D accompanied by a summary in English.
The documentation provided by the Associated Centres will contribute to
the c o m m o n data base which will be built-up jointly by the Unesco Regional Office
for Education in Asia, Bangkok, and IBE by:
a) storing short abstracts and distributing print-outs periodically to
all network members ;
b) reproducing long abstracts and distributing them ;
c) preparing microfiche copies for distribution to the members
on request;
d) issuing the short case studies periodically.
International and inter-regional links
IBE (Geneva) should be the focal point for the pooling of information on an
inter-regional basis. The Bureau deals with documentation and information as a
complementary aspect of Unesco's educational programme. This has led to the
19
Documentation and- information support for educational innovation
development of a networking approach, in which the relevant parts of the Unesco
Secretariat, the four Regional Offices and the specialized institutes and bureaux
participate in so far as their information functions are concerned. Within the
IBE, the focus is on educational policies, reforms and innovations, i. e. the
change process wherever it occurs. A programme entitled International Edu
cational Reporting Service (IERS) was begun in 1974 to give effect to this approach.
The IERS is not a distinct project so much as an aspect of the work of IBE.
The essential elements of IERS are:
a) a networking approach, in which regional centres, such as ACEID,
play the part of relays for developing regional flows of information;
b) the IBE then has a double function, that of ensuring balance by
ensuring that all parts of the world are drawn into the system ; and
that of helping to establish agreed procedures for the exchange of
information;
c) the IERS process within IBE consists of documentation (obtaining
documents on innovation, making analyses for computer storage),
studies (generating fresh information on cases or on the theoretical
aspect of change) and dissemination (by the "Awareness List", news
letter "Innovation", cases published in pamphlet form and by an
individual response service).
The Seminar expressed the need for awareness of developments taking
place in other regions of the world and recognized the crucially important role
of IBE in providing information and supplying documentation on educational inno
vations from outside the Asian region.
In view of the importance of the exchange of information on educational
innovation at an international level, the Seminar felt that the activities of IBE
need to be made better known.
The Seminar recommended the following priority areas for the gathering
and disseminating of information on educational innovation: distance education
(e. g. correspondence courses), education for community development, education
for the development of employable skills and non-formal education.
3. Programme of action: areas in which strengthening is needed
It is expected that the APEID network would launch a programme of co
operative action on the basis of agreed procedures to generate information from
national sources, process it and disseminate it among the M e m b e r States and
maintain a steady flow of information. While maintaining the inter-country
exchange in the Asian Region, the Unesco Regional Office, Bangkok and IBE link
would be expected to maintain a two-way flow with the rest of the world.
The Seminar stressed the point repeatedly that the effectiveness of a net
work of documentation and support services for educational innovation, the basic
20
Co-operation at 'regional and international levels
constituent units are the national centres, because it is at the national level that
educational innovations originate or information is used directly in support of
educational innovations. Unfortunately, little attention has so far been given in
programmes of international co-operation to developing national capacities in
information support services. A more active policy in this regard is called for,
regionally and internationally.
The areas in which international co-operation can be particularly useful
were identified as follows :
Personnel training
Staff development is of fundamental importance and is an essential pre
requisite to the efficient functioning of documentation and information services.
In most developing countries in the region, educational documentation centres do
not have professionally trained staff. The need for staff training cannot therefore
be over emphasized. A variety of training modalities have been tried out with
success by ACEID in other programme areas and could be used for the staff
development in educational and information support area. These modalities
include :
i) in-country training through a mobile team of specialists from
outside who work with the specialists from the country in
organizing and carrying out intensive training programme;
ii) on-the-job training in a country for a team of trainees from
another country;
iii) inter-project and inter-country study visits; and
iv) advanced-level workshops organized for specific purposes
with the help of specialists from the participating countries.
The Seminar was of the view that in any international programme of edu
cational documentation and information, the allocation of resources for the train
ing of staff of national centres should be given high priority.
Basic equipment and materials
In addition to the lack of professional staff, there is a serious dearth of
basic equipment and materials which are needed to perform the expected mini
m u m services in most countries. Import restrictions caused by scarcity of
foreign exchange impose severe constraints on the acquisition of modern equip
ment and materials. Most centres cannot afford to have even such basic pieces
of reprographic equipment as photocopying machines and microfiche equipment.
Even where such equipment is made available, maintenance and repair services
are not available. À steady supply of materials, such as paper, chemicals etc.
cannot be maintained. It was emphasized that some action was urgently needed
to overcome the above problems, and that they should receive the attention of aid
programmes. The need for equipment and materials mentioned above does not
however mean that the centres should necessarily remain passive till such
21
Documentation and information support for educational innovation
facilities are made available. The available technology could be used to its
m á x i m u m potentiral to generate improvisations and innovations to bridge the
technological gap.
Exchange of material resources for services
It was suggested that Unesco/IBE should explore the possibility of making
arrangements to supply material resources to centres in exchange for services
which the centres could provide to the regional and international network. It
was pointed out that such arrangements had existed in the past, for instance, in
the case of the mobile teams and programmed learning who, at the termination
of their country workshops, donated sets of equipment and materials to that
country to continue the activities initiated by them.
Similar procedures, it was suggested, would help in this field too, to
generate and develop documentation and information services in countries where
such services have not been developed to the desired level.
While making use of the regional and international networks, the advantages
and the need for exchange of materials and services directly among the countries
and their centres of documentation.and information were also recognized. Such
direct' contact would be of mutual benefit to the countries concerned especially in
view of the fact that it could be established most effectively and fruitfully not only
at formal official levels but also at informal.and unofficial levels.
Support for translation
A basic obstacle to international communication is the language barrier.
Many countries have successfully tackled the problem at national level with
respect to material produced locally and inflowing materials for local use.
However, a problem exists in respect of outflowing materials. Countries are
called upon to prepare abstracts in English or some international language or
provide translations in those languages of material produced in national language,
in order to feed them into the regional or international network. This requires
additional expenditure. The difficulties encountered in getting enough response
from the M e m b e r States in respect of translated material m a y , to a great extent,
be due to the above constraint. Hence some arrangements for sharing these
responsibilities and expenditures are highly desirable. If this could be provided,
there would be a greater response and a more adequate coverage in information
relevant to innovations from a larger number of countries.
Evaluation
Finally, the aim is to develop an information system on education inno
vation in the Asian region. Procedures and products are only means to an end -
that of using information for improvement of education systems and practices.
There is need, therefore, to pay attention to evaluation from the very beginning
of a programme of action in this field. Each participating centre, including
A C EID and IBE, should use a simple reporting device, to measure the amount of
documents, produced, size of mailing lists and the volume of response services.
C o m m o n reporting patterns throughout the network will permit members to build
up a system of continuous assessment so as to give direction to future programming.
22
V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Documentation and information support should be recognized as an integral
part of the process by which educational reforms and innovations are formulated
and implemented. The development of effective educational documentation and
information support services should therefore be given a high priority.
2. Intra-national and international flow of information contributes to the
strengthening of national capacities for educational innovation, and to the broad
broadening of the data base.
3. The establishment of documentation and information service of the Asian
Centre of Educational Innovation for Development (ACEID) at the Unesco Regional
Office for Education in Asia, and the creation of the International Educational
Reporting Services (IERS) at the International Bureau of Education (IBE), with the
four Unesco Regional Offices for Education and A C E I D serving as partners, have
initiated activities to stimulate, co-ordinate and promote the development and
dissemination of such information. The National Development Groups for Edu
cational Innovation (NDGs) and the Associated Centres within the Asian M e m b e r
States are contributing to the generation and flow of such information within and
between the countries participating in the Asian Programme of Educational Inno
vation for Development (APEID).
4. The Seminar recommended to the Associated Centres that they consider:
i) collaborating and forming linkages with other national
centres and also regional and international networks of
documentation and information on educational innovation
through co-operative action to develop the technical
instrumentalities, and through providing information and
data in appropriate forms to international and regional
networks ;
ii) identifying "client groups" and catering for the needs of such
"client groups";
iii) making a continuous and determined effort to acquire print
and non-print documents from all possible sources;
iv) examining the content of information and selecting those
items which are relevant to the "client groups";
v) developing appropriate format, policies and procedures of
processing and disseminating information so as to ensure
uniformity and dynamism ;
23
Documentation and -information support for educational innovation
vi) exploring indigenous methods and technologies for information
processing and dissemination, including instrumentalities such
as thesauri in the national languages, semi-processed materials,
oral tradition of communication and person-to-person contact;
vii) exchanging materials and services directly among themselves;
viii) making use of the services of the Unesco Regional Office/
A C E I D andlBE/IERS;
ix) assuming progressively the full responsibility of identifying
the innovative programmes in their respective countries,
generating and organizing information about them both for
national distribution and for the regional and international
networks.
5. The Seminar recommended to the national authorities that they consider:
i) promoting an awareness among the educational personnel of the
need for adequate documentation and information for educational
reform and innovation through national seminars and meetings ;
ii) strengthening selected institutions in the country and networking
them in a co-ordinated programme for collecting information and
data on educational reform and innovation, organization of such
for retrieval, and disseminating them according to users' needs;
iii) providing to the national documentation and information centres
or network of centres adequate financial and personnel support;
iv) facilitating collection of information and it's free flow to users
according to their needs;
v) organizing training programmes for the preparation of personnel
required for educational documentation and information support
services on educational innovation;
vi) facilitating the collaboration and linkages with other national
centres and also regional and international networks of edu
cational documentation and'information;
vii) establishing a national focal point through which information
could be exchanged among the centres of innovation, with user
groups in the country, and with A C E I D . This could mean for
example strengthening the National Development Group (NDG)
or a selected Associated Centre to take the leadership role
with regard to information and documentation flow.
6. The Seminar recommended that Unesco and in particular the Unesco
Regional Office in Asia and IBE, co-operate with the national authorities, in a
spirit of international fellowship, in enhancing and strengthening national
capacities in educational documentation and information, and to this end:
24
Conclusions and recommendations
i) provide assistance, on request, for the training of
personnel and for developing the basic infrastructure;
ii) make available facilities for training in advanced techniques
of documentation and information work;
iii) make available, in appropriate forms, documentation and
information collected from the M e m b e r States;
iv) increase its distribution coverage to include Documentation
Officers and/or Librarians of the Associated Centres;
v) make arrangements for sharing the expenditure incurred in
translating materials which would be fed into the regional
and international networks.
7. The Seminar recommended that each Associated Centre, as well as A C E I D
and IE RS, design a simple reporting device to evaluate their respective docu
mentation services.
25
ANNEX I
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
India : Prof. G . S. Shrikantia
Professor and Head, Library and Documentation Unit
National Council of Educational Research and Training
Sri Aurobindo Marg, N e w Delhi-110016
Indonesia : M r . Harry Soemarto
Centre for Data Processing, Statistics and Concept
Building
Office of Educational and Cultural Research and
Development (BP3K)
Jalan Gatot Soebroto, Kav. 41-42, Jakarta
Iran : M r s . Horn a Adib
Head of Information and Publications
Iranian National Commission for Unesco
300 Avenue Iranchahr Chomali, Teheran
Japan : Dr. Taneo Harada
Director, the First Research Department
National Institute for Educational Research (NIER)
6-5-22 Shimomoguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153
Korea, Rep. of : Dr . Yoon Tai Kim
Chief, Educational Policy Studies (Division One)
and Library
Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI)
20-1 Umyeon-Dong, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul
Malaysia : Miss Roziah Munira Mansor
Librarian
Curriculum Development Centre
Ministry of Education
l\Miles, Jalan Damansara, Kuala Lumpur 23-01
Pakistan : M r . M a h m u d Ul-Hassan
Deputy Librarian
People's Open University
Sector H - 8 , Islamabad
29
Documentation and information support for educational innovation
Philippines
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Mrs. Mercedes M . Agpaoa Senior Educational Researcher National Research and Development Centre for
Teacher Education (NRDCTE) Department of Education and Culture. Approceros Street, Manila
M r . Cheong Heng Yuen Planning Officer (Evaluation) Ministry of Education Kay Siang Road, Singapore 10
M r . A . M . Rana wee ra Director of Education Curriculum Development Centre 255 Bauddhaloka Mawata, Colombo-7
Observer/Participants
Office.of the National Education Commission, Thailand
Asian Institute of Technology
International Labour Organization
Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO)
Miss Kalya Thamratnopkoon Chief of the Educational Documents
Section Educational Promotion and Information
Division Office of the National Education
Commission Sukhothai Road, Bangkok
Dr. Jacques Vails Director, Library and Information
Centre Asian Institute of Technology P . O . Box 2754, Bangkok
Mrs. Jirawan Aksornsuwan Librarian, ILO Regional Office for Asia P. O . Box 1759 United Nations Building, Sala Santitham Bangkok
Mrs . Linchong Suwanpokin S E A M E O Documentation Officer S E A M E O , 920 Sukhumvit Road Bangkok
30
Annex I
UNESCO SECRETARIAT
Unesco Regional Office for Education in Asia, Bangkok
M r . Raja Roy Singh Director
Dr. A . Latif Chief, Asian Centre of Educational Innovation for
Development (ACEID)
Dr. Maria LaoSunthara Programme Specialist/Documentation
Miss Charatsri Vajrabhaya Assistant Programme Specialist, ACEID
M r . Ekok Djaka Librarian/Assistant Documentation Officer
M r . W . A . Simpson Publications Officer
M r . N . Sagara Administrative Officer
Mrs. Pensri Tongyai Service Assistant/Documentation
International Bureau of Education, Geneva
Miss Wanda Rokicka Documentalist International Educational Reporting Service (IERS)
31
ANNEX II
AGENDA
Election of Officers of the Meeting.
Consideration of the Provisional Schedule of Work.
Survey of the existing documentation services in the participating
national institutions, with particular reference to educational
innovation.
Needs and problems in improving the flow of educational information
relating to educational innovation, and the techniques appropriate for
the purpose.
Suggestions for organizing documentation and information services -
i) at the national level; and
ii) at the inter-country level.
Adoption of the report.
32
A N N E X III
A D D R E S S BY M R . RAJA R O Y SINGH
D I R E C T O R , U N E S C O R E G I O N A L OFFICE F O R E D U C A T I O N IN ASIA
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is an honour and privilege for m e , on behalf of Unesco, to extend to all
distinguished participants and guests a cordial welcome to Bangkok and to this
Seminar which will deliberate on documentation and information support for edu
cational innovation within the Asian region.
The Unesco Regional Office for Education in Asia is particularly gratified
that this Seminar on Documentation and Information Services has at long last
become possible. It is, as far as I can recollect, the first regional seminar on
this subject, which tempts m e to think that educational documentation and infor
mation m a y well be like the weather - everybody talks of it but nobody does
anything about it.
This Seminar has been made possible by the support and assistance pro
vided by the International Bureau of Education, Geneva. IBE has not only given
financial support for the Seminar, but has contributed two outstanding papers
which will be the basic working papers of the Seminar. The first paper is coded
R O E A - 7 7 / A P E I D - D O C I N F / 4 : Networking in Educational Information at
National, Regional and International Levels. This lucid presentation defines the
problems to which you will be addressing yourself in your deliberations. I would
like to commend it to you for thorough study and reflection. The second paper is
coded R O E A - 7 7 / A P E I D / D O C I N F / 5 , entitled "Suggested Guidelines for Edu
cational Documentation and Information Processes in an Asian Network". This
deals with some of the technical aspects of documentation work. •
I a m sure that you will join m e in paying our tribute of appreciation to IBE
for the leadership it has offered in making documentation and information ser
vices an essential part of educational action for the improvement and reform of
education in our countries.
Speaking as a consumer of educational information, I feel that the basic
need is as simple as it should be obvious: it is the need to strengthen the capacity
for making informed judgments or taking informed action. This need is c o m m o n
at all levels of decision-making and action, though the particularly way in which
this need should be met might vary. Thus, those who are responsible for making
policies and plans in education need to have a variety of information in order to
have the basis for well-informed judgment. At the other end of the spectrum, a
33
Documentation and information support for educational innovation
classroom teacher or a field worker in the villages has also information needs
on which to base his actions in the classroom or in the field. The need for a
good base of information becomes greater as w e move from routine operations to
new ways of thinking and doing. For example, if at the policy level it is decided
only to maintain the existing schools as they are, the information needs for this
decision are minimum. Or if a teacher decides that teaching children by rote
and by chant is all that is needed, the information needs are again very limited.
However, the moment a change in routine is envisaged, information needs in
creases. This is where educational innovation comes in. Innovation m a y be an
extensive one, taking the form of a fundamental reform of education. The kind
of information that is needed to plan such educational reform is indeed enormous.
Equally, when a teacher decides, or is induced, to change his method of teaching,
he requires a considerable body of information to help him to bring about this
change. Information support therefore should be looked upon as an integral part
of the dynamic process by which a state of change is brought about and maintained
in education.
In Asia today all countries are engaged in extensive efforts at reforming,
changing and reorienting their education systems. This desire to improve mani
fests itself at all levels of educational endeavour. It is in'this context therefore
that we will have to examine what the information needs are and in what forms
and ways they can best be met. It has to be admitted that information needs in
education have so far received hardly any systematic attention. In many coun
tries in Asia, quite large systems of information have been developed for science
and technology or for general economic development, but none for education even
though education is one of the largest producers and consumers of information.
There are two well-defined problems to which the Seminar will address
itself in the next few days, and on which we expect you to give us your best
thoughts and recommendations.
The first problem is: how should the information needs of educational inno
vation be organized at the national level? Admittedly the conditions differ a great
deal from one country to another, and no single model will be applicable to all
countries alike, but it should be possible for us to offer a series of alternatives.
Linked to this problem of national system of educational information are the
relationship of national system with regional and international systems. These
questions are dealt with an IBE's paper R O E A - 7 7 / A P E I D - D O C I N F / 4 "Networking
in Educational Information at National, Regional and International Levels", which
is the basic working paper for consideration of this issue.
The second problem is a particular one, of how a network of information
can be developed in the Asian Programme of Educational Innovation for Develop
ment. The participants in the Seminar represent certain centres which are
associated with APEID, and are therefore in a position to indicate in what way
the flow of information on educational innovation within APEID can be increased
and systematized.
34
Annex III
In a way the second problem, namely the information network within
APEID, isa transitional one. If and when national systems of information get
organized and functioning, there would be no need for any separate arrangement
of APEID. In the immediate future, however, the information network for APEID
would have to be considered on its own terms. Indeed the development of this
network m a y in itself lay the foundation for the development of national infor
mation systems.
Under Agenda Item 2 you are going to consider the Schedul of Work of the
Seminar in the next five days. In that connexion you might well consider whether
the two problems I have referred to above should be examined one after another
by the whole group, or you would prefer, in order to have a deeper examination,
to set up two working groups, one for each problem.
In making your recommendations, you m a y please bear in mind that these
are the two substantive problems on which your recommendations are expected.
W e would also particularly welcome if you would indicate what your particular
centre can do concretely.
C o m m o n to the a bove problems are related questions of a technical
nature: "What kind of information is needed in educational innovation? " ; "In
what way should this information be organized? " ; "In what form should this
information be disseminated to the users?"; " H o w should this operation be
evaluated from time to time to ensure its usefulness and effectiveness? " . You
will find some of these questions dealt with in IBE's second paper R O E A - 7 7 /
APEID-DOCINF/5 "Suggested Guidelines for Educational Documentation and
Information Processes in an Asian Network".
The information process is a time-consuming job; it demands a special
infrastructure, materials, machines, as well as trained people. T o go deeper
into the mechanism of handling information, there are problems of identifying
the significant materials from the irrelevant in the midst of knowledge or infor
mation explosion, and on the other hand being cognisiant of information gaps, of
finding ways to fill the gaps. Furthermore, there is a need to work out appro
priate techniques in order to build up a c o m m o n information base on educational
innovation in the Asian region; to find ways and means by which the gathering,
analysing and dissemination of the information can be achieved in the most
economic and efficient way, so that available resources are pulled together and
duplication of work is avoided; and to decide in what form the information
should be provided tomeet our user needs.
The provision of adequate information and documentation services in edu
cation has not been given proper impetus in the past, but the fact that the Unesco
M e m b e r States have decided to devote the next session of the International
Conference on Education, which will be held in Geneva this coming September,
to the problems of information at the national and international levels, indicates
that education system now recognize that immediate action is needed for the
development of information networks. The deliberations of this Seminar might
represent a valuable contribution to this ongoing thinking by revealing at a re
gional level felt needs and possible solutions to encountered problems.
35
APPENDIX I
DOCUMENTATION A N D INFORMATION SUPPORT FOR APEID
(Asian Programme of Educational Innovation for Development)
APEID/ACBID/1BE PocumeriCs
Ctocuwents % A C E I D / I B E .
microfiche.
£̂ =
Original d<xumerit$ ^c with short and long abstract«., short case studies, derived docuro&rtts
39
APPENDIX II
G U I D E L I N E S
a) Preparation of shbrt abstracts
Once a document is selected for treatment, the indexer-abstractor has the
job of preparing a short abstract to be fed into the data base. This is a biblio
graphical description of the document followed by a text of about 120 words giving
the main subjects treated in the document. The key-words for subject matter
are in a fixed vocabulary recorded in the Unesco: IBE Education Thesaurus.
Steps are as follows:
1. Throughout, bear in mind that the purpose of abstracting is to make re
trieval possible. The constant idea is: if I were interested in topic A . (e.g.
maths curriculum development for secondary schools) would I be helped if I
retrieved this document from the pile in the data base?
2. Read through the document fairly carefully. A mere look at the contents
table is not enough.
3. Set out in a list the main subjects to be indexed - as words or phrases.
Underline those which appear to have greatest importance. Remember that the
document title as such is not an index, so that the key concepts contained in a
good title have to go into the list. Depending on the size and complexity of the
original, between 6 and 15 keywords should suffice.
4. Convert the list into key-words in conformity with the descriptors of the
Thesaurus. Some practice is needed. If the term originally thought of is not in
the Thesaurus, seek near-synonyms. The faceted display and the rotated index
are often better first points of reference than the alphabetical list. As a rule,
choose the most precise descriptor possible. Don't forget the identifiers (proper
nouns), because names of countries and organizations are useful key-words in an
international data base.
5. At this point, set out the bibliographical entry: author, title, place, pub
lisher, date, pagination. Journal articles are treated more simply: author,
title, journal title,, issue number and pagination. Ephemeral documents, like
typescript reports, m a y not always contain data on their provenance, but every
effort should be made to provide full, clear and consistent bibliographical
descriptions.
6. Next, set out the abstract. This is a piece of continuous text, embodying
the key-words in sentences and marking them off by slasshes / / on either side.
Punctuate normally. One convention, due to the computer programme, is to
place the most important descriptors in the first sentence, followed by a dash - ,
This sign permits rapid computer searches of the abstracts over the first part of
each text. 40
Appendix II
7. Some experience is needed for this type of abstract with key-words in
context. If a skilled documentalist is available for final editing, an indexer m a y
limit himselt to the list of descriptors (step 4) and a freely written abstract in
about 120 words.
b) Computer storage and print-outs
When an edited abstract is ready, it is fed into the computerized data base.
The programme used for documentary analysis is that developed by the ILO,
termed ISIS, which is adopted by Unesco and other international agencies. Tech-
nicardetails of the programme are available in a manual put out by ILO; but
some general applications should be known to abstractors and users of the data
base.
1. The length of each record (i. e. bibliographical entry plus abstract) should
not exceed 1200 characters. This averages out at about 120 words in English for
the abstract.
2. Each abstract is given a serial control number which serves as its address
in the file. The file of abstracts can be printed out over a span of control n u m
bers and this provides an accession list for the data base. A subject index is
generated by the computer by identifying all the descriptors that have occurred
and associating them with the control numbers of the relevant abstracts. W h e n
a data base is built up co-operatively, as is the case with the projected Asian
series, within the IBE field (IBEDOC), periodical accessions should be distributed
by A C E I D and IBE to all network members .
3. The data base can be searched retrospectively. This is done by formulating
a question containing all the descriptors that are required in the documents to be
retrieved. A branching question will show the descriptors that are required
together (linked by "and") as well as the possible alternatives (linked by "or").
The search can be made most economically by batch processing; the question is
introduced and the computer searches the data base and automatically prints out
the resulting set of abstracts. The other method is on-line, where the inquirer
directly interrogates the computer, examines the results and decides at what
point he wants the print-out. This retrieval capacity enables the searcher to
locate rapidly, in a large number of records, the items he needs. But the quality
of the service is m a n - m a d e , not automatic: unless document selection and in
dexing are handled skilfully, the desired precision will not be achieved.
4. Finally, reference should be made to files other than IBEDOC. Within the
ISIS system, programmes have been developed for the IBE to store information
about centres (such as documentation or research cenrres) and about institutions
(schools, colleges). The corresponding files are still small. They are used for
generating directories. Some applications in the APEID context should be con
sidered, since directory data on institutions and projects are likely to be as
important as document analyses.
41
Documentation and -information support for educational innovation
c) Microflehe reproduction
Reproduction of documents in microfiche form isa desirable adjunct of the
data base from many points of view. "While it is impossible to lay down the rule
that every document abstracted should be copied in this way, the target should
be to make as much use as possible of this technique.
Some guidelines for action in the APEID network are:
1. A distinct series should be established for the microfiche documents.
The framework here is the IBE series entitled SIRE (from the French phrase for
International Series of Reports on Education). Within this series, a sub-series
for Asian documents can be started.
2. Any network m e m b e r , when selecting documents and abstracting them
should send the original to A C E I D . If the right to reproduce any document can
be given to Unesco, this fact should be communicated in writing in such words
as: "the author (or the institution issuing the document) agrees to allow Unesco
to reproduce this document in microform".
3. For photographic reproduction in reduction, the original must be in fairly
good condition, with contrast between the lettering and the background. Most
stencilled and printed texts are suitable; original typescript m a y pass, even
manuscript in ink, but carbon copies or pencilled texts are too faint.
4. Processing centrally, by ACEID and IBE, will go through these stages.
A n eye-readable title is prepared, containing the series code. A first frame is
made, to show how many microfiches the document covers: thus 1/3 means this
is the first fiche in a set of three. The next frame is the title-page, which
sometimes has to be created for typescript texts; and with it can be placed the
short abstract of the document. Thereafter come the successive pages, can
occupying a frame. If the document runs over a fiche, a sign, —+• , is shown on
the last frame of that fiche. At the end of the document, another sign, \ , is
shown.
5. After a document is prepared in this way, it is photographed by reduction
on a silver halide microfiche with 5 rows of 12 frames. The master fiche is held
in IBE and the Bangkok Regional Office, and master copies can also be made
available to network centres wishing to prepare further copies. Otherwise, much
cheaper (but completely legible) copies are made by diazo from the master
microfiche and distributed to centres with readers. :
6. This technique is rapidly spreading in documentation in all parts of the
world. There is reason, therefore, for APEID network members to equip them
selves with simple microfiche readers; if they intend to develop national net
works, they will also need reader-printers and fiche-to-fiche printers, two
pieces of apparatus that cost a great deal more , without being exorbitantly
expensive.
42
Appendix II
7. More important, of course, is the development of the microfiche series,
by co-operative action in the network. It should be noted that the holding of
microfiches in a documentation centre, very economical of space, does require
a proper catalogue. Since all documents in microform are also abstracted,
with the abstracts computer-stored, it is the print-out of the data base which
gives the necessary access.
43
C O R R I G E N D U M
The name of the participant from Thailand, Dr. Panom
Pongpaibool, Acting Director of the Educational Research Division
of the Ministry of Education, was inadvertently omitted in the
preparation of the List of Participants. The entry should have read
as follows:
Thailand : Dr. Panom Pongpaibool
Acting Director, Educational Research Division
Office of the National Educational Commission
Sukhothai Road, Bangkok