The landscape of today’s education continues to assume new faces, paces and phases. Expanding access to education and ensuring better learning outcomes have prompted countries in the world to develop standards, protocols and mechanisms that speak of quality assurance in their systems of education. By and large, new forces shape the way schools operate, teachers deliver instruction, and learners assimilate and accommodate information. The labor market has become more demanding and exacting of the graduates’ ability to survive and contribute in the field. Responding to the dynamics and politics of change and continuity in education brings policy makers, researchers, practitioners, leaders and managers to a realm where challenges are transformed into lessons and options to better inform key actions and decisions.

Since 1997, the Metrobank Foundation, Inc. – Network of Outstanding Teachers and Educators (MBFI-NOTED), as an honor society committed to “building teacher leaders”, continues to affirm that at the heart of reform initiatives is an enduring belief that teacher quality matters. The extent to which teachers as human capital and strategic resource are treated, managed, supported and developed determines successful teaching, and responsive and functional student learning. In the spirit of synergy, this year’s conference is a joint effort of MBFI-NOTED and the University of Santo Tomas – College of Education, in cooperation with the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Regional Center for Innovation Technology (SEAMEO-INNOTECH) and the Comparative Education Society of the Philippines (CESP).