Young people and adults from the Myanmar migrant worker community in Thailand learning at the Thinking Classroom Foundation's Learning Centre, © Thinking Classroom Foundation
The Thinking Classroom Foundation was founded in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2001 to work for the education of Myanmar refugees and migrants living along the Thai-Myanmar border. The foundation provides two education programmes: teacher training and adult education.
Teacher training targets teachers working at schools in refugee camps and migrant worker communities. Adult education targets Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand to provide basic training in Thai and English, computer literacy, as well as information on legislation and culture, and other work-related skills.
All education is based on the needs of the learners. Teacher training promotes active learning and critical thinking among students. Learning-centred strategies are encouraged in order to impart knowledge and skills in literacy, numeracy, social studies, natural sciences, global citizenship and learning to live together. With the experience of running teacher training for 16 years, we can now see how students have progressed. Many young people are working for community-based organisations today, and some go on to higher education.
Adult education for migrant workers helps meet their needs at their workplace as well as imparting the skills needed for living in Thailand. The training centre organises two sessions based on learner needs, one in the morning and one in the evening. The centre provides not only education, but also social cohesion. The students help each other with accommodation, finding jobs, and especially when someone is ill. We also promote our students’ study skills and help them to obtain higher education scholarships.
More information
www.thinkingclassroom.org
Contact
Dr. Thein Lwin
Chairperson Thinking Classroom Foundation
thein.lwin@uni-graz.at
DVV International operates worldwide with more than 200 partners in over 30 countries.
To interactive world map