Abstract:
Between 1960 and 1975, the Australian Administration in Papua New Gunea sought to recruit and train large numbers of Australian teachers for local primary schools. Some were recruited among expatriates in PNG, others were seconded from Australian schools, a third group underwent one of two differing training programmes.
The three methods the Administration used to put Australians into teaching positions in schools differed in length, quality, and cost. The outcomes achieved, in teacher suitability, pedagogical practice, and length of tenure were not necessarily congruent with either methodological or economic input.
Using the Papua New Guinea case as an example, this paper proposes that assumptions about teacher training outcomes should not always be made only on the basis of the length or breadth of the training given. Measurements of the contextual situation need also to be part of the accounting.
The three methods the Administration used to put Australians into teaching positions in schools differed in length, quality, and cost. The outcomes achieved, in teacher suitability, pedagogical practice, and length of tenure were not necessarily congruent with either methodological or economic input.
Using the Papua New Guinea case as an example, this paper proposes that assumptions about teacher training outcomes should not always be made only on the basis of the length or breadth of the training given. Measurements of the contextual situation need also to be part of the accounting.