A group of UNE Education students will head to Bhutan next month for a funded short-term study experience.
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Bhutan is the Himalayan kingdom best known for implementing Gross National Happiness as a key policy framework, including in education.
UNE School of Education's Dr Brenda Wolodko will accompany the 10 students, who leave on October 6. The three-week education and cultural experience is primarily about giving future teachers new insight into their teaching practice, she said.
"Very often, students can approach teaching thinking there's only one way of doing things. This study tour helps students step back and understand much more about Australian education, by viewing it through a different set of cultural and educational practices."
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When they arrive in the Himalayas, the students' first stop will be a small local clothing maker, where they will be fitted for traditional Bhutanese outfits - the Gho for men and Kira for women - they will wear during the two weeks they engage with local schools and the Royal University of Bhutan's education colleges.
Associate Professor Judith Miller - who will also accompany the students - said the study tour was a rare opportunity made possible by UNE's close partnership of more than 30 years with the Royal University of Bhutan and the Ministry of Education.
"As an unspoilt, traditional Buddhist country, it's very eye-opening for the students," Associate Professor Miller said.
"Even young children wear traditional dress to school. They work on the floor rather than from tables. They don't have a lot of resources, and nothing is mass-produced. Many of our students will have the opportunity to teach in this context, then we reflect on that experience with them, and talk about how they can apply what they've learnt back in Australia."
UNE Education student Rebecca McCue, from Groote Eylandt, Arnhem Land, is looking forward to the study tour.
"Aside from indulging in chilli and cheese-laden cuisine and Bhutanese dumplings, I am very much looking forward to meeting the Bhutanese lecturers, teachers, and students we will study with and observe," she says.
"As a curious traveller, I am very excited to experience a new culture, and to visit such a seemingly tranquil, scenic, and environmentally inspiring country."
Associate Professor Miller and Dr Wolodko have co-led the UNE Education student groups to Bhutan for the past two years. They find there are usually a few common highlights.
"Students are constantly blown away by how helpful, friendly, and happy the Bhutanese people are," Dr Wolodko said. "They also generally choose the challenging hike to the Taktsang (Tiger's Nest) Buddhist temple, carved into a cliff side, as an overall highlight of the trip.
"It's just not an experience you can gain from sitting in a lecture theatre. It's a very valuable opportunity for broadening the students' knowledge," Dr Wolodko said.
Funded through the Australian Government Colombo Plan program, the opportunity to visit Bhutan is part of UNE's partnership with Bhutan which also includes collaborative education program development and a large cohort of Bhutanese students at UNE.
