Sheldon Floyd Shaeffer

920 Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok 10110, Thailand

+66819220369

Citizenship:Canadian

Education:Ph.D. degree in international development education, September 1979, Stanford University (Thesis – Schooling in a Developing Society: A Case Study of Indonesian Primary Education)

M.A. degree in anthropology, September, 1974, Stanford University

B.A. degree in history (honours), minors in political science and European languages, June, 1967, Stanford University

Professional History:

2001-2008: UNESCO, Bangkok, Thailand, Director, UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education -- managed a staff of 150 involved in UNESCO programming in 47 countries of Asia (in education, culture, social sciences, and communication) and coordinated the planning and programming of activities of 13 national and sub-regional UNESCO offices

1998–2001:UNICEF,New York Headquarters, Chief, Education Section – led a team of 10 programme staff in the development, dissemination, and evaluation of UNICEF global policies in education in areas such as early childhood development, girls’ education, child-friendly schools, educational governance and finance, teacher education, and HIV/AIDS and education

1993-1998:UNICEF, Bangkok, Thailand, Regional Education Advisor for East Asia and the Pacific – developed, disseminated, and evaluatedUNICEF’s global, regional, and national education policies and programmes in the region; provided support and capacity building to UNICEF offices

1990-1993:International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP/UNESCO), Paris, France, Senior Research Fellow – trainedMinistry of Education staff from developing nations in the design and evaluation of basic education programmes and developed a project and training materials in community involvement in school-based management

1980-1990:International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada, Associate Director, Social Sciences Division, in charge of the Population, Education, and Society Program – managed a staff of 10 in the development, implementation, and evaluation of IDRC-supported projects

1975-1977:Ford Foundation, Jakarta, Indonesia, Program Officer for Educationand Culture – managed pilot programmes in the decentralisation of education planning and the preservation and revitalisation of traditional arts

1967-1971Volunteer teacher/lecturer – taught at a junior secondary school in Sarawak, East Malaysia, and lectured at the Faculty of Education, Pattimura University, Ambon, Indonesia

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2009-2016:Consultancies:

  • Asian Development Bank– developed a “knowledge product” on a broad definition of inclusive education
  • Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC) and UNESCO Bangkok– drafted a set of guidelines for Ministries of Education on the professional development of pre-primary school teachers
  • UNESCO Bangkok

developed dissemination strategies for child-friendly schools

assessed the status of inclusive education in pre-service teacher education in Asia

edited a teacher training module on multi-grade teaching

  • UNESCO Hanoi –developed materials to promote a mother tongue-based language policy in education, from pre-school through early primary school
  • UNESCO Dar-es-Salaam and Nairobi – advised on education programmes and sensitised Ministry of Education officials concerning inclusive education
  • UNICEF Timor-Leste, Pakistan, and Laos – assisted in the development of national policies, strategies, and action plans on inclusive education
  • UNICEF India – advised on the further development of UNICEF’s work in child-friendly schools and systems, mother tongue-based multilingual education, and education for children with disabilities
  • World Bank Jakarta

developed a Good Practices Information Network

evaluated Bank-funded Ministry of Education programmes

wrote policy briefs on multi-grade teaching, school-based management, rural secondary education, and higher education

abstracted policy documents on teacher education and certification, educational quality, et al

coordinated the writing of a book on the Indonesian teacher education reform of 2005 (including writing three chapters)

advised on research issues and methodologies related to early childhood care and education and the use of clean energy resources for school electrification

reviewed Indonesia’s experience over 40 years in reforms focused on educational quality

  • UNICEF Indonesia – developed UNICEF policies and programmes and advised on training materials and evaluation designs, both nationally and in the provinces of Papua and West Papua, in the areas of :

early childhood development

child-friendly schools

school-based management

early learning

multi-grade teaching

  • UNICEF New York--wrote a paper and programmatic guidelineson sharpening the focus of child-friendly school programmes towards equity
  • AusAID Canberra (via the Education Resource Facility)

developed staff learning and development modules in inclusive education and early childhood care and development

wrote papers, commented on draft corporate and national ECCD policies, and made presentations on ECCD

  • AusAID/DFAT Jakarta

revised and expanded an evaluation of the AUD26 million Ministry of Education training programme for school managers (headteachers, treasurers, school committee chairs) on school-based management and the financial administration of operational assistance grants (BOS)

coordinated qualitative research on school management practices linked to the training of primary and lower secondary school principals and drafted a report combining the results of this research with the quantitative evaluation of 1200 schools

  • DFAT Manila – via Cambridge Education, led the assessment of a DFAT-funded UNICEF programme on expanding and improving early childhood education services in the Philippines
  • UNICEF Myanmar – developed a policy paper on the improvement of basic education through better school management and classroom practice as part of the Ministry’s Comprehensive Education Sector Review
  • Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO) – wrote a background paper and facilitated a regional conference on the implications for Southeast Asian education of the post-2015 development agenda and ASEAN integration
  • UNICEF Thailand – evaluated the current UNICEF Thailand Country Office programme in education with a focus on early learning, child-friendly schools, and ECCD
  • DFAT Myanmar – evaluated project proposals on ECCD and primary education for DFAT grants managed through the Myanmar Education Consortium
  • British Council Indonesia, Education for Change UK, and Aide et Action Cambodia – served as a quality control advisor on funding proposals, concept notes, and donor reports (ongoing)
  • Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development (Toronto) – developed an outline and situation analysis for a proposed Global Report on the Status of Early Childhood Development (ongoing)
  • International Labour Organisation (Geneva) – wrote a background paper for the proposed Guidelines on Promoting Decent Work for Pre-primary Teachers (in process)
  • Aide-et-Action Cambodia– served as the quality assurance advisor to a consortium of 17 NGOs working on a programme on out-of-school children funded by Educate A Child.
  • UNICEF Cambodia – evaluating the implementation of the national child-friendly school policy through District Training and Management Teams
  • DFAT Indonesia – providing technical assistance on basic education to a new AUD50 million project in support of the Ministry of Education and Culture (ongoing)

In addition, I have been a member of several international working committees:

  • the Steering Committees and Drafting Committees of both the Jomtien (1990) and Dakar (2000) conferences on Education for All
  • the Advisory Committee on the Right to Education project of ActionAid UK
  • the Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development (a member from

2007-2009 and Chair of the Executive Board from 2008-2009 and 2012-2013)

  • the Worldwide Forum Foundation on Early Childhood Development (Team Coordinator of its Asian-Pacific Global Leaders’ programme from 2011 to the present)
  • the Board of Directors of the Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (headquartered in Singapore)

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Selected Publications:

Education Research Environments in the Developing World, co-editor with John Nkinyangi, Ottawa: International Development Research Centre, 1983.

Educational Change in Indonesia: A Case Study of Three Innovations, Manuscript Report (270e), Ottawa: International Development Research Centre, 1990.

“Policies for Participatory In-Service Teacher Training”, in The International Encyclopedia of Education (supplementary volume two), Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1990.

“Collaborating for Educational Change: The Role of Parents and the Community in School Development”, in the International Journal of Educational Development, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 277-295, London: Pergamon Press, 1992.

Collaborating for Educational Change in Non-formal Basic Education, Paris: International Institute for Educational Planning, 1992.

“Participatory Approaches to Teacher Training”, in Teachers in Developing Countries: Improving Effectiveness and Managing Costs, editors, Joseph Farrell and Joao Oliveira, The World Bank EDI Seminar Series, Washington, D.C: World Bank., pp. 187-200, 1993.

“The Potential Impact of HIV/AIDS on Women, Youth, and Children”, Bangkok: UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office, 1994.

“The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Education: A Review of Literature and Experience”, in The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Education: Report of an IIEP Seminar, editors, Dramane Oulai and Roy Carr-Hill, Paris: International Institute for Educational Planning, pp. 29-73, 1994.

Partnerships and Participation in Basic Education (two volumes of training modules and case study abstracts), Paris: International Institute for Educational Planning, 1994.

“Assessment of the Education Programme of UNICEF Cambodia”, with Angela Little et al, Phnom Penh: UNICEF, 1995.

“Towards a New Framework for School Management: Creating Stronger Partnerships for Better Education” with R. Govinda, in Innovations in School-Based Management, (edited by Sheldon Shaeffer), Bangkok: UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office, 1998.

“Community Partnerships in Early Childhood Care and Development”, in Excellence in Early Childhood Education, editor, Chiam Heng Keng, Kuala Lumpur: Pelanduk Publications, 1999.

“The Impact of HIV/AIDS on children and young people: reviewing research and distilling implications for the education sector in Asia: HIV/AIDS and education”, with Jan de Lind van Wijngaarden, UNESCO Bangkok, 2005.

“HIV/AIDS in Asia: Human Rights and the Education Sector”, with Jan De Lind van Wijngaarden, UNESCO Bangkok, 2005.

“Language Development and Revitalisation: An Educational Imperative in Asia”, in Adult Education and Development, vol. 71, pp. 87-97, dvv international, Bonn, Germany, 2008.

Review of Education for All and Multigrade Teaching:Challenges and Opportunities, edited by Angela Little, in Comparative Education, vol. 44, no. 4, 2008.

Strengthening Inclusive Education, Manila: Asian Development Bank, 2010.

Learning and Development modules on “Early Childhood Development” and “Marginalisation” for AusAID. 2013

Teacher Reform in Indonesia: The Role of Politics and Evidence in Policy Making, co-authored with Mae Chu Chang et al, Washington, D.C.: The World Bank. 2013.

Identifying and Promoting Good Practice in Equity and Child-Friendly Education, New York: UNICEF. 2013. (

“BOS Training: Implementation, Impact, and Implications for the Development of Indonesia’s Education System”, Jakarta: Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 2013. (

Enhanced Primary School Quality through Management Reform and Improved Classroom Practices,Yangon: UNICEF Myanmar (unpublished report)

“Post-2015 Education Scenarios, ASEAN Integration, and the Post-EFA Education Agenda in Southeast Asia”. Bangkok: SEAMEO (draft).

Early Childhood Development and Cognitive Development in Developing Countries: A Rigorous Literature Review, co-authored with Nirmala Rao et al, The University of Hong Kong (funded by DfID).

In addition, I have given numerous keynote speeches and presentations at national, regional, and international conferences in the areas of child-friendly schools, inclusive education, HIV/AIDS and education, ICT in education, education for sustainable development, community participation and decentralisation in education, school-based management, language and education policies, early childhood care and development, and teacher education.

Languages:

English – mother tongue

Indonesian/Malay – fluent speaking, comprehension, and reading

French – fairly fluent speaking, comprehension, and reading

German and Thai – conversational

September, 2016