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.

2

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

3

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

5

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.

6

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-

7

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,

11

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.

13

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

APPENDICES

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