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We establish strong partnerships with an increasing number of schools across Sydney. We’re committed to developing sustained, long-term partnerships where a school’s strategic objectives can be supported. This is achieved through a program of professional learning, consultancy and/or action research in the ������Ʒ School of Education’s areas of expertise, including gifted education, special education, teacher development, educational policy, TELT, TESOL and assessment for learning.

Our partnership schools run innovative programs that provide a model of excellence for our pre-service teachers. The experience of working in and observing innovative programs inspires students to realise the potential of educational initiatives. Our students see first-hand, the best, most exciting things that are happening in schools.

We use flexible modes of teacher education where there is a genuine partnership between the school and the university in developing and delivering the program.

To find out more about being a ������Ʒ Partnership School, please contact our professional experience team in the Work Integrated Learning office. 

��:��professionalexperience@unsw.edu.au
T: +61 2 9385 9388  

������Ʒ department of education partnership

Formal agreements between universities that provide many professional experience placements in schools in NSW aims to create higher benchmarks and more consistent quality teaching experiences for schools and universities in our region.

Professional Experience Hub schools demonstrate, develop and share high-quality professional experiences in conjunction with a partner university. Beverly Hills Girls High School (BHGHS) is partnered with the ������Ʒ School of Education as its hub school. It's an important partner in teacher education for the School of Education at ������Ʒ, as a Centre of Excellence. 

This partnership creates transformative experiences for our teacher education students who undertake professional experience at BHGHS. The goal is to scale up these transformations to 148 metropolitan and rural partner secondary schools in our professional experience network through networking and relationship building. 

The specific goals set by the NSW Department of Education for the hub school partnerships are:

• Fostering strong links between BHGHS and the ������Ʒ School of Education staff, including with tertiary supervisors and supervising teachers, to investigate innovative practices in teacher education, student supervision and support.

• The ������Ʒ School of Education working closely with the hub school to deliver the highest quality support and supervision to teacher education students including reviewing aspects of the initial teacher education course provision.

• The ����������School of Education to provide quality professional learning in aspects of professional experience provision including mentoring and enhancing expertise in the APST at graduate level.

• The ������Ʒ School of Education working with the hub school to develop and deliver additional professional learning focused on supporting professional experience with other schools.

• Providing opportunities for collaborative school-based research around professional experience.

The creation of hub schools with the School of Education’s strong community engagement continually builds a new level of collaboration between the university and the teaching profession. Our leading Teacher Professional Learning, applied research, public lecture and accredited courses lead the study and practice of education in Australia.

Our twin strategies – ������Ʒ School of Education and BHGHS:

• Enhancing practising teacher/supervisor mentoring/professional learning side.

• Enhancing student engagement and the practical experience of student teachers, using our student engagement program in MTeach.

The Hub School was launched on Friday, 11 December at BHGHS. The Hon. Adrian Piccoli, Minister of Education, spoke of the importance of ensuring that the best-quality teachers graduate and are available to teach our greatest capital, our children. Associate Professor Tony Loughland, Director of the ������Ʒ MENTOR strategic initiative in Teacher Professional Learning at ������Ʒ School of Education, initiated the provision of quality professional learning for the partnership through the presentation of a NESA-accredited workshop on Mentoring for Adaptability to all BHGHS staff. Teacher adaptability is a key disposition in the complex working environment of schools and classrooms, and a key selection criterion for future teachers. As a vital component of its activity, this partnership plans to trial an adaptability scale that allows teacher adaptability to become part of the professional learning repertoire for teachers across their career span. 

Partnership with the Association of Independent Schools

The School of Education and ������Ʒ’s partnership with the Association of Independent Schools (AIS) works on extending and strengthening the following activities:

• exemplary education for pre-service teachers

• teachers’ professional learning

• professional learning for leaders and aspiring leaders

• collaborative, sustainable research in areas of mutual interest.

The university and the schools collaborate to enhance professional experience for preservice teachers, cooperative seminars, symposiums, workshops and conferences for teachers and aspiring leaders and joint hosting of high-profile international visitors in key areas of educational innovation.

The first joint research project for 2012 and 2013, funded through the Smarter Schools National Partnership on Improving Teacher Quality, titled “Improving the Quality of the Teacher Education Practicum Experiences” aimed to strengthen the quality of the ������Ʒ practicum experience and enhance schoolteacher expertise and professional leadership in practicum supervision. 

The research team worked closely with teachers from five independent schools and Julie Sheridan, National Partnerships Consultant from the AIS. The project culminated in a report including mentoring protocols, feedback tools and best practice case studies.

We have strong connections with several international partners. Our international engagement includes providing English language immersion programs for pre-service and in-service teachers from Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore. We’re also involved in research and development projects with government departments of education in the Asia-Pacific region.

Hong Kong English immersion

The School of Education has a strong partnership with the University of Hong Kong, hosting pre-service teachers each year for an intensive 8-week English immersion program.

The main aim of our program is to enhance Hong Kong students’ English language proficiency and understanding of an education system in an English-speaking country through language and cultural immersion. We provide participating students with a variety of intercultural and pedagogical experiences in the classroom and wider community.

Our program is tailored to meet the needs of the pre-service teachers involved each year.

A typical program includes:

• homestay and pastoral care
• school experience
• pre- and post-English language testing
• English Language Enrichment module
• academic modules (for example, Language and Society, Australian Approaches to English Language Teaching, Assessment for Learning, ICT in Education)
• education and cultural activities
• buddy program
• self-study.

Katoke Trust

The Katoke Trust for Overseas Aid is making a difference to the lives of tens of thousands of people, especially children, in a remote part of Tanzania, one of the poorest nations in the world. Real change has taken place through educational and economic improvement, and in health and personal growth.

Honorary Associate Professor Alan Watson from the School of Education is president for the Katoke Trust for Overseas Aid, and has recently helped to open the Katoke Secondary School in 2009 after three years of planning and one year of building. The school has grown from 130 students to more than 460 currently enrolled in forms 1 – 3. 

The school is a Lighthouse School with a program for the improvement of education in surrounding schools. Its motto is “Strive for the goal” and major purpose is to “educate leaders for tomorrow”.

Students from ����������School of Education have worked in the school as part of their alternative professional experience program. Find out more about the