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Indonesian teachers gain skills at USC
Twenty experienced teachers from the Indonesian province of Papua will begin placements at seven Sunshine Coast high schools on Monday (2 August).
The placements are part of a unique, cross-cultural professional development project run by the University of the Sunshine Coast, with financial backing from the Australian and Indonesian governments and strong support from local schools.
It is one of the biggest projects of its kind in Australia to have received funding through the Australian Leadership Award (ALA) Fellowship program.
The Papuan teachers have spent the past eight weeks training at USC and are looking forward to working at Matthew Flinders Anglican College, Sunshine Coast Grammar School, Siena College, Chancellor State College, Kawana State College, Nambour Christian College and St John’s College over the next three weeks.
Prior to their arrival at USC, the ALA Fellows undertook a three-month intensive English language program in Bali.
Several of the Papuan teachers, Selsius Aron, Atrix Marey and Boni Silaban, said they were keen to see how Australian schools differed from their own, and to assess what local teaching practices could be implemented when they return to Papua.
Of particular interest to them are how Coast teachers use the Internet as a teaching tool (which does not happen in Papuan schools), the emphasis on student-focused learning, and the efforts that teachers go to in building rapport with students.
Project Director Professor Merv Hyde said this was the fourth group of Papuan teachers to take part in the “Curriculum, Pedagogies and ICT enrichment program” designed by the USC’s International Projects Group.
Professor Hyde said the program, which gained a $538,000 ALA Fellowship grant in May, was providing Papuan teachers with important information as well as teaching them new ways of thinking.
“We’re playing quite a big part in helping them reform their education system,” he said.
Professor Hyde said the program benefited local school students by providing exposure to different styles of teaching, offering a greater insight into diversity, and creating greater opportunities for those studying Indonesian language.
Professor Hyde and program Academic Leader Dr Bill Allen said they were both extremely grateful to the Coast schools and to host families for their partnership in the project.
— Terry Walsh