Primary School Professional Development using whole school model (teachers.students and parents.)
Compact Teacher Training Project Report – Lesley Milne
In 2011, the Indigo Atauro Friendship Committee committed to supporting education on Atauro in a sustainable way. At this time, very few teachers on Atauro had any formal training in education and relied on their own experience of schooling to guide them in their teaching. Current educational research suggests that the single most important factor that influences children’s learning is quality of teaching. The IAFC made contact with a group of Timorese teacher trainers who had experience in delivering a model of in-service training for primary school teachers in Timor, initially funded by the Norwegian Refugee Council, and had delivered the Compact Teacher Training Programme to staff in over thirty primary schools in Ermera and Manatuto districts. The team work in the Learning Resource Centre in Dili and have now delivered the CTT program to many other schools in Timor, receiving enthusiastic endorsement form the teachers, their principals and the Head of Education on Atauro.
Identify the needs of teachers on Atauro through a process of consultation with the teachers and Suco Chefes
- Expand the capacity of primary teachers and enhance the learning experiences of primary aged children in every primary school on Atauro
- Offer the provision of the Compact Teacher Training Programme which involves an intensive five week programme facilitated by two Timorese trainers in Tetun in every primary school.
- Provide focussed, competency based training covering the domains of Teaching and Learning, Curriculum, Language and Professionalism
- Collaborate with a local partner organisation to provide qualified Timorese education facilitators, all of whom have a degree in Education and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment from Victoria University
- Undertake detailed evaluations of each program and provide follow-up needs analysis to determine future training needs
- Continue to work with the National Teacher Training Institute and the Ministry of Education
The program has been delivered to all ten primary schools. The cost for training between 12 and 20 teachers was initially about $4,000. This covered the salaries and travel expenses of two trainers; one male and one female, all teaching and learning materials, lunch and afternoon tea for participants, a driver and cook, and all administration costs. The actual cost has risen enormously since 2011 and the strong US dollar has made the conversion very expensive. The final schools cost over $7200, which has been a challenge to meet. Our grateful thanks go to all of our generous supporters, donors and sponsors.
Feedback from evaluations from teachers, principals and the Head of Education on Atauro has been overwhelmingly positive and every school has requested more training of this kind. 73 teachers have now participated in this training program, which represents a significant contribution to building teacher capacity on Atauro.
 Teachers participating in program |  Students participating in program |
 Certificate from PD program |  Compact Teacher training team |