Cooinda Primary School

- published, October 2009

School profile

Cooinda Primary School is located in East Bunbury, Western Australia. It is a K–7 school with 350 students organised into 14 class groupings. The school comes from a relatively narrow cultural base but is now seeing an increase in the number of families from diverse cultural and non–English-speaking backgrounds.

The school vision statement indicates that 'Cooinda Primary School is committed to the values of courtesy, pride, sincerity, respect and the pursuit of personal excellence'.

School website: www.cooinda.wa.edu.au

Anne Fletcher, Principal

It’s a good start to be aware of our need to understand Asia and Australia’s relationship to it. It is a step forward to know that we must embed studies of Asia into the school’s teaching and learning programs. But more is needed. A long-term goal for building Asia-focused dimensions into student learning is essential. So too, is commitment to a school action plan collectively owned, well-supported and binding on all.

View video of an interview with Anne Fletcher at the 2009 L21CS Forum

 

From awareness to systematic planning and action

At Cooinda we believe that successful students are global citizens who are literate, numerate and creative, with the social capacity to plan for the future. We want to lift our eyes to the future recognising that we have a solid base on which to build broader and deeper understandings of Asia and our connections to it. We are striving to ensure links between studies of Asia and other school priorities including ICT and values education.

This means building on the current knowledge and skills of teachers to incorporate new Asia-focused dimensions into their learning programs to allow students to appreciate the cultural diversity of the region, its history and its place in the global community.

Ultimately the goal is for studies of Asia to have a presence across all learning areas. To this end, we have incorporated studies of Asia into the school’s three-year strategic plan and have set up planning, support and monitoring structures and processes to ensure that we realise our goal.

Recognising the challenge

My engagement with the Leading 21st Century Schools: Engage with Asia initiative (L21CS) has been an eye opener. The initiative is backed up with rich resources for school leaders, teachers and students. Knowing and experiencing this has given me confidence in taking an active leadership role in the school. We realise now that our own knowledge of Asia needs to be broadened.

Our teachers have the skills and capacity to teach well and I know they are capable of creating significant opportunities for staff and students to engage with Asia in new and challenging ways. My responsibility is to motivate and enthuse them to rethink current practices in the light of a future in which Asia will be a critical component of their students’ lives. I also hold the view that teachers need to understand where we are headed and to know that practical support and resources will be available to assist them in charting and travelling a new course.

Getting started

Building on solid ground

2008 was a great year for me. It was my first year as Principal and I took the decision to participate in the L21CS project. The school, prior to my arrival, had established a strong Indonesian language program and links, through the school nurse, with an orphanage in Bali. A member of staff continued to take a leadership role in an Access Asia network at the district level.

First steps

The conditions were right to begin a process for incorporating studies of Asia in a systematic way throughout the school. I informed staff of the opportunity to participate in the L21CS initiative. Staff expressed support for the school's and my involvement in the project. I also made a presentation to the school council and, through a newsletter, informed parents of our intentions. This paved the way for the development of a three-year action plan.

Engaging teachers and planning ahead

I was conscious of the need to assure teachers that we were not going to manufacture an ‘add-on’ to an already demanding curriculum. I was determined that studies of Asia should be incorporated routinely into the school’s teaching and learning programs.

I also wanted to make sure that teachers would be engaged every step of the way. I wanted them to see and understand the need for students and the community to be engaged with Asia. I was determined that we should plan and work together toward a ‘big picture’ through small achievable steps.

I set up an Access Asia Action Team of eight, to get things moving. This was an important step. Membership includes classroom teachers, the LOTE and Arts teachers, the school nurse, Deputy Principal and me. The Action Team meets regularly to plan school strategies for implementing the National Statement for Engaging Young Australians with Asia in Australian Schools.

Using resources

The resources made accessible through the L21CS project provided valuable starting points for the school. I allocated a half day for teachers to become familiarised with the initiative and its implications for us. The State Studies of Asia Advisor provided input to an initial professional learning activity. We viewed and discussed the 2020 Schools Engage with Asia DVD. The Advisor provided essential background information and highlighted important issues from the National Statement. Importantly, she provided teachers with the opportunity to look at the Asia Scope and Sequence documents and a range of Asia-focused curriculum resources. Many teachers expressed the view that they could see how the resources could be used in their classrooms. We are fortunate to have a teacher who is skilled and knowledgeable about studies of Asia. She is a great resource for staff and also regularly presents to, and shares her knowledge with, teachers in our school and across the district.

Leading the change process

A three-year plan

It has been important for us to approach studies of Asia in a coherent and systematic way. Strong, focused and shared leadership has been provided by the Action Team. The school now embraces studies of Asia, alongside values education and ICT, as a key component of our 2009–11 School Strategic Plan.

The Access Asia Action Team

The Action Team’s key responsibilities are to lead and oversee the planning, implementation and monitoring of studies of Asia throughout the school. It is a vehicle for shared and distributed leadership. The team has effectively designed and led collaborative processes enabling whole-school ownership of the studies of Asia agenda. Teachers’ knowledge of Asia has expanded. Planning opportunities, support and resources for teachers continue to be provided on a regular basis. Records of all meetings are kept and disseminated, as are all documents developed by the Team for the use of staff.

The team’s work has resulted in the development of our three-year Studies of Asia Action Plan, part of which is a continuing program of professional learning activities designed to build the knowledge and skills of staff. The team has established processes and procedures for the review and purchase of teaching and learning support materials and all teachers have been provided with one day’s release for collaborative planning and the sharing of classroom strategies and resources.

Modelling classroom practice

Team members developed and trialled ‘bite-sized’ classroom activities for sharing with staff in Term 4 2008. Throughout the implementation process, we emphasised and demonstrated that studies of Asia is not additional to the curriculum. It was our aim to show that the school’s teaching and learning programs could accommodate opportunities for students to engage with Asia.

Surveying staff and parents

The Action Team conducted a survey of staff and the community in 2008 to gain their perspectives in relation to understandings of Asia and its impact on current students’ lives. Analysis of the data reinforced the need to approach studies of Asia in a systematic way. It also initiated an audit of students’ knowledge of Asia through a simple, content-focused survey. Results indicated that students lack accurate knowledge of Asia and again reinforced the need to embed studies of Asia into teaching and learning programs throughout the school. Student quizzes based on the newly developed SOSE scope and sequence planner have also been developed and used as a way of gaining further feedback for planning and evaluation purposes.

Curriculum planning and expectations of teachers

We found that the five expected outcomes for students in their engagement with Asia as outlined in the National Statement (pp 8–9), gave us helpful direction in designing a whole-school, scope and sequence planner for the Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE). This planner was developed by the Action Team for use in 2009. It incorporates the expected learning outcomes for students in the five areas of Understand Asia, Develop Informed Attitudes and Values, Know About Contemporary and Traditional Asia, Connect Asia and Australia, and Communicate. It also sets out, in broad terms, the content for use in classroom teaching and learning programs across the school. The planner aligns with the Western Australian SOSE curriculum framework and has been adopted by staff.

All teachers are required in their SOSE programs to provide students with a minimum of one term per year for studies of Asia. Teachers are also encouraged this year to incorporate Asia-focused activities in other areas of the curriculum. The K–2 Indonesian language program has been modified and now reflects a stronger focus on Indonesian culture, creative arts and links with SOSE.

Later this year we will celebrate our 2009 achievements and showcase student learning through a school event targeted at parents and the wider community.

Links beyond the school

I invited Principals of schools in our local cluster to Cooinda to inform them of the L21CS initiative and to initiate conversation about possible collaboration. This was a start. However more engagement with the studies of Asia agenda is required. Links have also been made with the district office. The Curriculum Manager has participated in our initial professional learning activities.

Where to next

Our Action Team continues to oversee and monitor the implementation of our three-year action plan.

• Support for teachers, the key to successful implementation, will continue through regular team planning, expansion of the resource bank for teachers and students, and further professional learning opportunities, including sharing of classroom strategies and encouraging staff to participate in study tours. It is my intention to use our current staff performance management processes to track progress in relation to the studies of Asia.
• We will use our initial baseline data to assist in program evaluation. We are now working toward the establishment of clear measures against which we can determine achievement levels of students’ knowledge, understanding and involvement.
• Work has commenced on developing electronic communication links with students in Bali. This will provide another opportunity for our students to deepen their understanding of Indonesia and to see value in learning the Indonesian language. We recognise that the learning of Indonesian and studies of Asia go hand in hand. But we need to do more to bring them together in a coherent way.
• Our school community is aware of what we are doing but need to look for ways of increasing parent involvement. I want to continue to explore ways of working with other schools to share ideas and the workload.
• I am confident that our school structures, planning, monitoring and support processes will see studies of Asia maintained and strengthened in our SOSE and LOTE programs, and firmly embedded in other learning areas throughout the school.