The State Government has launched its 10-year International Education Strategy, with an initial 4-year investment of $6.25 million, to deliver a suite of education initiatives with an international focus for public schools and preschools in South Australia.
Students will benefit from an $800,000 investment in scholarships for immersive international and intercultural experiences, which includes overseas study tours for secondary students.
A $1.6 million Internationalising Schools Fund will be established to offer tailored packages of support for up to 20 schools with less experience in hosting international students. The packages will provide schools with supports such as teacher training, release time to work with school communities developing homestay options and investment to build partnerships with sister-schools overseas.
Mentor schools with international education experience will each receive $10,000 to support them to share their knowledge with other schools and provide further professional development opportunities to staff.
Other measures include the tools and resources that support educators to teach intercultural components of the curriculum, as well as support to maximise sister-school relationships.
Education Minister John Gardner said the strategy bolsters existing work in schools to embed international learning and supports sustainable volumes of international student enrolments across the state.
“This strategy for internationalising education in South Australia will ensure that we keep looking beyond our state to help our students to become global citizens,” said Minister Gardner.
“Our economy is becoming increasingly outwards facing, with service and merchandising exports estimated to have supported more than 79,000 jobs in our state, representing over 10 per cent of our total employment.
“South Australia students are the next generation of leaders, problem solvers and entrepreneurs who will innovate and start businesses that are connected to the world.
“Welcoming international students into South Australian government schools provides unique opportunities for enriching intercultural understanding, learning and the curriculum.
“There are enormous benefits to students having cultural awareness and an understanding of global issues, as well as the skills to communicate across borders with people from various language and cultural backgrounds, which will help our students succeed in achieving their employment potential.
“The initiatives in this strategy will be implemented in a staged approach and will be evaluated over the life of the 10-year strategy.”
