Murwillumbah State High School

School profile

Murwillumbah State High School is located in the Tweed Valley in the northern coastal region of New South Wales. It is a Years 7–12 school with 650 students and a staff of 55. The school enjoys a rich multicultural heritage including Aboriginal students and students from second- and third-generation immigrant families, many of whom come from India. The school’s homepage declares that ‘students are encouraged to engage with Asia through their curriculum choices, language studies, overseas travel to Asia and home hosting students from Asia.’ It also states that when students leave school they will ‘carry with them the vision of their place in a democratic society and the responsibility to become a contributing member of the global community’.

School website: cp57.hostingshop.com.au/~mhsorg/

Carmel Thew, Principal

We recognise our responsibility to assist students to become Asia-savvy. Asian countries are our closest neighbours and major trading partners. We see evidence in our own community of the influence and contributions of traditional and contemporary cultures of Asia. We have responded as a school by embedding studies of Asia into our curriculum, school programs and activities. Our aim is to develop students’ knowledge, understanding of, and attitudes to Asia and to develop skills enabling them to connect and engage with Asia now and in the future. We have included a focus on Asia as a key priority in our 2009–2011 strategic plan. It is a priority owned by staff and fully supported by our local school community.

View video of an interview with Carmel Thew at the 2009 L21CS Forum

Getting started

Japanese: an important starting point

Murwillumbah has been committed to Asia education activities for a number of years. We have delivered a Years 7–12 Japanese language program to students for some time. We are the only school in the region to have done so. We enjoy a continuing close association with a junior high school in Japan and have established a reciprocal student exchange program with them.

Successful implementation of these programs has underlined for us the importance of language learning in the development of students’ Asia-literacy. We recognised that we had a very strong base on which to build a comprehensive approach to Asian studies across the whole school. Awareness of the implications for schools of the National Statement for Engaging Young Australians with Asia in Australian Schools (the National Statement) and the recently published Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians, has helped us to develop a planned approach for incorporating an Asian focus in school programs and activities.

Engaging the school leadership team

My participation in the Leading 21st Century Schools: Engage with Asia (L21CS) project could not have come at a better time for the school. The initial L21CS Principals’ forum, resources made available through the project, and subsequent state networking activities gave me time to reflect on our school’s progress and helped sharpen my thinking about the next directions for the school. It became an important vehicle for our school to focus on the centrality of teaching and learning and for taking the Asia education agenda further in our school. Importantly it reinforced that we were on the right track and the time was right for strategic planning for studies of Asia.

It was important for the School Executive (Principal, Deputy Principal and faculty heads) to work together to develop further our collective understanding of, and commitment to, programs and activities for engaging students with Asia. We resolved, in the context of developing our 2009–2011 School Management Plan, to initiate processes for identifying key objectives and strategies for incorporating an Asia focus into school programs and activities.

Asia education research project

We knew that our growing commitment to studies of Asia was important for students. But we felt it was important to assess our current situation and to collect and analyse information and data about our practices to help us formulate clear future directions and plans.

It was decided to engage Southern Cross University to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and experiences of students and teachers towards Asia and the introduction of an Asia-literate curriculum. The research methodology included a review of school documents and conversations with faculty heads, teachers and students.

Conduct of this research project signalled to staff our intention to develop a coherent, systematic approach to studies of Asia.

It was discovered that teacher knowledge about Asia, both contemporary and historical, varied significantly and was largely based on travel experiences. Student experiences of Asia predominantly focused on Japan and to a lesser extent on China. Students reported their curriculum knowledge was largely derived from human society and its environment (HSIE), The Arts and Language lessons.

The report made four recommendations for strengthening studies of Asia within the school. Firstly, it was suggested that Asian perspectives should be incorporated into all learning areas either through specific units of work or through case studies to complement activities in current units of work; secondly, that an international studies course be offered initially at Year 10; thirdly, that professional development and training activities be provided for staff; and fourthly, that the school provide the necessary teaching and learning resources for successful program delivery.

Strategic planning

The inclusive nature of processes used in the research project meant that recommendations were generally accepted by staff. The School Executive presided over a process for development of the school’s 2009–2011 School Management Plan. A focus on Asia was adopted as one of seven key priorities for the next three years. Targets drawn from the recommendations of the research project were specified together with implementation strategies and timelines, success indicators, responsible staff members and funding sources.

The plan has formalised our approach to studies of Asia. Prior to final endorsement by the School Education Director it was widely disseminated for staff and school community comment and input. It now gives us a benchmark and reference point for implementation, tracking, monitoring and reporting.

Shared leadership

The recently established Asia Literacy Team led by Peter Wilcox, head of the HSIE faculty, has been a strong driving force in the school. Members of this team share a passion for studies of Asia and have provided support and encouragement to faculty heads and teachers throughout the school. The role of faculty heads has been critical for the development and implementation of the strategic plan and illustrates well our commitment to shared leadership and responsibility for the incorporation of studies of Asia. This has been particularly important for realisation of our strategic intention to develop Asia-focused units of work in all learning areas at all year levels. The faculty heads continue to work with individuals and faculty teams to develop these units.

Implementing the plan

To date staff in all faculties have been working progressively on units of work that include Asian content and learning activities incorporating a range of resources including use of the internet and ‘hands-on’ experiences.

Human society and its environment

The HSIE faculty has taken significant steps forward. With leadership and mentoring from the faculty head, teachers have been encouraged to approach syllabus topics from an Asian perspective. This has led to a movement away from an exclusive, traditional, Eurocentric focus in units of work. For example, in Year 7 there is now a unit of work on ancient China; in Year 8, mediaeval Japan; and in the Year 9 Australian history course, where appropriate, an exploration of issues focusing on Australia’s connections with Asia.

In Term 4 2008, planning for commencement of the Stage 5 International studies course took place with attention given to resourcing and programming. This course contains specific reference to Asian nations.

The Arts

In The Arts learning area, units of work with an Asian focus are also being developed and implemented. Students are consistently being exposed to traditional and contemporary Asian art forms and styles. Through specific units of work, they are challenged to reflect on their own experiences and to interpret and express them through an Asian lens. In one instance, for example, students have been introduced to the Manga art genre, and the skills and techniques associated with it, with a view to applying them to their personal experiences and cultural settings.

Japanese language and culture

In Year 8, team-teaching approaches have been adopted for teaching the Japanese language and culture together. This has led to innovative teaching and the acquisition of a broad range of resources for student use. Students are provided with the opportunity to access resources from the internet and through the use of ICTs.

Overall, teachers have responded positively to our aim of developing a systematic approach to implementation. Teachers generally adopt a ‘we’ll give it a go’ attitude in their planning work. There is a strong culture of sharing and collaboration in the school and with the focused leadership of faculty heads, teachers, in general, feel that they will be supported through professional learning and the acquisition of resources through targeted budgets. Another feature of the work of faculties is the documentation and sharing of units of work.

Professional learning

We recognise the importance of professional development and training in relation to studies of Asia. In Term 2 2009, we devoted a full day for all staff to studies of Asia and strategies for successful implementation.

Resources such as the Asia Scope and Sequence documents, National Statement and the 2020 Engage with Asia DVD had already been circulated throughout the school for use by teachers. This activity gave us another opportunity to revisit them.

It also gave us an opportunity to draw together all we were doing and to place it in the context of the national imperative of ensuring that our students become Asia-literate. The state Asia education advisor facilitated conversation about the importance of teaching and learning about Asia and the implications for school and classroom practice. We participated in a number of ‘hands-on’ activities designed to develop further understanding of particular aspects of Asian cultures and to explore classroom implementation strategies.

This was an important day for us. It reinforced the importance of studies of Asia and became a strong symbol for our collective ownership of the agenda.

Related school activities

With a systematic approach to incorporation of studies of Asia and learning areas there is now a richer context for special assemblies, events and festivals to celebrate the school’s achievements and to highlight important values including respect, inclusion, harmony and responsibility. We make use of guest speakers and local community members from different ethnic backgrounds on these occasions and have made connections to community resources including those from religious organisations and faiths.

We also believe that students are better placed to participate in our overseas education projects to Japan and Malaysia. Not only do these provide significant opportunity for students to gain first-hand experience of Japanese and Malaysian life and culture, but they give students the chance to share their learnings with their Murwillumbah peers through presentations and reports.

Our next steps

• We are committed to the implementation of our three-year plan for incorporating an Asia focus into school programs and activities.
• We will continue to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate Asia-focused units of work in all curriculum areas. We will expand our library of teaching and learning resources for studies of Asia.
• We will continue to expand staff knowledge and engagement with Asian cultures, politics and economics.
• We will continue to offer opportunities to students to participate in overseas excursions to Japan and Malaysia and to host and support students from our partner schools in Asia.