Improving literacy and numeracy in the Pacific

ACER is collaborating with member nations of the Pacific Community to address the common education challenges they face. Elizabeth Cassity reports

Teacher development multi-year study series: Timor-Leste: Interim report 2

The interim reports present the findings from the first and second years of a multi-year study on Timor-Leste\u27s Apoiu Lideransa liuhosi Mentoria no Aprendizajen (ALMA). The study focuses on understanding the extent to which education stakeholders, including school leaders and teachers, develop teaching knowledge and change teaching practice over time. It also explores the extent to which participation in the program leads to improvements in learning outcomes for students. This study is framed within the context of Timor-Leste\u27s introduction of a new National Basic Education Curriculum

Voices shaping education: Young African refugees in Western Sydney high schools

Young refugees worldwide are confronted with multiple challenges in accessing and completing education. The Africa region is currently the focus of Australia’s humanitarian program and is likely to remain so for some time. Since 2002, Sudan has ranked number one with 47 per cent of entrants in 2003-04 (DIMIA 2004). By 2004-05, that number had more than doubled. Other countries of birth are also featuring, although in smaller numbers, including Ethiopia, Congo, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Burundi and Rwanda. Typically, young people are entering schools and Intensive English Centres under considerable stress. Teachers are overwhelmed by the challenges. This article focuses on the transition experiences of 65 young African refugees in public schools in Western Sydney. These experiences are important for linking teaching and research to policy discussions. This study also emphasizes how international development issues connect tacitly to domestic classrooms and communities. In particular, this study explores policy solutions that provide possibilities for long-term participation of refugee young people in new societies

Teacher development multi-year study series. Timor-Leste: Final report

The Australian Government is supporting the Government of Timor-Leste in education through the Partnership for Human Development (PHD) and Apoiu Lideransa liuhosi Mentoria no Apredizajen (ALMA). ALMA supports the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) to develop teacher professional learning, particularly in support of its major reform of rolling out and implementing the National Basic Education Curriculum (new curriculum) across schools in Timor-Leste. Under the Teacher Development Multi-Year Study for Timor-Leste (the Study), the Education Analytics Service (EAS) is investigating how ALMA is making a difference to these teaching and learning outcomes. The new curriculum was developed in 2013 as a staged approach for pre-school to grade 6 with a focus on improving literacy and numeracy, as well as reducing student drop out. As presented in this Final Report, there are a number of findings that provide insight into the extent to which teaching practices and student learning outcomes are changing with ALMA’s support of school leaders and teachers and the implementation of the new curriculum. Results from the three years of data collection suggest that the ALMA program has been effective in strengthening elements of teaching quality, curriculum implementation and student learning outcomes

Teacher development multi-year study series. Report highlights. Timor-Leste: Final Report

The Australian Government is supporting the Government of Timor-Leste to undertake educational reforms through the Partnership for Human Development (PHD) and Apoiu Lideransa liuhosi Mentoria no Apredizajen (ALMA). ALMA enables the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) to develop teacher professional learning to support the implementation of its National Basic Education Curriculum. Under the Teacher Development Multi-Year Study for Timor-Leste, the Education Analytics Service (EAS) is investigating how ALMA is making a difference to teaching and learning outcomes. The new curriculum was developed in 2013 as a staged approach for pre-school to grade 6, with a focus on improving literacy and numeracy, and reducing student drop out. The Teacher Development Multi-Year Study for Timor-Leste seeks to answer the question: To what extent does this aid investment produce improved teaching quality and improved student learning? This brief report presents highlights from the study\u27s findings

Editorial

Editoria

EDITORIAL Education in the Pacific: Rethinking Partnerships

 This special issue journal aims to provide a critical understanding of how the notion of 'partnership' is constructed in various Pacific education contexts

Vanuatu: Policy insights from a multi-year teaching and learning study series

The Australian Government is supporting significant education reforms in Vanuatu. This policy note summarises findings on primary school teacher practice and student learning outcomes, during the first phase of major curriculum changes. Key findings include the need for consistent investment in ongoing professional learning given that new content and pedagogies require significant change and learning for teachers and other education actors. In addition, better engagement with school communities builds understanding of the reforms and encourages greater parental involvement in education. Part of a multi-year study, the Education Analytics Service is investigating how the Vanuatu Education Support Program (VESP) is making a difference to the Government of Vanuatu’s ongoing primary education reforms. The study series was commissioned by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), to investigate teacher and learning development initiatives in three countries: Lao PDR, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu

Teacher development multi-year studies. Emerging themes: Challenges and enablers

The global learning crisis has highlighted the urgent need to improve the quality of education. COVID-19 disruptions have placed even greater focus on the learning improvement agenda, and the need to ensure disadvantaged children are not further left behind. Teacher development, and improving teaching quality, therefore is at the heart of many education systems’ policies and programs. This paper presents some of the key considerations for improving teaching across three countries which are being investigated as part of a multi-year teacher development study series. This study series, commissioned by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), involves the investigation of teacher development initiatives in Timor-Leste, Vanuatu and Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos). The overall aim of each study is to investigate: To what extent does the Australian investment produce improved teaching quality and improved student learning

Teacher Development Multi-Year Study Series. Vanuatu: Final Report

The Australian Government is supporting the Government of Vanuatu through its Vanuatu Education Support Program (VESP) to undertake long-term education reforms. A key focus of these reforms is the rollout of a new national curriculum in conjunction with the National Language Policy (2012), intended to improve teaching quality and student learning outcomes for students in the primary and early secondary years of education. Part of a multi-year study series, the Education Analytics Service (EAS) is investigating how the VESP is making a difference to these teaching and learning outcomes. The new primary curriculum has been rolled out to schools in stages by year level, starting with Year 1 in 2016, and is accompanied by the distribution of teaching and learning materials and training. The new curriculum facilitates content uniformity and promotes pedagogical approaches, such as student-centred learning, that aim to transform teaching and learning. The National Language Policy is an important change implemented as part of the new curriculum, allowing agreed local languages to be used throughout the primary years as students make the transition to English or French (MoET, 2012). 1 Phases I and II of the VESP have been integral to the design and implementation of the new primary curriculum. In-service training modules have supported the curriculum rollout. VESP also supports the distribution and development of teaching and learning materials as part of the new curriculum. This study has provided the opportunity to investigate teaching quality and student learning outcomes in Vanuatu linked to the rollout of the national curriculum