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Exciting Opportunities for Australian
Educators for 2007/2008
If you are an experienced educator who
would rather be a traveler than a tourist---leading a TAB workshop is
an opportunity to meet remarkable Cambodian educators, to learn about
the history and culture of one of South East Asia’s remarkable countries
and to share your expertise with other teachers.
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Battambang (BB) January 6-17 2009 |
We are overwhelmed with the
response to our program this past January. 15 Australian, 1
Canadian and 1 New Zealand teachers and administrators traveled
to Battambang in January. 9 workshops were conducted
The program ran for four days commencing with an official
banquet on the Wednesday night hosted by His Excellency Nath
Bunreoun, Under Secretary of State for Education.
Madame Sakeurt, the Director of the Provincial Teacher Training
Center; in BB hosted the program in the teacher training
classrooms. The Director of the Provincial Office of Education
Mr Mao Mei, organised the participants and the venue. Mr Mei’s
role is similar to that of a Regional Manager in Victoria.
The workshops ran from 7.30am until 4.30pm each day. On the
final day we had a closing ceremony where the participants
received a certificate and honorarium.
A few facts from the program:
Most participants did not have formal qualifications past year 9
or 12.
Schools have 4000-5000 students attending them in BB – both
primary and secondary. Principals receive $60-70USD per month.
Teachers $25-35 and coordinators $40-50. The regional director
of the province earns about $80
Children have a pencil, an exercise book and a textbook provided
for them. No scissors, paper, coloured pencils, readers etc.
that we take for granted as basic equipment in a classroom. The
textbook is recycled at the end of every year. It covers four
subjects: Khmer, Maths, Art and Science. The library we visited
had one dictionary and two globes of the world. There is a
great need to write and illustrate books with Cambodian content.
Currently there are none for teachers to use in class.
Issues of teaching methodology, building leadership capacity,
staff performance, setting goals, literacy, numeracy,
mathematics, science, TESL, student assessment, the notion of
developmental continuums, are major concerns for educators as
they tackle a system that is weighed down by numbers of
students, a lack of trained teachers, no ongoing professional
development, no compulsory attendance, access to schools in
rural Cambodia and so it goes on. The work that we did,
although brief, was important in raising the standard of
teaching and the awareness of the need for ongoing PD. It is a
little pebble in a very large lake but the ripple we created
will be carried a long way. Participants were encouraged often
to ensure that they shared the learning they received with their
colleagues and put into practice in their teaching.
The participants clearly want more input in the areas of
teaching and learning, leadership training, student assessment
and subject relevant teaching methodology.
The response from the participants was “please come back again”.
When you consider that the Cambodian Education system has had to
be built from the ground up following the Khmer Rouge period in
their history, over the past 30 years it is amazing to see what
they have achieved. The suspicion of education amongst the
older generation and parents is understandable. However, the
wonder on the faces of the young students in the schools we
visited, their eagerness to learn, gives us new impetus for the
operation of future programs.
His Excellency impressed on us that the program must meet the
needs of the participants (from the ground up), must be of high
quality and clearly focused on improving teaching and learning
and leadership capacity.
Pedagogical knowledge is important and there is strong yearning
for more input.
Check out the Cambodian Ministry of Education Youth and Sport
web site.
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| 2009
Programs |
Battambang: Provincial Teacher Training Center;
Program Director-Brian
Allen
Dates-Jan 6-17, 2009
Making application to
run a workshop
Please contact the program director direct.
Applications for June /July programs close at the end of March
Applications for the January 2009 program close end of May.
Membership of Teachers
Across Borders Australia Inc
Membership costs
$30 for the first year and $10 each year after that.
Donations to Australian
TAB
All donations go
to pay the costs of the workshops.
Costs involving travel, accommodation and food are the
responsibility of the workshop leaders.
Direct Credit
BSB: 704-191
Account No: 199419
Account Name: Teachers Across Borders Aust Inc
Bank: Victeach Credit Union
Information in Australia
Contact: Brian Allen
t.a.b@optusnet.com.au |
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