02-11-94 Education College Leads Indonesian Project NOTE: A conference among these international educators from all the universities, along with the Indonesians, will be held in Columbus Feb. 13-15 at 200 Ackerman Place, 700 Ackerman Rd., to assess the curriculum design work and to finalize the strategy for implementing the programs being developed. Beginning at 1 p.m. Feb. 13 conference participants will be presented an overview of the work to date. For more information, contact Sue Dechow at 292-9611 or 457-1593, or at Ackerman Place, 263-5313. OHIO STATE LEADS GLOBAL EFFORT FOR INDONESIAN EDUCATION DESIGN COLUMBUS -- Indonesia, the world's fourth largest nation with more than 190 million people, has turned to The Ohio State University College of Education to collaborate on a massive effort to revamp its entire primary school teacher education system. Over the next few years Indonesia will lay the groundwork for all its 1.2 million public elementary teachers to earn a college diploma. Today, only some 6,000 hold post-high school degrees. A four-year, $55 million project, funded by the Indonesian government and a loan from the World Bank, brought 31 senior faculty members first to Houston in November and now to Ohio State. In Columbus they have worked to finalize the initial draft of a full-scale curriculum design for undergraduate and master's programs in elementary education. Five other universities, under Ohio State's coordination, also are participating in the long-term project. The six were chosen from 71 universities worldwide which expressed initial interest. In addition to Ohio State, the selected institutions include the University of Houston and the University of Iowa in this country; the University of London's Institute of Education in England; and LaTrobe University and Deakin University in Australia. "Teachers with advanced education will build a more literate, productive and creative populace nationwide, a necessary goal for our nation if we are to successfully confront the challenges of the 21st century," said Raka Joni, a professor and senior official in the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture, who's been in Columbus since early January working with Ohio State education faculty. Working in the college's Department of Educational Theory and Practice, the Indonesians are focusing on elementary teacher education programs in math, language arts, science, social studies, and the early primary years. The Indonesians have attended classes at Ohio State, participated in customized seminars and lectures, and visited many local elementary schools. Following the Columbus conference, the draft curriculum document will be shared widely in Indonesia with educators and ministry officials. "We look to our colleagues at Ohio State and the other universities to help us clarify those methods and academic arenas which they know well and are relevant to our needs," says Joni. "The faculty at Ohio State for years have examined these educational matters at a level highly respected the world over. We want to continue tapping in on their skill." On the basis of its proposal, Ohio State also was selected by the ministry to coordinate customized short-term and graduate degree programs among the six institutions, and to coordinate the evaluation of all the work. Ultimately, hundreds of faculty and students will study in all four nations, including faculty from Ohio State and the other universities serving as specialists in Indonesia on teams with Indonesian personnel. The end result will be the formation of undergraduate diploma and master's programs in primary education at the Indonesian teacher training institutions. "The international reputation of this college is renowned for training quality classroom teachers and teachers of teachers. That is why they asked us to join them in heading this significant work," said Nancy Zimpher, dean of the College of Education. "But Ohio State benefits enormously as well. Our faculty are given the chance to put expertise into practice in a new setting, with new challenges that test and hone our knowledge and skill. Consequently, all our students -- the future teachers in Ohio and beyond -- gain from this expanded horizon." Over half of the faculty in the College of Education worked with Indonesian educators and graduate students in the mid 1980s on a project aimed at improving graduate programs in secondary teacher education. "In fact, some of the same Indonesian faculty are with us again," notes Sue Dechow, the project's program director. "Now, we take our involvement to a new level as the lead university on a project that will transform Indonesia's elementary teacher education programs. "Equally exciting is the opportunity for six universities on three continents to work collaboratively with Indonesia and with each other in this endeavor. Much will be achieved from these efforts." # Contact: Sue Dechow at 292-9611 or 457-1593, or at Ackerman Place, 263-5313. [Submitted by: REIDV (reidv@ccgate.ucomm.ohio-state.edu) Fri, 11 Feb 1994 12:50:20 -0500 (EST)] All documents are the responsibility of their originator.