Field Research in Timor-Leste（Takao OKAMOTO）

From September of 12th to September of 26th 2016, I conducted my internship in the Ministry of Education (MoE) in Timor-Leste. This was my second visit to Timor-Leste. I was initially attached to the Department of Science and Technical Education in the Ministry of Education in Timor-Leste. During the internship, I had two main activities with a purpose of studying my academic research; “Estimate of Private Returns to Education: The Case of Timor-Leste”.

For the first activity, I gathered data about school characteristics from Education Management Information System (EMIS) in MoE. Beyond the secondary data collection and analyses, I conducted interviews with officers who working for EMIS. The questions were mainly about enrollment about school characteristics.

For the second activity, I worked at the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor (CAVR) and was conducted that of collecting data set on Human Rights Violations Database, as well as observing the ongoing interview research. I received very valuable advice regarding important things to be considered in conducting analytical research in Timor-Leste from officers in CAVR.

I was able to achieve a lot of success in terms of collecting data to utilize thesis and learning a lot through exchange of opinions with officers of MoE and other specialists in Timor-Leste’s education.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my academic adviser, Professor Keiichi Ogawa, who gave me this precious internship opportunity and my supervisor Mr. Guterres Aquires, the National Cordinator in the Science and Technical Education Department of MoE, who extended me warm support through the whole period of my internship. My special thanks also go to Mrs. Delicia Chang, who provided me with guidance and instructions on daily basis, and all MoE officers and everyone who kindly gave me his or her precious time and during my survey.

Authored by Takao Okamoto
Master Student