This dataset provides insights from a series of workshops and surveys conducted in Sarawak, Malaysia, as part of the ACES project. The data collection, spanning from September 2020 to August 2022, aimed to explore 21st-century learning, social resilience, playful education, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) initiatives, and teacher motivation across various educational contexts. The events included workshops such as the 21st Century Learning Workshop, Social Resilience Workshop, and various initiatives like the SULAM Facilitators' Playfulness Scale and Hackathon focused on Self-Efficacy. Online surveys, often utilizing Google Forms and MS Forms, were employed to capture diverse perspectives on topics such as gamification, technology use in teaching, and social resilience. Additionally, physical events like the DLP (Digital Learning Platform) workshops, STEM Webinars, and Drone workshops using Exploria kits were conducted across multiple locations in Sarawak. These events involved pre-and post-surveys, SWOT analyses, and action plans to assess the impact of training sessions on educators' instructional strategies and knowledge. The research also extended to needs analysis and motivation surveys among UNIMAS (University Malaysia Sarawak) students, teachers, and women in the local community. A notable project, Chumbaka: Teachers' Motivation Questionnaire, aimed at capturing teacher motivation during the Chumbaka Junior Innovates Competition. Furthermore, surveys were conducted to explore the readiness of teachers to use technology during the pandemic, teacher resilience, and the impact of playful design thinking on sustainability and innovation. The motivation behind this comprehensive data collection was to inform educational practices in Sarawak, fostering resilience, innovation, and sustainability. The diverse range of events and surveys provides a nuanced understanding of the educational landscape, laying the groundwork for future initiatives and improvements in educational strategies.ACES will investigate and establish a transformative educational model for bridging formal and informal educational contexts via playful and participatory methodology towards a more inclusive, safe and resilient society that will empower young people to flourish despite their social localities. ACES will investigate the role of education in mobilising young people towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), taking into account the impact of wellbeing (SDG3), gender (SDG5) and poverty (SDG1) on education (SDG4) and vice-versa in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. ACES will focus on building resilient communities of young people in rural areas or deprived sections of urban communities through education. Young people refers to those in primary and secondary education. ACES will engage teachers and local community groups in the co-creation and ownership of the educational process, fostering an empowering and agentic practice when it comes to marginalised contexts - to motivate, ground and, most importantly, localise the intervention. The upskilling of teachers is considered as one of the most effective and direct means of achieving all of the SDG4 targets. The effects of quality education are linked to improved development outcomes. In all three countries, access to inclusive and equitable quality education is an impending issue; however, the causes, scope and severity vary from one country to another. In Indonesia, the dominance of political, corporate and bureaucratic elites affects the provision of quality education. In Vietnam, its education system struggles to provide access and quality, although since 2008, its government allocates 20% of its national budget to improve education throughout the nation. In Malaysia, access to quality education is still an issue at remote/rural areas in the country. Even though these countries report the literacy rate of over 90%, the efforts to maintain sustainable growth in their respective economies, to reach developed status, hinge on an updated system of education that is more transformative beyond literacy. While economic growth in these countries brings positive benefits and lifts people out of poverty, societies must be equipped to respond to subsequent changes related to political and social systems. Economic resilience thus depends on social resilience, agency and capabilities to respond, design, implement and support corrective and adaptive measures. ACES will explore the use of playful and participatory methodology towards developing an inclusive, equitable and transformative educational model that will afford opportunities for young people, teachers and community groups to respond to challenges/changes in their community through creative and innovative practices. To navigate an increasingly uncertain and ambiguous world, young people will need to develop curiosity, imagination, creativity, resilience and self-regulation towards innovative economies that are more productive, resilient and adaptable. ACES will emphasise on collaborative, active and playful/creative 21st-century pedagogies, where the focus of the teaching-learning process is on active dialogue, enquiry based, media literacy and student-centred approaches. Collaborative exploration open up opportunities for social innovation, taking into account the complexity of social problems and foster solutions resilient and cost-effective enough to adapt and survive. The project will explore social innovation through the lenses of frugal approaches to social sustainability to allow the community to thrive despite the lack of resources. ACES will investigate the impact of creative thinking, problem-solving and social-emotional learning beyond literacy afforded by playful pedagogy in these countries to conduct a comparative analysis into the complex relationships between transformational education and SDGs across the countries.

Sample Population and Sampling Approach: A1: 21st Century Learning Workshop: Sample Population: Primary and secondary school teachers (aged 25 to 60) from urban and rural areas in Sarawak. Sampling Approach: Stratified random sampling method for diverse representation. A2: Social Resilience Workshop: Sample Population: Teachers aged 25 to 60 from urban and rural areas in Sarawak. Sampling Approach: Similar to A1, using a stratified random sampling method. B1: SULAM Facilitators' Playfulness Scale: Sample Population: Students aged 22 to 28 from urban and semi-rural areas in Malaysia. Sampling Approach: Stratified random sampling. D1: Hackathon - SDG13: Self-Efficacy: Sample Population: Undergraduate participants (aged 22 to 28) in the hackathon in Malaysia. Sampling Approach: Convenience Sampling A3 to A15 Various Workshops and Surveys: Sample Population: Teachers and students from Sarawak and Malaysia. Sampling Approach: Varied, including structured surveys, online forms, and targeted demographic groups. >>Data Collection Methodology: A1 21st Century Learning Workshop: Data Collection: Structured survey during the workshop, face-to-face interviews. Instruments: SWOT analysis, Risk Matrix, and Action Plans. A2 Social Resilience Workshop: Data Collection: Structured survey using SWOT analysis, Risk Matrix, and Action Plans during workshops. Instruments: Post-it notes, markers, and canvas. B1 SULAM Facilitators' Playfulness Scale: Data Collection: Structured survey. Instruments: Playful indicators from ACES UK playful skills framework. D1 Hackathon - SDG13: Self-Efficacy: Data Collection: Structured survey. Instruments: Online survey. A3 to A15 Various Workshops and Surveys: Data Collection: Structured surveys, online forms, and interviews. Instruments: Varied, including reflection questions, SWOT analysis, and tailored questions. Note: The methodologies vary across workshops, utilizing tools such as SWOT analysis, Risk Matrix, Action Plans, and reflection questions. Surveys were administered offline and online, with diverse instruments tailored to the specific aims of each workshop or activity.