Allora State School

- published, October 2009

School profile

Allora State School is situated in Warwick Shire in Queensland. The school has 25 members of staff and 275 students from Prep to Year 10.

School website: www.allorass.eq.edu.au

Shaun Kanowski, Principal

I can be the worst critic of change. However, in saying this, if my staff and I see a need for change we tend to move forward rapidly – studies of Asia has certainly become a priority.

I participated in professional development that was so valuable in shaping and affirming my personal perspective.

This included the Asia Education Foundation’s (AEF) Leading 21st Century Schools: Engage with Asia project (the L21CS project) forum in Adelaide in 2008 and the Linking Latitudes conference in Delhi in 2007.

I have gained a working knowledge of the National Statement for Engaging Young Australians with Asia in Australian Schools (the National Statement), which identifies the broad knowledge, understandings, values, and skills required to engage with Asia in the context of existing policies and practices in teaching and learning. I now understand that the Asian region is of great significance to Australia and why it is vital to develop Asia-literate students.

My staff and I have become aware of processes for including studies of Asia in the curriculum and of some outstanding resources including the Asia Scope and Sequence documents and offshore study tours. The L21CS project Tool Kit and the 2020 Schools: Engage with Asia DVD (the 2020 Schools DVD) provided me with great clarity, direction and support in discussing this project with key stakeholders in my school community.

Getting started

Building staff support

When I joined the L21CS project, our school was at the beginning stages of embedding studies of Asia in the curriculum. The first thing I did was focus on building staff engagement.

I targeted staff meeting agendas to familiarise my teachers with the National Statement, discussed the contents, and how it relates to our school curriculum planning framework. I also used the 2020 Schools DVD to gain support for embedding studies of Asia into our school curriculum plan. We decided on a plan to undertake curriculum audits, curriculum writing and trialling.

Our strategy

Distributed leadership

I established a small team of teachers consisting of a primary and secondary teacher and me to complete all three major tasks. To fully support these teachers, funds were allocated from our school budget for professional development.

The Studies of Asia Advisor in Queensland facilitated a workshop on how to plan for studies of Asia using the Essential Learnings from the Queensland Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Framework. I did a lot of research and had many conversations with key people from other schools which feature studies of Asia. I also had many discussions with Education Queensland personnel to learn more about organising home-stay visits from Asian students. I spoke with staffing officers about the opportunity of employing a Japanese LOTE teacher.

Finding out the current situation

We commenced an action research project, which involved applying the L21CS curriculum audit processes. We mapped what was currently occurring in studies of Asia in each key learning area. This showed us where the gaps were. We thought that we had no studies of Asia in the curriculum but we discovered that certain year levels included some studies of Asia in the Studies of Societies and Environment syllabus. However, nothing was formal or mapped out in terms of a scope and sequence of learning and it was delivered in haphazard ways.

Curriculum planning

Our next step was to develop a draft scope and sequence overview for all grades from Prep to Year 10. We did this using the materials from the AEF and the National Statement.

Trialling

We trialled studies of Asia modules for both secondary and primary levels. Teachers then reported on the outcomes of these trials to the entire staff. They identified the need for better resources to enhance delivery of the modules and so we decided to acquire additional studies of Asia curriculum materials.

Outcomes

We are in the process of refining a draft scope and sequence document for Allora State School Prep to Year 10 using the curriculum organisers reflected in the National Statement:

• being good neighbours and responsible global citizens
• harmonious Australia
• creative Australia
• prosperous Australia.

At the moment the draft scope and sequence has many holes which we will work on. However, our curriculum materials have been improved to support teaching and learning about Asia. We now have a more informed school community with a growing understanding of the importance of incorporating studies of Asia into our curriculum.

The next steps

Working alongside my key teachers, I plan to grow this project further in 2009 from Prep to Year 10. We will endeavour to:

• investigate Asia-focused study tours for staff to provide them with authentic and enriching experiences and to participate in future AEF Linking Latitudes conferences
• ensure Asian perspectives feature in school planning documents, marketing materials and signage around the school
• set up a dedicated LOTE room to create an environment conducive to studies of Asia and Languages. We currently teach German and we are seeking to change this focus to Japanese; this is dependent on the availability of qualified teaching staff
• investigate Asian student and staff exchanges including home-stay programs whereby Asian students (Japanese) visit Allora and in time, Allora students will visit Asian countries
• maintain networks with L21CS project principals, the Studies of Asia Advisor and the AEF.

Professional learning community

This project has provided access to a professional learning community of like-minded professional leaders intent on making a difference to the future success of their students. I found attending the meetings an important and motivating part of my learning. The sharing of ideas, resources and listening to visiting experts shaped my approach towards this project. I’m very thankful to be part of such an esteemed and passionate group.