Education for life in Papua New Guinea

Teachers Notes

Click on the following links for further information about this case study:

Overview

The Australian Volunteers Abroad program, coordinated by Australian Volunteers International, seeks to improve international and cross-cultural understandings by providing opportunities for Australians to live alongside, learn from and share skills with people living in developing communities. In this case study, one teacher tells of her experiences, and of her students' experiences, at Hagita High School in Papua New Guinea.

Level

Objectives

• investigate the experiences of, and empathise with, students and a teacher in a secondary school in Papua New Guinea
• identify and explain similarities and differences in terms of resources and curriculum between their school in Australia and the school in Papua New Guinea
• identify and explain the factors which influence education in Papua New Guinea and determine access to it
• research Australia's historical links with Papua New Guinea
• investigate aspects of Australia's current overseas aid program in partnership with Papua New Guinea

Links with nationally-developed statements and profiles

Studies of society and environment

• Time, continuity and change - Understanding the past
• Place and Space - People and places; Care of places
• Culture - Cultural cohesion and diversity; Personal, group and cultural identity
• Resources - Use of resources; People and work; Management and enterprise
• Investigation, Communication and Participation

Preparation

• copies of case study (one per student)
• atlases (class set)
• palm leaves or other fibrous leaf materials (see activity)
• cooking ingredients and utensils (see activity)
• AusAID materials on current development projects in Papua New Guinea

Procedure

Without assistance from atlases or wall maps, ask students to write the name of Australia's nearest neighbouring country. (Many students will not name Papua New Guinea.)

Ask students to discuss what they already know of Papua New Guinea and to identify their sources of information. If necessary, prompt them to recall recent media reports. (This might prove valuable in terms of identifying what, if any, Papua New Guinea news makes Australian newspapers, and why. If biases appear evident in the reporting, encourage students to explore the reasons.) Also encourage students to consider other events and sources. For example, what do students know of historical links between Australia and Papua New Guinea? What have been the sources of their information - documentaries, the 'Australia Remembers 1945-95' commemoration, grandparents' accounts of the war years?

Students read and discuss the case study, and complete the activities. They explore issues of education, such as content, resourcing and access, and evaluate 'good education'. They empathise with Hagita students in several contexts. They increase their understandings of Papua New Guinea by exploring aspects of its geography, culture, history and development, and its historical and contemporary links with Australia.

The activities can be linked or adapted to other social or development studies or could be drawn together and built into a larger unit of work on Papua New Guinea.

Resources

Australian Volunteers International State Office Addresses

New South Wales and ACT
Suite 46, Level 4, Kippax Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Phone: (02) 9211 1277
Fax: (02) 9211 1234

Northern Territory
PO Box 1538
Darwin NT 0801
Phone: (08) 8941 9743
Fax: (08) 8941 9768

Queensland
GPO Box 570
Brisbane QLD 4001
Phone: (07) 3891 1168
Fax: (07) 3891 1314

South Australia
19 Market Street
Adelaide SA 5000
Phone: (08) 8410 2770
Fax: (08) 8410 2778

Victoria and Tasmania
PO Box 350
Fitzroy VIC 3065
Phone: (03) 9279 1777
Fax: (03) 9416 1619

Western Australia
Ist Floor, 99 Hay Street
Subiaco WA 6008
Phone: (08) 9382 3503
Fax: (08) 9388 2115

* Further information and resources can be obtained from the
Professional Development Providers.

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