Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/17116
Title: A Locally Focused and Sustainable International Teacher Education Project within Oceania
Contributor(s): Serow, Penelope A  (author)orcid ; Taylor, Neil  (author)orcid ; Sullivan, Terry  (author); Burnett, Greg (author); Tarrant, Jodana (author); Angell, Emily  (author); Smardon, Dianne (author)
Publication Date: 2014
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/17116
Abstract: Developing Pacific Island Countries (PIC) often battle with remoteness, a lack of available resources resulting in outdated infrastructure, too few well-trained local teacher educators and a heightened lack of available local teachers. Approaches to alleviate these problems in many PICs have included the employment of expatriate teachers to supplement teacher supply from local teacher education institutions. In the Republic of Nauru, a model is being implemented where the Department of Education has partnered with the University of New England (UNE) to develop a two-phase quality teacher education programme with a Pacific focus. The mixed-mode delivery offers online teaching material with continuous full-time on-island support to enable the students to remain in-country for their studies in Early Childhood Education, Primary Education, or Secondary Education. A sustainable and transformational aspect of this model is its mentoring. Those mentored will in turn provide academic support to help later cohorts complete this Pacific-focused international teaching qualification. The project design has an associated multi-faceted longitudinal research and programme evaluation component. Data collected includes students' online reflective learning journals, in-class and online interaction, and video footage and course assessment data as well as interviews with students, their families, the Department of Education, and the University lecturers. This paper reports on the project design, the characteristics of the cohort and identified changes in students' perceptions of themselves as a teacher and learner during the first year.
Publication Type: Conference Publication
Conference Details: Vaka Pasifiki 2014 Conference: Vaka Pasifiki Education Conference 2014, Nuku'alofa, Tonga, 24th - 25th September, 2014
Source of Publication: Weaving Theory and Practice in Teacher Education for Oceania: Proceedings of the Vaka Pasifiki Education Conference, v.1, p. 311-318
Publisher: University of the South Pacific
Place of Publication: Tongatapu, Tonga
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 130103 Higher Education
130313 Teacher Education and Professional Development of Educators
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 390303 Higher education
390305 Professional education and training
390307 Teacher education and professional development of educators
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 939906 Pacific Peoples Education
930202 Teacher and Instructor Development
930502 Management of Education and Training Systems
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 160303 Teacher and instructor development
160204 Management, resources and leadership
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: E1 Refereed Scholarly Conference Publication
Publisher/associated links: http://www.usp.ac.fj/index.php?id=18304
Appears in Collections:Conference Publication
School of Education

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