Teacher education in Western Province, Papua New Guinea: a partnership model to cultivate co-design and impact

Papua New Guinea’s National Education Plan (2020-2029) prioritises teacher pre-service and in-service professional development to improve teaching quality and subsequently improve student outcomes. Since 2020, a unique partnership model presents a new way of working to address these significant challenges. The growth of international research and development partnerships in education has raised significant challenges regarding the conceptualisation, dissemination, and sustainability of international projects that transcend borders. This presentation focuses on an analytical autoethnographical account of a collaboration aimed at supporting early school leavers returning to study Grades 9 to 12 (through Flexible Open and Distance Education – FODE), pre-service teachers, and in-service teachers to enhance the number and capacity of teachers available in rural and remote schools in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea. FODE provides early school leavers living in the remote Western Province a second chance to reconnect with formal schooling and complete their Grade 12. This partnership model has led to the establishment of a new teachers’ college in 2022. In 2024, 101 students, including 49 who progressed from FODE, are completing their Diploma in Teaching (Primary) at Balimo College. This initiative, part of the Fly River Provincial Government Development Plan, creates local employment opportunities for teacher and teacher educators and additionally provides in-service training to current teachers to build the quality of education in the Province– an opportunity previously unavailable before the partnership.
The collaboration involves PNG Sustainable Development Program, Kokoda Track Foundation, Western Sydney University, PNG National Department of Education, PNG Department of Higher Education Research Science and Technology, delivered through innovative programs comprising FODE, Balimo College and the Schools E-Learning Initiative. The presentation will highlight how an awareness of intersectionality between Australia and Papua New Guinea guides the partnership approach to co-design and collaboration, prioritising Indigenous voices to drive improvements in gender equity, equality, and inclusion. The presentation will discuss outcomes and impacts achieved, as well as directions for the future.
Collaborative partnerships are conceptualised as the synergy created when the interdisciplinary perspectives, resources, and skills of a group are combined. Analytical autoethnography is used as the methodological approach, in which personal narrative and research are combined in a variety of ways. This approach extends the initial analysis of the dynamics of collaborative partnerships by integrating personal experiences and reflections taken four years into the collaborative project.