About the Virtual Tour

This Virtual Tour is based on a study tour to China undertaken by a group of 22 Australian teachers in the first few weeks of January 1999.

The 1998-99 China Study Tour

During 1998-99, 25 teachers and educational administrators took part in a 3-week study tour to China as part of the Asia Education Foundation's Teacher In-Country Fellowships to Asia (TICFA) program. The tour was developed in partnership with Mojiang No 1 Middle School and the Simao Education Commission, Yunnan, China.

The aim of the China study tour was to provide participants with a glimpse of the diversity, contrasts and vastness of modern China. The group experienced rural and urban, ancient and modern, and the rapid change that is enveloping the country. By meeting with local communities, leaders, teachers and students, the group was also able to gain a greater understanding of the current social, educational and political issues facing contemporary China and view the many diverse and contrasting images of China.

The group departed Australia in late December 1998 for Kunming in Yunnan Province before visiting several towns within the province including Mojiang, Yuanjiang, Shuanglong and Lancang, where they were able to meet with many local teachers, work with students in schools and experience life in China's more rural areas. From Yunnan, the group took an overnight train to Chongqing, one of the biggest industrial cities in the southwest of China. The group then flew to Beijing where they visited several important sites, such as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, as well as meeting the Australian Ambassador to China and key staff at the Australian Embassy.

The last stop of the study tour was Shanghai where participants discovered high-tech contemporary China. Along with a school visit, participants had the opportunity to see an acrobat troupe, visit Pudong, Shanghai's New Economic Zone, and experience the colonial ambience of the awakened city of Shanghai. From Shanghai the group returned to Australia where they have begun to develop units of work based on their experiences in China.

A detailed itinerary of the study tour is also available.

Teacher In-Country Fellowships to Asia (TICFA)

The Teacher In-Country Fellowships to Asia (TICFA) Program is a national program coordinated by the Asia Education Foundation (AEF) and was established to provide opportunities for Australian teachers to travel to Asian countries to gain contemporary in-country experience.

Since 1993, the AEF's teacher professional development strategy has sent over 1000 teachers and curriculum writers to undertake professional development study programs in Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

It is built around a partnership between the AEF, State, Catholic and Independent education jurisdictions in all Australian states and territories, the participants and government and non-government sponsors both in Australia and within the Asian region.

While in-country, participants establish contacts and experience first-hand the peoples, cultures and contemporary issues of the countries of Asia. On their return participants further research their topics of interest and integrate into their own curriculum the learnings they have gained from their in-country experience. As well as supporting and enhancing the inclusion of studies of Asia in their schools, they also disseminate their learnings to other teachers, schools and the wider community.

To find out more about the TICFA Program, visit the AEF's website.

Participants in the 1998-99 China Study Tour

 
Some comments from the participants:

"The study tour has broadened my knowledge of Asia and broken down my stereotypes. It provided a really broad overview of China and I now feel confident to share my knowledge of China with friends, staff and students to increase their interest."
Dianne Collins, Gardenvale Primary School, VIC

"I knew nothing previously and now I know a lot. I know about the landscape, the pollution, the mountains, factories and the vastness of China. I didn't know about the kindness of the people, their acceptance of us, the magnificent food, night markets and toasts to 'friends forever'. I didn't know that after 23 days I still wouldn't miss anything from home because I felt at home. I didn't know that I would have a hunger to learn more and more about China."
Paula Joyce, Ursula Frayne Catholic College, WA

"It was an experience I cannot quantify or accurately assess as it touched me in so many ways, many of which I had not expected. I feel that now I can speak with some limited authority and experience of life in China to my peers and the wider community and indeed embark on enthusing them."
Phillip Stubbs, St Patrick's School, Cooma, NSW

"It was an incredibly powerful experience. Unlike other travel experiences, we were forced to live the China experience rather than looking through the windows of a bus. I will use this information in the development of our Asian Studies Program."
Jill Wilson, Gilmore College, VIC

"The program gave me the opportunity to mix with the local people so that a broader and more personal knowledge of China could be developed."
Barry Phipps, Canterbury College, QLD

"Professionally, I have learnt a tremendous amount about the diversity of lifestyles in China and it has complemented many aspects of the Geography, History and Business curriculum in NSW."
Bryson Coverdale, Lindisfarne Anglican School, NSW

"The program, like China, was diverse. We experienced rural and urban, industrial and inner city, the old and the new. The tour was so educational, personally rewarding and enriching. I will definitely return to China and hope to develop some really valuable Early Childhood Asian studies materials in the future."
Eraine Johnston, Illawarra Primary School, TAS

Go back to the Virtual Tour.

 Curriculum Corporation and the Asialink Centre, The University of Melbourne.