Q&A with Haein Shin on advancing equity in education

Q&A with Haein Shin on advancing equity in education

This story is part of Earth Institute’s Celebrating Women’s Work series in honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, 2022.Read more about the day and our related blog post here.

For more than ten years, Heinson As an education professional, he shapes and informs classrooms around the world. Her work ranges from monitoring and assessing the needs of secondary schools in Myanmar to supporting the management of educational programs in ten countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Shin was first motivated to pursue international educational development after firsthand experience working with the Moroccan community as a Peace Corps youth and community educator.

“I see the value in planning and implementing programs with learners, and the great potential of these programs to further change behavior and knowledge sharing,” she said.

at Columbia Climate School Sustainability CenterShin develops and curates content around environmental awareness, digital and financial literacy, and job readiness – especially for women and girls – in line with the United Nations Education for Sustainable Development Framework and Sustainable Development Goals.

On International Women’s Day, Shin talks about how education can contribute to a more equitable future, and the way she finds meaning in her work.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

What is the role of educational planning and why is it important?

Educational planning is critical because it is a process by which a system and its many parts can consciously reflect specific educational needs and develop a specific roadmap for action. I see educational planning as a tool for guiding how to provide more equitable educational services to different populations in different spaces and locations. It fosters increased exposure and inclusion of content, which then helps foster groups and generations of learners.when [these learners] Equipped with the knowledge they need to take action in schools, at home, in their communities and elsewhere, they can contribute to building a more inclusive and sustainable future.

An ICT project in a school in Myanmar.Photo courtesy of Haein Shin

As an education professional, what problems are you trying to solve?

Although education is a fundamental right, it is still missing in terms of access and quality of learning globally. My work seeks to provide this opportunity while promoting and advocating educational opportunities that are relevant, useful and meaningful to the growth and development (personal, financial and professional) of learners. Educational products can look very different depending on the situation. They can take the form of basic literacy, numeracy and digital literacy; training for teachers, job readiness and life skills; or discussions and forums on climate and environmental education.

Can you talk specifically about how educational planning, digital and financial literacy, and job readiness intersect with gender?

Unfortunately, the gender gap that disadvantaged women is still very common. For example, women are underrepresented in fields such as the tech workforce, in part because 90% of jobs today require some level of digital skills, According to the European Commission. Women also have lower financial literacy and confidence than men. Educational planning can acknowledge these inequalities and begin to address them through population- and place-specific educational products.

Do you have a general process or philosophy on how to develop educational content?

This may seem like an obvious point, but I stress it due to a mistake I’ve seen before and sometimes made myself: let the need for content and expression come directly from the community, and then co-create it. There is still value in coming up with ideas from a variety of sources and people, but ultimately, content needs to be owned by the community in order to be successful.

Young women learning to type at the Centre for Information and Communication Technology in India.Photo by Mahashakti Seva Kendra

What challenges do you face as a practitioner in this field?

Even with concrete plans, continuing access to educational programs has always been a challenge – often related to education funding. Education spending remains low in many of the countries where the Center for Sustainable Development works, and despite good plans, limited funding hinders the continued development of programs, content, and the populations we can reach.

Is there an educational development that you are particularly excited about?

I think the COVID era has demonstrated not only the potential of technology in education, but also the need for real connections that cannot be replaced by technology. To that end, I’m excited about the growing variety of media in education that can help improve access to technology, and the growing recognition of the fundamental components of learning and learner development – such as social and emotional skills, life skills, and human connection with people. Educators and learners – are an important part of the learning community.

How do you find meaning in your work as you change throughout your career?

In the end, I think it depends on the individual student. I remember talking to a youth group about gender issues — specifically harassment — in one of the programs.A normally playful class is completely quiet when [the students were] Ask to consider what would happen if an immediate family member were the victim of harassment. Over the course of these discussions, their attitudes changed when they thought about things they thought were the norm or commonplace. Planning and project implementation can take place at the local and micro level as well as at the policy and macro level, but I think the significance is how it affects individual learners.

In what ways has this meaning changed or evolved?

I think the meaning I find in my work has remained the same, but what has changed is being aware of how the impact of education needs to happen individually and collectively. This is similar to how individuals choose to wear masks or reduce their carbon footprint, but broader policies or rules are more effective changes. We need broader education policies that support collective learning.