A Flexible Delivery Teacher Education Strategy in Micronesia

Abstract

This study describes the experiences of a group of 14 pre-service and 14 in-service teachers from a small Pacific Island country in Micronesia, who were enrolled in a teacher education programme that was delivered online to their home country from the University of New England in Australia, with added online and face-to-face lecturer support. At the invitation of the Government of the Republic of Nauru to work in partnership to improve its children's school achievement, the project aimed to raise the quality of teachers in the country by enabling these jointly selected participants to cascade their new learning in pedagogical theory and practice throughout the 10 schools in the island nation, whilst remaining teaching in their home communities. The data revealed a complex interaction between certain technological and cultural variables, which needed to be more effectively managed in order to more effectively deliver the online teacher education programme.