Evaluation of the intercultural understanding field trial

Abstract

In 2011, the Innovation and Next Practice Division (INP) of the Department of&nbsp;Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) conducted a field trial&nbsp;on intercultural understanding in partnership with a research and evaluation&nbsp;team from the University of Melbourne and La Trobe University. The field trial&nbsp;was sponsored by the Languages, English as another Language (EAL) and&nbsp;Multicultural Education Division of DEECD.The primary research question guiding the field trial was:1. What is the impact on student outcomes of teaching and learning&nbsp;practice for intercultural understanding?2. The secondary research questions were:3. What knowledge and skills do both learners and educators need for&nbsp;intercultural understanding?4. How is effective practice identified and measured?5. What intercultural understanding capabilities can be developed at&nbsp;each developmental stage of children and young people in different&nbsp;cultural contexts?In order to explore these questions, schools across Victoria were initially&nbsp;nominated by International Division, the Multicultural Education Unit and by&nbsp;regional directors and INP based on three core criteria, which included school&nbsp;culture, capability and connections within the school and the wider community.&nbsp;Following an expression of interest process, 26 schools, including one&nbsp;independent school and two catholic schools were selected. Participation in&nbsp;the field trial included the following aims:&bull; to stimulate thinking about current school policy and practice around&nbsp;intercultural understanding and interaction (ICU)&bull; to trial projects that support the field trial&rsquo;s primary research question&nbsp;&bull; to evaluate innovative &lsquo;next practice&rsquo; and consider its relevance for&nbsp;the education system&bull; to support the intercultural understanding general capability under&nbsp;consideration for inclusion in the Australian National Curriculum in&nbsp;2013.The field trial was implemented by DEECD INP from February 2011 to&nbsp;December 2011 over three stages.</div