asialink submission

Asialink Submission to Australia in the Asian Century White Paper

March 2012

Submission to Australia in the Asian Century White Paper

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Overview Two great challenges face Australia in the Asian century: the need to prepare the Australian community to engage in a new international landscape and the building of deeper people-‐to-‐people relationships with the people of the Asian region. These

they are fundamental to achieving these objectives. Addressing these challenges cannot be a task for government alone it must be a whole-‐of-‐community project.

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prioritise needs, piloting effective interventions, documenting and disseminating success and working to scale up change. Working with multiple partners across sectors has enabled delivery of a wide range of programs across business, government, education, the arts, health, Track 2 diplomacy and research and analysis -‐ with programs delivered in Australia and in fourteen Asian countries. Asialink is in discussion with the White Paper Secretariat about a number of key issues including: the best way to facilitate a domestic 'conversation' on the Asian Century; and also an effective methodology for researching contemporary Asian perceptions and values, and for disseminating this research in the wider Australian community. We have also discussed the role of the PwC Melbourne Institute Asialink

Index in measuring and analysing dimensions and the potential for review and development of the scope and documentation of the current Index. In addition, there has been discussion of Asialink decade-‐long Track 2 Dialogue strategy of building the ASEAN relationship, and then harnessing that relationship to strengthen our influence in China, India and Japan. Overlaying all this work is the priority of engaging next generations as well as the best current expertise. This submission is in 3 parts, drawing on programs and addressing core sectors we believe to be key to the creation of an Australia effectively engaged with its region:

1. School Education. This submission from our Asia Education Foundation identifies the strategies and resources required to ensure that Australian students leave school with the knowledge and skills required to prosper in the Asian Century. This would impact on nearly 4 million Australians and would support a globally competitive workforce. The proposed public awareness campaign would target the whole Australian community.


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2. Workplace Capability. This submission from our Asia Capable Workplace

Taskforce identifies the need for a National Strategy engaging business, government, education and the community to ensure that Australian organisations develop the systems, knowledge, networks and mindsets to

Asia Capable Taskforce is currently preparing a National Strategy for release quarter 3, 2012.

3. An Asia Engaged Cultural Sector. This submission from Asialink Arts

of cultural engagement with Asia and argues for leadership and resources for a new generation arts and culture workforce . It recommends that Asia must be a key priority for the new National Cultural Policy being developed in the second decade of the Asian century.


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Submission 1: School Education -‐-‐-‐-‐ Submission from Asia Education Foundation INTRODUCTION A five-‐year-‐old starting school in Australia today will enter the workforce just at the time India and China become the leading global economies alongside the United States. To maximise the opportunities of the Asian Century, and minimize the challenges, it makes sense that our five-‐year-‐olds will need to acquire, by the time they leave school, familiarity with the cultural diversity and social and economic dynamism of contemporary Asia and be equipped with the knowledge and intercultural skills to engage widely in our region, and in an increasingly mobile and diverse Australia.

histories, geographies, arts, cultures and languages of the diverse Asian region. The most effective channel to equip all young Australians with Asia literacy is through their school education. An Asia literate schooling will provide our young people with a competitive edge in

to our national advantage. Young Australians who possess a regional and global mindset and skill-‐set will be able to build a creative, prosperous and socially cohesive Australia and develop harmonious regional and global communities that can work together to resolve the issues that affect us all. This submission is focused on government policy settings and strategies required to ensure that Australian primary and secondary schooling adequately equips young Australians -‐ and Australia -‐ for the Asian Century. It argues that there has never been a better time for this to be successful:

strong education policy foundations are now in place that have elevated Asia literacy from an optional and intermittent focus on Asia to a core objective for all young Australians in all schools through the Melbourne Declaration on

Educational Goals for Young Australians,1 the new Australian Curriculum and new national standards for teachers and school leaders;

broad education stakeholder support has been built through the Education and Business Alliances for Asia Literacy, and

1 The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians, Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs, December 2008.


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many proven programs and strategies are in place in education systems and schools.

However, we need to do much better than we currently are. Only small-‐scale progress towards Asia literacy becoming a universally attainable school education outcome has been achieved despite investment exceeding $500 million over twenty years. At the senior levels of schooling participation in Asian languages has remained static for over a decade at around six percent of Year 12 students2 and only a very small proportion of Year 12 students study any content at all about Asia in History, English, Geography, Economics, Politics and The Arts.3 The current intermittent and gradual trajectory of improvement and the patchwork of programs of the past two decades can no longer suffice. Taking into account the

significant concern for all Australians. If we consider those five-‐year-‐olds, Australia has one more generation of school children left to get this right. Why has progress been so slow? There is a view that past efforts to progress Asia literacy have all failed. While there have been critical fault lines in major strategies, this assessment needs some qualification. Many successful programs have been limited in impact by being small-‐scale and marginal rather than a core focus of education systems, sectors and schools. Promising programs have lacked continuity and sustainability because of stop/start funding. Momentum built has been lost when governments or policies change. Strategies have been inhibited by lack of serious attention to structural impediments such as education workforce capacity and senior years assessment procedures, and a lack of investment in an evidence base to inform effective pedagogies, building student demand and flexible delivery of languages. There has been a predominant focus on issues of supply and too little has been done to build demand for Asia literacy among students, parents and the community who are more familiar with the traditional Eurocentric focus of Australian school curriculum. Strategies have largely focused on Asian languages and too little has been invested in the study of Asia across the curriculum. There is a pressing need to increase investment in the study of Asia in its own right as this presents the most achievable avenue for ensuring a critical mass of Asia literate students. What action is required now? 2 Four Languages, Four Stories: The Current State of Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian and Korean Languages in Australian Schools, AEF, May 2010 3 Studies of Asia in Year 12, Wilkinson and Milgate, 2009, Australian Council of Educational Research & AEF


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A landmark report released in February 2012, examined the rapid high level of school education success in East Asian countries. It concludes that the factor that has had most influence on building success in East Asian education systems, a detailed strategy, effective implementation, and a cohesive set of programs that have an unrelenting focus on improving learning. These systems understand that whole-‐system implementation is the new ed 4

-‐system commitment to a cohesive set of

now need to go beyond policy settings and invest in policy implementation. A bi-‐partisan long-‐term, national action plan for Asia literacy is required. We recommend that such a plan include three strategic interventions: 1. Ensure national coordination and collaboration of strategies taking into account

that jurisdictions and schools have prime responsibility for planning and delivery of the Australian Curriculum. National change strategies would include re-‐generated forums for Asia-‐Australia education jurisdiction dialogue; monitoring student participation and outcomes; supporting innovative solutions to intractable problems; building a contemporary evidence base; addressing structural impediments; utilising new technologies and developing a national digital resource bank of curriculum resources and school programs.

2. to ensure the goals of the Australian Curriculum and National Standards can be met including equip every school principal to lead an Asia literate school; provide all teachers with access to targeted professional learning programs to build Asia knowledge; provide curriculum resources and an evidence base to support classroom implementation of the Australian Curriculum and ensure all graduate teachers enter the workforce with Asia knowledge and skills relevant to their teaching qualification.

3. Increase the value students, parents and the community place on Asia

knowledge and Asian languages including engage all Australian schools with schools in Asia to strengthen people-‐to people links; support school, business and community partnerships; implement a public education strategy and provide incentives to students to continue Asian languages study.

Importantly, this plan would differentiate between strategies to achieve Asia knowledge through cross curriculum studies of Asia for every student, and strategies to expand Asian languages for a smaller cohort of students. These two elements of

4 Catching up: Lessons from high-performing systems in East Asia, Jensen, B, 2012 Grattan Institute


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Asia literacy have commonly been conflated in past efforts, yet each experience a discrete set of challenges and opportunities.

monetary terms, strategies like NALSAS5 invested around $100 million per year and resulted in doubling the number of students undertaking Asian languages and 50 percent of schools including some study of Asia.6

Asia literacy strategy would require a minimum of 10 years to ensure the sustainability that NALSAS lacked. A similar level of investment will cost over $1 billion dollars.

years. That would seem a small price to pay to equip every young Australian -‐ and Australia -‐ for the opportunities of the Asian Century. Asia Education Foundation The Asia Education Foundation7 (AEF) has played a key role for twenty years in promoting and supporting Asia literacy in Australian schooling, advising on policy

with the support of our parent bodies, Asialink at The University of Melbourne8 and Education Services Australia9. The AEF has made a unique contribution in facilitating the establishment of strong Australia Asia education partnerships at system and school levels, in context with

extensive business, cultural and academic networks.

wide international networks that have been consolidated over two decades in the Asian region and the system and school leadership experience of the AEF Advisory Board10. The submission provides an overview of current policy settings and outcomes for

engagement with Asia in the school sector, analyses the major shortcomings,

5 National Asian Languages and Studies in Australian Schools, 1995-2002 6 Erebus Consulting, 2002, Review of NALSAS, Commonwealth of Australia 7 The AEF is a joint activity of Asialink at The University of Melbourne and Education Services Australia. It has received core funding from the Federal Department of Education since 1992 to promote and support Asia literacy in Australian schooling. www.asiaeducation.edu.au 8 www.asialink.edu.au 9 www.esa.edu.au 10 See Attachment 1: Board members.


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identifies the opportunities and charts the pathway to achieving the entitlement of

CURRENT POLICY ENVIRONMENT For the first time a national policy framework for Asia literacy and a set of institutional commitments are in place. These not only provide greater clarity for the aims of Asia literacy but will serve as the foundation for a longer term Asia literacy strategy more attuned to the urgency of this agenda. Current key school education policies and programs for Asia literacy are as follows.

The 2008 Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians

build strong relationshipcapability to understand and engage with the diverse countries of Asia is a vital twenty-‐first century skill-‐set and central to Australia being part of our increasingly interconnected region. To become

communicate across the cultures and countries of Asia.

The Australian Curriculum, developed by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA),

-‐11

o

three cross-‐curriculum priorities in the Australian Curriculum allows

every young Australian to gain knowledge and develop better

understandings of the countries and cultures of the Asian region and

their engagement with Australia. This involves embedding studies of

Asia in all learning areas from Foundation Year to Year 12, rather than

-‐related content

in the curriculum is currently not a strong feature of any single

learning area, but is being progressively realised as the curriculum is

developed. The major themes are 1) Asia and its diversity; 2) the

achievements and contributions of the people of Asia; and 3) Asia-‐

Australia engagement.

o is one of seven general capabilities to be

achieved by all students by the time they leave school. Students are

11 http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum.html

http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum.html


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own cultures, languages and beliefs, and those of others. They come to understand how personal, group and national identities are shaped, and the variable and changing nature of culture. The capability involves students in learning about and engaging with diverse cultures in ways that recognise commonalities and differences, create connections with others and cultivate mutual

12. This is not specific to Asia and is to be embedded in the subjects and disciplines that comprise the curriculum throughout schooling.

o ACARA has issued The Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Languages

13 that explains the place of languages as one of the key learning areas in the Australian Curriculum and hence a core component of the educational experience of all students. The paper lists five Asian languages in a group of eleven languages. Chinese is one of the first two languages (along with Italian) currently being developed in detail for Foundation Year to Year 10.

The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) is working

teacher and school leader standards. The AEF is working with AITSL to identify how the standards can recognise the need for teachers and leaders in Australian schools to be Asia literate. This is required if school leaders are to have the capacity to guide their schools to achieve Asia literacy; to ensure that teachers have the capabilities required to include the Asia priority in the Australian Curriculum and to inform the focus of initial teacher education.

The AEF National Statement on Asia Literacy in Australian Schools 2011-‐2012,14 noted by education senior officials in September 2011, provides an implementation framework to guide achievement of Asia literacy outcomes in line with the Asia priority of the Australian Curriculum. It commits to sustained national action in implementing the Australian Curriculum; developing Asia literate school leaders and teachers; developing classroom resources aligned with curriculum frameworks; innovative solutions for the provision of Asian languages; and expanding demand for Asian studies and languages in the community. However, there are no national (or state) plans in place to action this Statement and the responsibility currently largely resides with individual state and territory education jurisdictions and with individual schools.

12 ACARA www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Intercultural-understanding/Introduction/Introduction 13 ACARA, November 2011 14 National Statement on Asia Literacy in Australian Schools, 2011-2012, AEF

http://www.asiaeducation.edu.au/partnerships/national_statement_2011-12.html


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The Australian Government committed $62.4m to the National Asian

Languages and Studies in Schools Program (NALSSP) 2008-‐2012. This distribution has been 70 percent of funds to state and territory government and non-‐government jurisdictions; 15 percent allocated to national collaborative partnerships including with universities and business; 10 percent to the Becoming Asia Literate Grants to Schools managed by the AEF; and 5 percent to national projects. The NALSSP is to focus on flexible delivery and pathways, teacher supply and stimulating student demand for the four target languages, Mandarin Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese and Korean. While current national goals aim for 100 percent of young Australians to be Asia literate, the aspirational target set for NALSSP by the Council of Australian Governments is that by 2020 at least 12 percent of Year 12 students will exit schooling with a fluency in one of the target Asian languages. This would double the current number of students doing so. There was no equivalent NALSSP target set for student participation or outcomes in the study of Asia. The NALSSP effectively ends in December 2012.

Many state/territory jurisdictions and schools also have a range of policy commitments and direction statements for Asia literacy or components of that such as for Asian languages. BROAD STAKEHOLDER SUPPORT FOR ASIA LITERACY Global expert on education system reform, Professor Michael Fullan, has found that, the (reform) strategy must mobilise and engage large numbers of people who are

operates as a partnership between and across layers and above all else uses the collective energy of the whole group. There is no way of achieving whole system reform if the vast majority of people are not working on it together. 15 Since 2008 significant progress has been achieved in engaging commitment to Asia literacy by a broad range of key education stakeholders. In 2009 the AEF formed the Education Alliance for Asia Literacy comprising thirty peak teacher, principal and parent organisations; in 2010 the Business Alliance for Asia Literacy was established comprising all peak business bodies and sixty-‐ panies. In 2011 both alliances joined in a call on Ministers of Education for a National Action Plan for Asia Literacy.16 Twenty years ago only a few groups of educators with a niche interest in Asia would have supported the need for such a plan. Even a decade ago most school educators were of the view that Asia literacy was an optional extra in Australian school

15 All Systems Go: The Change Imperative for Whole System Reform, 2010, Fullan, M, 16 http://www.asiaeducation.edu.au/default.asp?id=site_search&query=National+Action+Plan


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education and low on the priority list. The reality of the Asian Century and the context of current education policy has changed that. Education stakeholders now understand that young people are entitled to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to maximise their opportunities in the Asian Century. Good policy needs to be invested in if it is to be successfully implemented in schools. Educating young Australians to become Asia literate requires a substantial response by all Australian governments and education authorities working in collaboration with all school sectors, education organisations, parents and the broader community, including business and industry. INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS Australia is not alone in its commitment to raising the levels of international mindedness with a focus on Asia among its young people. Education systems across the globe are increasingly seen as the key to internationally relevant capabilities. The United Kingdom, European countries and the United States have established education policies, programs and partnerships designed to embed Asia literacy learning in schools. China, Korea and other countries in Asia are also seeking to build global partnerships to build a global mindset in their education systems and are initiating language and cultural programs in pursuit of greater international understanding of their cultures. China, for example, will enable many thousands of teachers and principals to gain international experience through training in other countries over the next five years. Attachment Two contains a snapshot of international examples.

international engagement.17 Global literacy for schools in Wisconsin: a state policy It is vital that Wisconsin schools give students access to their peers abroad. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction:

recommends that every school has a Sister School abroad and provides a template to match Wisconsin sister schools with schools in partner countries

promotes programs to bring teachers from abroad so that students can learn from educators of other countries and cultures

co-‐sponsors the Japan-‐Wisconsin Education Connection to bring K-‐12 teachers from Japan to Wisconsin for 3 months

co-‐sponsors Korea-‐Wisconsin Teachers in Schools to bring teachers from Korea to middle and high schools for one week

encourages schools to use technologies to connect to classrooms abroad by such outstanding programs as i*EARN, Global Nomads, United Nations Cyber.

17 Source: Internationalising Education Phase One, Centre for Strategic Education, for Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Victoria, 2008.


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Recent reports on doing business in Asia make the point that foundational and deep knowledge and understandings of the diverse countries of Asia are increasingly essential to be able to do business in and with Asia.18

to Asia literacy for every young Australian. When the study of Asia is embedded in all subject areas, particularly History, English, Geography and the Arts, foundational Asia literacy becomes attainable for 100 percent of school students. The study of Asian languages is also an important asset for knowledge and skills related to specific Asian countries and for intercultural understanding. Being fluent in an Asian language can provide deep understanding and a sophisticated skill-‐set and this submission does not advocate decreasing our efforts to build up the very small number of young Australians currently studying an Asian language (18 percent of all school students, Foundation Year to Year 11 and 5.8 percent in Year 1219). What this submission does advocate is the need to increase investment in the

the most achievable avenue for ensuring a critical mass of Asia literate students. The distinction between the two key elements of Asia literacy: cross curricula studies of Asia and Asian languages, is an important one for the White Paper to consider. The vital contribution of studies of Asia to achieving a critical mass of Asia literate Australians has not been adequately reflected in investment in Asia literacy strategies of the past two decades. National programs, including the National Asian Languages and Studies in Australian Schools (NALSAS 1995-‐2002) and the National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program (NALSSP 2009-‐2012) have predominantly focused on progressing Asian languages. By contrast, investment in cross curriculum studies of Asia has been modest, with

resulted in mostly small scale and short-‐term initiatives. There has been minimal investment in monitoring student uptake and progression in knowledge of Asia and no targets for the studies of Asia have been set to drive better student outcomes. It is also important to note that achieving universal Asia literacy through studies of Asia faces a different set of challenges to those facing the expansion of Asian languages in schools and yet the two are commonly conflated in strategic planning.

18 Engaging Asia: what business needs, 2011, Asialink and Ai Group 19 Four Languages, Four Stories: the current state of Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian and Korean language education in Australian schools, 2010, AEF


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The challenges to progress studies of Asia are not as complex or seemingly intractable as those facing Asian languages. For example, there is not an issue of teacher supply for studies of Asia. We already have primary school teachers and secondary teachers of history, geography, English and the Arts in our classrooms.

through initial teacher education and ongoing professional learning, and to support teachers with Asia focused classroom resources and programs and supportive school leadership and environments. The set of complex issues that have made the task of building up Asian languages in schools so difficult -‐ including effective pedagogies, student language pathways between primary and secondary schools, student choice, the limited size of student cohorts in some languages and building student (and parent) interest in continuation of language studies simply do not apply to accelerating studies of Asia. The solutions to the challenge of accelerating the uptake of studies of Asia are well known and include to:

ensure the Australian Curriculum adequately includes an explicit Asia focus

monitor student participation and achievement in studies of Asia

engage and equip school leaders to ensure that Asia literacy can be achieved in their schools

engage teachers and build their Asia knowledge and capacity

develop high quality curriculum resources and programs to support teachers to embed studies of Asia in their classroom curriculum.

a cross-‐curriculum priority, and intercultural understanding as a general capability, presents the most significant opportunity for advancing the objectives of the studies of Asia element of Asia literacy seen to date. And this opportunity can be realised if the next step includes a practical and ambitious plan to achieve these objectives. Investment in curriculum resources, school programs and building teacher and school leader capability is now required to move Asia knowledge from being a high-‐level curriculum policy to finding a significant place in our classrooms. Recent programs Programs over the past two decades for supporting the growth of the study of Asia and intercultural understanding, frequently initiated by AEF, have had some success, albeit small-‐scale. AEF programs over the past three years engaged 14 percent of

t National Access Asia Schools Network. This impressive momentum was lost with the premature cessation of NALSAS in 2002 and a subsequent six-‐year gap in investment until the NALSSP in 2009.


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Successful initiatives have included:

Curriculum resource production. For example, the AEF web portal20 provides free access to over 1000 curriculum resources including 85 English, history and mathematics resources already aligned with the Australian Curriculum.

School leader engagement. For example, the Leading 21st Century Schools: Engage with Asia program has equipped 5 percent of Australian school principals to lead whole school curriculum change to achieve Asia literacy.

Professional learning. For example, AEF study programs in Asia for teachers have seen 3000 Australian school educators catalysed by first hand experience of contemporary Asia.

Asia literacy advocacy for students and parents. For example, Asia Literacy Business Ambassadors is a successful initiative that takes business people into secondary schools to show Asia skills in action with 287 ambassadors and schools and 13,000 students involved since 2010; and getting parents on board is the aim of a NALSSP project between peak parent bodies and AEF to equip a cohort of 150 parent advocates from 75 schools nationwide to promote the need for Asia literacy to their school communities.

Innovations in Asian languages and cultures programs. For example, the innovative Australia-‐Asia School BRIDGE program with Indonesia, South Korea and China links teachers and students in these countries with 200 Australian schools for a mix of language and cultural studies through people-‐to-‐people exchanges and on-‐line collaborations.

Regional planning and co-‐ordination for Asia literacy has been initiated as a

strategy in some education regions around Australia: Eastern Metropolitan Region in Victoria and the Sydney and Western Regions in NSW are examples. The approach to partnering with groups of schools in Asia is multi-‐level across principals, teachers and students, using visits, exchanges and social media to plan and share professional and curriculum activities.

Grants to schools. For example, the NALSSP included $8.14m for competitive

countries (China, Japan, Korea and Indonesia), with 13 percent of these grants allocated to cross curricula studies of Asia initiatives.

20 www.asiaeducation.edu.au


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There is already a groundswell of innovation in embedding studies of Asia in schools and many positive initiatives to draw on for future programs. However, there have been constraints. NALSSP has only allocated around 15 percent of funds to cross curricula studies of Asia and has not set targets for furthering the impact of the study of Asia. NALSSP limited coverage to the four priority countries and this has meant that studies concerning other Asian countries including India, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and others have not been supported. This was a similar pattern of expenditure for the previous NALSAS program (1995-‐2002). Insights from evaluations While many small-‐scale initiatives are successful and show significant potential, assessments of success at the national level are more tentative. When the effectiveness of initiatives to address Asia literacy are measured by restrictive criteria, such as the number of students studying one of four languages at senior secondary level, many valuable student experiences and ways of ensuring that all students have opportunities to develop Asia literacy are marginalised. There are four national studies on the extent of provision of studies of Asia and the implications for expansion and improved outcomes. These conclude that, while there are instances of good practice, progress on the whole has been slow: the senior curriculum is an inhibitor; contemporary curriculum resources are not well known; and, importantly, teacher interest and capability is uneven if not deficient.

A 2002 study21 by the Asian Studies Association of Australia found that

decline in relevant tertiary studies and hence foreshadows the threat of hould be growing.

The 2002 Review of NALSAS22 concluded that 50 percent of schools include

some studies of Asia in their curriculum, a further 25 percent include superficial studies (like pandas and puppets) and 25 percent of schools teach nothing at all about Asia.

The impact on schools is felt through the minor attention given to Asia-‐related content in teacher education courses. A Federal Government survey of education faculties conducted by AEF for NALSAS found that where Asia was included in course work, it was for less than 5 percent of allotted time for a

21 , 2002, Asian Studies Association of Australia. 22 Review of NALSAS, 2003, Erebus Consulting, Commonwealth of Australia


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subject and was most commonly found in English as a Second Language courses and in relation to multiculturalism.23

A 2009 study24 by AEF and the Australian Council of Educational Research, looked at Year 12 student participation in six main subject areas and found that only a very small proportion of senior students studied any content that dealt with Asia. It concluded:

o While many courses have Asian study options, and a few have a mandatory Asian element, the student take-‐up is limited, primarily due to the lack of teacher knowledge and confidence.

o

content on Asia, it is mostly an Australian or Western focus such as the Vietnam War; or, in English, the focus on Asia might only include

sts). o The study highlights the disparity that can occur between the

intentions of the written curriculum and actual practice. As an example, NSW Modern History includes many opportunities for content on Asia, but only 2 percent of students chose to study China and less that 4 percent spread across India, Japan and Indonesia in the final examination. Study of Germany accounted for 65 percent and Russia and the Soviet Union, 19 percent.

o The study noted that where countries from the Asian region are

covered, it is a limited range of countries. For example, it appears the opportunity to study India or Pakistan is almost non-‐existent.

Why has progress been so patchy? The challenges to increasing the occurrence and impact of the study of Asia are well known and not complex. This is an area that has been evaluated since the 1990s. Typically, evaluations conclude the following.

The teacher is the key to progress. The majority of teachers have studied little in their own education about Asia and require professional learning and curriculum resources to build their knowledge to teach about Asia.

23 Scan of Studies of Asia Activities in Pre-Service Primary and Secondary Teacher Education, 2001, AEF 24 Studies of Asia in Year 12, 2009, Wilkinson, J. and Milgate, G, AEF


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Including studies of Asia across the curriculum needs to occur across the whole school -‐ there is little to be gained from Asia focussed activities in isolated classrooms. School leaders need to be equipped to lead whole school curriculum reform.

There is always competition for a place in the curriculum -‐ particularly for studies perceived to be additional or not a core requirement. Studies of Asia needs to explicit in the curriculum and outcomes monitored. Prior to the Australian Curriculum (due to begin implementation in 2012 in some states) studies of Asia were seen to be an optional extra.

Pre-‐service teacher education needs to ensure that graduates are Asia literate. There has been minimal focus or investment in this area by government or institutions.

However the key challenge to be overcome is that funding support for studies of Asia programs has been short-‐term, stop/start and too little and, until 2008, there was no policy in place to drive it. This has severely limited the scale and momentum of curriculum reform to achieve a critical mass of Asia literate young Australians. Lessons for success The impact of recent programs does show success in relatively small-‐scale initiatives in building Asia literacy and the lessons for success are an excellent platform for further development. Some findings include:

Stimulating demand: Asia Literacy Ambassadors Project is a highly suitable model for marketing the value of Asia literacy to students and stimulating student demand to continue Asian languages and studies. It also supports local community-‐business and school engagement and has been used by some

it worked by a having a new face with real and recent Asian

However, funding for this project was substantially scaled back in 2012 after an initial two-‐year Federal government investment and the program will finish in December 2012. An independent

70 percent of 5,500 students contacted

reported increased interest in Asian languages and cultures and half reported

.25

Teacher capability: teacher study tours and individual exchanges and scholarships are highly valued by participants and hosts as the means to equip teachers with the personal insight and motivation to further develop their

25 Asia Literacy Ambassadors, Partnering Businesses and Schools, An Evaluation, McRae, D, December 2011


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knowledge and capability to construct an Asia literate curriculum for students. Currently, teachers partly or wholly self-‐fund many of these in-‐country programs and exchanges, with some jurisdictions providing small incentives, often from NALSSP funds due to end this year. In an evaluation of an AEF study program to China, Particular mention was made of increased understanding of contemporary and

historical aspects of Chinese culture and society, people-‐to-‐people relationships,

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Innovation and partnerships: Australia-‐Asia School BRIDGE is a highly regarded cutting-‐edge initiative. It is demonstrating the critical role for social media and curriculum innovation in facilitating transformative student-‐to-‐student exchanges across cultures and building both student and teacher intercultural capabilities. Participants and partners are highly enthusiastic about pursuing these cross-‐cultural partnerships and developing the skills for them to be sustainable.

say two BRIDGE teachers. The independent eva This is intercultural learning on a quite dramatic

outweigh the profound impact of the homestay and school experience 27 The AEF has worked to bring a broad range of

funding partners to the table to support these initiatives, including government

The Australia Indonesia BRIDGE project has made a significant

contribution to strengthening education and people-‐to-‐people links between

Strategic planning by education systems: planning in clusters or at the education regional level, is pointing the way for education systems to design sustainable Asia literacy initiatives and ensure return on the investment. This is a systemic

daily work of schools and clusters of schools. It is premised on adopting a strategic approach to Asia literacy. Box 2 below is an example of regional planning for Asia literacy.

26 Evaluation of the Eastern Metro Region Study Tour to China, 2011, Interim Report, August 2011 27 Phase 1, Independent Monitoring and Evaluation of 2011-2015 BRIDGE Project


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BOX 2: Education regional planning for Asia literacy28 Regional planning Leadership of a regional plan ensured:

objectives had strong links to policy initiatives at national and state levels-‐ educational, cultural and economic objectives

the knowledge needed to proceed was developed: expert input needed for understanding of (Asian country) society, language and education system

the model of governance was designed at regional and central levels and with the Asian country

school teams rather than individuals were involved -‐ and teams linked with each other

school teams were composed of a principal and two practising teachers to foster and support change at different levels and for longer term sustainability

networks for shared inputs and reflection were formed in Australia and with partners for reciprocal professional learning.

Summary: informing the way forward for the cross curriculum study of Asia The potential for a multifaceted approach to enhance the study of Asia is considerable and should be a main avenue in a new strategy to achieve a critical mass of Asia literacy in Australian schools. The past approaches of NALSSP and NALSAS, where only minor funding was committed to the study of Asia in comparison to Asian languages, have not been adequate to deliver the Asia literacy outcomes being sought. The next stage needs to adopt a different stance. While the Australian Curriculum will provide guidance on knowledge and perspectives on Asia across all subjects, it is the responsibility of jurisdictions and schools to further develop the curriculum according to their own contexts. To do this efficiently, they will welcome advice and support on curriculum content, resources, access to capacity building, and advice on ways to stimulate interest in a new area of the curriculum. To meet the objectives for achievement of an Asia literate Australian Curriculum the following will be required.

An Australian Curriculum implementation strategy for the cross-‐curriculum

resourced and consistent with the varying contexts around the country for school decision-‐making and curriculum design.

28 Source: Eastern Metropolitan Region, Victoria 2011


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Strengthening the expectations and accountability across schools and systems so that Asia literacy is not just an optional add-‐on.

Building leadership support and teacher capability through initial teacher

education, continuous professional learning, cross-‐cultural engagement and access to curriculum resources and school programs. This concerns a mix of incentives for schools and teachers to pursue their own initiatives to expand their capability; and, more structured activities including international exchanges and school partnerships.

Stimulating engagement through innovative teaching and supporting all

communities to benefit from partnerships, exchanges and interactive technologies. The current small scale but highly successful initiatives around Australia need to be further examined for their potential to be scaled-‐up.

Expanding an evidence base, expertise and scholarship in this area both in

schools, higher education and in professional learning for educators. ASIAN LANGUAGES Capacity to understand and operate in Asian languages is understood as a crucial skill for the global economy and essential to the attitudinal and behavioural capabilities for an internationalised society. Globally, most students in most developed education systems exit schooling bi-‐lingual and many tri-‐lingual. Australia is identified as the third most monolingual developed nation, and altering that mindset, as it manifests in acquiring second and third language capability, is proving to be an intractable policy problem. More of the same policies and programs will not suffice. Some argue the increased take-‐up and competency in Asian languages should be the primary focus of Asia literacy. Others agree on the central importance of expanding languages education, but their expectations of building a critical mass of Asia literate young Australians through languages are moderated by their understanding of the significant and complex challenges to be faced to achieve rapid expansion of Asian languages participation. Major programs and activities A range of federal and state initiatives have aimed to advance Asian languages learning since 1995.

National Asian Languages and Studies in Australian Schools (NALSAS) with $210m over two phases spanning 1995-‐2002.

The National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program (NALSSP) allocated $62.4m from 2009-‐12 for schools and jurisdictions to focus on flexible delivery and pathways; teacher supply; and stimulating student demand. The


20

aspirational target set for NALSSP is that by 2020 at least 12 percent of students will exit Year 12 with a fluency in one of the target Asian languages: Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese and Korean.

State jurisdictions have introduced numerous policies and programs to expand Asian languages including teacher supply strategies such as scholarships, international internships, intensive courses; partnerships with Asian countries such as supply of teaching assistants, curriculum materials and teacher and student visits and exchanges; and, more recently, regional planning for shared services and flexible pathways.

Language participation and outcomes: what is being achieved? Japanese is the most taught language in Australian schools. Along with Indonesian and Chinese they comprise three of the six most taught languages in Australian schools (the others are Italian, French and German), the outcomes to date are not as positive as intended.29

which impacts on teacher availability and the national scholarship and knowledge in Asian languages.

18 percent of Australian school students in 2008 study the NALSSP target Asian languages at some stage in their schooling but this is down from 24 percent in 2000. This drops to 5.8 percent of students in Year 12.

The major decline has been in Japanese (20 percent) and Indonesian, which has been dropping 10,000 students a year for the past five years.

NALSAS financing of languages was a major stimulus to increased participation (doubled numbers over eight years) but cessation of funding precipitated rapid reduction in participation, indicating the fragile status of languages education in school programs and need for long term strategies to build teacher supply.

The drop off from primary to secondary and compulsory to post compulsory years is extremely high.

Modest growth at Year 12 from 4.8 per cent in 2000 to 5.8 percent in 2008; but while welcome, growth is largely due to the high levels of participation of first

29 See Asia Education Foundation, 2010, The Current State of Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese and Korean Language Education in Australian Schools, Education Services Australia, Melbourne;; Wesley, Michael, 2009, Building an Asia- Literate Australia, An Australian Strategy for Asian Language Proficiency, Griffith University, Queensland.


21

language or heritage speakers 100 percent in Korean and around 90 percent in Chinese.

On current projections, state and territory jurisdictions will find it exceedingly challenging to meet the COAG target of 12 percent, or doubling the number of Year 12 students fluent in a target Asian language, by 2020. This requires a 100 percent increase. On ABS projections that would be around 24,000 students studying one of the languages, with Korean and Indonesian likely to be the most difficult to grow.

Challenges: is increasing Asian languages learning an intractable policy problem? There have been at least 67 reports on languages education in Australia over the past two decades. Australian and international research has concluded the key challenges revolve around:

teacher quality and shortage declining number of qualified teachers and projections on current participation and professional pathways indicate that this will not improve without serious intervention especially in rural and regional Australia

choice of what language to offer in a complex curriculum -‐ is effected by teacher supply and community demand; timetabling, sequencing and consistency; and competition with other subjects; too little attention has been paid to languages pathways between secondary schools and feeder primary schools

the largely optional nature of languages education in most schools some states have policies that mandate languages education at some levels of schooling, however this is highly diverse across Australia; commonly, languages are optional from Year 9 and may only have 30 minutes a week allocated to them in primary years

student demand a vital factor in view of the optional nature of languages education; demand reflects parental and community attitudes and young

structural incentives and disincentives at Year 12 a factor in student choice of senior secondary subjects where students are competing for university entry and other further education opportunities.

These are issues that are largely common to all languages and their provision in schools. In addition, the mix of first language and heritage speakers with second


22

language learners in some Asian language classes, like Chinese, can negatively bias second la Plus, further challenges arise from linguistic and cultural differences among Asian languages and their respective cultural histories in Australia that has an impact on aspects such as the teacher profile, pedagogy, resources and student groups.

Four Languages: Four Stories: the Current State of Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian and Korean Language Education in Australian Schools makes a strong point that we need to move beyond assuming all languages, and all Asian languages,

education now needs to adopt customised strategies to progress individual Asian languages and we need a vastly improved evidence base to do so. Box 3 is a snapshot of some of the challenges facing Chinese language education in Australia. BOX 3: Expanding Chinese language: the challenges30 Challenges Figures from 2007 show that:

fewer than 20 per cent of Australians working in China can speak the language

only 10 per cent have studied even one China-‐related subject

at Year 12 nationally, a scant 3 per cent of students take Chinese, more than 90 per cent of whom are of Chinese background

reside, 94 per cent of those who begin Chinese at school quit before Year 10

beginners at university drop out at rates close to 75 percent.

Contemporary research indicates that high quality languages teaching requires exposure to the target language and culture; frequent and consistent opportunities for practicing the language; personalised feedback; and sustained personal and instrumental motivation. Supported by NALSSP and state initiatives, many schools and education jurisdictions are now exploring solutions along these lines for radically redesigning languages learning. This includes innovations in use of new media; flexible delivery arrangements shared classes and flexible timetables; specialist provision -‐ as in intensives and bi-‐lingual classes; wide use of language teaching assistants in 30 Source: Current State of Chinese Language Learning, Orton, J, University of Melbourne 2008


23

classrooms alongside teachers; and active links with communities domestically and internationally -‐ especially those using interactive technologies. But it is early days with most of these initiatives having just commenced with funding stimulus from the NALSSP, even though some have been canvassed as options for over a decade. But, underpinning these innovations, there remain problematic system policy and funding questions such as which priority languages and for what reason; mandated or optional participation and at what levels; number of hours allocated and rules for Year 12 participation. These issues are strongly contested in research and policy design. Summary: informing the way forward for Asian languages education. The innovations being trialled under NALSSP and state government language strategies can be the foundation to design a fifteen-‐year strategy that aims to accelerate Asian languages participation, support radical innovation and significantly improve teacher capability and support. Key features would be the following.

Advanced interactive technologies for teaching and learning: facilitating regular international engagement and enabling flexible and equitable access to languages learning (e.g. a potential NBN education innovation). (Refer to Box 4.)

Specialist language and bi-‐lingual provision: intensive study locations, school-‐ Higher Education partnerships; international school exchanges designed for those seeking to study languages to a high level of competency.

Teacher supply and workforce diversity: initiatives that address the special nature of teacher shortage in Asian languages and generate options for boosting supply through enhancement of current programs such as Chinese and Japanese teaching assistants and facilitating teaching and support positions for international students.

Student demand and motivation: requiring structural solutions to perceived competitive impediments at the senior levels for second language learners; and consolidation of evidence (e.g. positive impact of Asia Literacy Ambassadors) for deeper understanding of drivers and inhibitors to the take-‐up of languages more generally.

Better use of existing Asian languages capability: motivation of all students would be enhanced through wider recognition of the value to Australia to be gained from the existing diversity of Asian languages spoken by or available to many young people with Asian heritage in Australian schools.

Stable policy environment: which recognises and promotes the long-‐term nature of developing an effective languages program in schools, with disincentives for


24

program changes that promote one Asian language over another, or create unsustainable language programs based on fad choices.

BOX 4: Technology, partnerships and language learning31

Indonesian in a rural school

wanted to go beyond the walls of the school, beyond our area, and indeed beyond

Irene Beasley is the sole Indonesian teacher at Leongatha Primary School, located in South Gippsland. The rural school in the heart of Victorian dairy country is partnered with SD Pondok Labu 11, in the bustling ten million-‐strong metropolis of Jakarta. The two classes connect through Skype, which serves as a rich tool for language learning.

-‐time, face-‐to-‐

Irene reflected on the genuine engagement fostered between her students and their counterparts in Jakarta.

This recoexperience in program development, advocacy and support for Asia literacy and on the extensive networks that AEF has built in Australia and with our Asian neighbours. It also draws on the education system expertise of its Advisory Board in designing policies and initiatives for Asia literacy and managing large-‐scale educational change. While there is now a positive policy foundation, and pockets of success around the country, a key question to address, before a new approach is canvassed, is why has progress been mixed? There have been achievements but they are uneven nationally and it is essential that an understanding of past successes and shortcomings inform the way forward. What have we learned? On the positive side we have learnt that gaining national agreement for the right policy levers including the Melbourne Declaration, the Australian Curriculum and Teacher and School Leader Standards is a major step towards building stakeholder commitment and accelerating Asia literacy.

31 Source: Australia Asia School BRIDGE Project, AEF http://www.asiaeducation.edu.au


25

The limitations of past approaches can be characterised as the following. Fragmented and stop-‐start funding and policy directives have impacted on

momentum for building the essential foundations for Asia literacy and have not been sustained over the 10-‐15 years needed for any education reform to take hold.

Modest funding and no curriculum mandate or targets for cross curriculum

studies of Asia prior to 2009 have meant that the fastest gateway to universal student Asia literacy has been limited to small-‐scale and short-‐term initiatives that are not driven by any targets.

Minimal national collaboration on efforts including the development of curriculum resources and professional learning and the sharing of successful strategies and program evaluation.

Little investment in collecting local or national data to monitor Asia literacy student outcomes and ensure accountability

Little investment in establishing a local or national evidence base to inform future planning.

Little investment in pre-‐service teacher education ensuring a future supply of Asia literate teachers

Structural impediments have inhibited students continuing Asian languages to Year 12 including senior curriculum arrangements, teacher capacity and shortage, the crowded curriculum, and time on task limitations.

(e.g. ensuring teaching materials were available, funding additional languages teachers) without the same intensity of funding and focus to better understand what drives student, parental and teacher demand and developing parallel mechanisms to stimulate their interest and commitment.

And, most importantly, major strategies to date have largely been diffused and unconnected across Australia and across schools. There has not been a national, co-‐ordinated, plan to ensure all jurisdictions work collaboratively to resolve the common challenges they face. To overcome these constraints, the success of future plans will be dependent on their capacity to:

strategically sequence support initiatives so that a balance between demand and supply factors is established and sustained. This calls for innovation to read and meet demand and informed analysis of supply needs

ensure investment is coherent, better targeted and efficient as in the need to adequately fund improvements in the study of Asia as the most effective pathway to Asia literacy, and to collaborate nationally on professional learning and curriculum resources

better collect, disseminate and use evidence of successes and failures


26

sustain change strategies over the long-‐term to enable practices to become embedded in school routines and not add-‐ons or discretionary

establish a critical pathway for implementation of the Asia priority and Asian languages in the Australian Curriculum; sequence the components of a strategy for change and monitor progress.

Some critical success factors that are apparent from evaluations of AEF initiatives that support the expansion of Asia literacy are the following.

Informed and involved leadership at the school level the active engagement of principals is crucial to champion and lead curriculum reform in their schools and ensure investment in achieving it.

Leadership at a cluster or regional level facilitates planning, sharing and sustainability.

structured and direct experience of Asia.

Innovative cross-‐country partnership initiatives that use interactive technologies like the Australia-‐Asia School BRIDGE are contemporary and highly relevant to

-‐going involvement. They are also affordable.

The case for Asia literacy needs to be actively presented to students and parents such as the Asia Literacy Ambassadors program.

-‐2025

A new strategic direction establishes a compelling vision for Asia literacy as a right

Strategy as a bi-‐partisan and long-‐term commitment from 2013 to 2015 to provide every Australian school student with knowledge and skills to prosper in the Asian century. The outcomes of such a strategy will make a vital contribution to: a globally competitive Australian workforce

a vibrant and outward looking Australian society, and

an Australian nation with a deep, purposeful connection with Asia. Key performance indicators would include: By 2020 Every principal in every school equipped to ensure their school achieves Asia

literacy for all students. Every teacher supported to implement the Asia priority in the Australian

Curriculum. Every graduate teacher to enter the workforce with knowledge of Asia, relevant

to their teaching qualification.


27

By 2025 Every student to gain foundational and deep knowledge of the countries and

cultures of Asia and their engagement with Australia by the time they leave school.

50 percent of students from Foundation Year -‐ Year 10 to study an Asian language.

The strategy would address three key problems: 1. The lack of a coordinated national approach to equip young Australians with

knowledge of Asia and Asian languages has reduced the efficacy of effort and resources in past programs. A national, coordinated and collaborative strategy would provide increased value for money and acceleration of student outcomes.

2. Low levels of student intercultural skills and knowledge of Asia threatens

literacy strategy would ensure that every student would exit schooling with Asia knowledge and skills from 2025 and therefore ensure an Australian community with increased knowledge and understanding of Asia.

3. Low student participation in Asian languages endangers Aust

strategy would aspire to fifty percent of students studying an Asian language at some stage of their schooling by 2025.

The strategy would focus on three strategic interventions: 1. Ensure national coordination and collaboration of strategies taking into account

that jurisdictions and schools have prime responsibility for planning and delivery of the Australian Curriculum. National change strategies would include re-‐generated forums for Asia-‐Australia education jurisdiction dialogue; monitoring student participation and outcomes; supporting innovative solutions to intractable problems; building an evidence base; addressing structural impediments; utilising new technologies and developing a national resource bank of curriculum materials and school programs.

2. to ensure the goals of the Australian Curriculum and National Standards can be met including equip every school principal to lead an Asia literate school; provide all teachers with access to targeted professional learning programs; provide curriculum resources and an evidence base to support classroom implementation of the Australian Curriculum and ensure all graduate teachers enter the workforce with Asia knowledge and skills.


28

3. Increase the value students, parents and the community place on Asia

knowledge and Asian languages including engage all Australian schools with schools in Asia to strengthen people-‐to people links; support school, business and community partnerships; implement a public education strategy and provide incentives to students to continue Asian languages study.

investment

year for 8 years and resulted in a doubling of the number of students undertaking Asian languages and 50 percent of schools including some study of Asia.32 Leveraging the new opportunity provided by the new Australian Curriculum,

sustainability that NALSAS lacked. A similar level of investment will cost over $1 billion dollars.

years. That would seem a small price to pay to equip every young Australian -‐ and Australia -‐ for the opportunities of the Asian Century.

32 Erebus Consulting, 2002, Review of NALSAS, Commonwealth of Australia


29

ATTACHMENT 1: AEF Advisory Board Members Name Representing Position and Organisation Prof Field Rickards (CHAIR)

The University of Melbourne Dean, Melbourne Graduate School of Education

Susan Mann (DEPUTY CHAIR)

Education Services Australia Chief Executive Officer

Prof Kent Anderson Asian Studies Association of Australia Vice-‐President

Michele Cody Australian Primary Principals Association Member, National Executive

Prof Bob Conway Australian Council of Deans of Education Dean of Education, Flinders University

Ian Dalton Australian Parents Council Executive Director

Peter Garrigan Australian Council of State School Organisations

President

Cheryl Best

Department of Education & Training, NSW General Manager, Learning and Development

Valerie Gould

Independent Schools Council of Australia Executive Director, Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia

Tony Mackay ACARA AITSL

Deputy Chair Chair

Jenny McGregor Asialink Chief Executive Officer

Alex Gordon Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Branch Manager, National Curriculum Branch

Helen O'Brien National Catholic Education Commission Assistant Director, Catholic Education Office, SA

Susan Gazis Australian Professional Teaching Associations

President

Sheree Vertigan Australian Secondary Principals Association

President

Chris Wardlaw Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Vic

Deputy Secretary, Office of Policy, Research and Innovation

Juanita Healy Department of Education, WA A/Executive Director, Statewide Services

Prof Fazal Rizvi The University of Melbourne Professor in Global Studies in Education, Melbourne Graduate School of Research

John Firth Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Certification Authorities

Chairman, ACACA, CEO, Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority


30

Attachment 2: International Comparisions European Union

33

Asia-‐Europe Classroom, an Asia-‐Europe Foundation initiative, has connected

http://www.aec.asef.org/ Sweden

In 2011 Swedish Education Minister announced that Chinese should be taught in all Swedish schools within the decade, making it the first European country to do so.34

France 352 schools offering Chinese in 2008 and 20,628 students learning the

language, making it the fifth most popular language in France.35 Spain

Casa Asia has established the School of Bamboo, which supports Asian studies in Spanish schools.

United Kingdom Modern Foreign Languages are a core element of the National Curriculum.

Only four non-‐European languages can be taught: Japanese, Mandarin, Urdu and Arabic.36

One in seven UK schools now teaching Mandarin, with nation-‐wide increases seen in students completing A-‐level Chinese, rising from 2372 in 2010 to 3237 in 2011.37

British Council connects 43,000 students and teachers in UK and China through Global School Partnerships. 3,900 school partnerships established between schools in the UK and Asia, Africa and Latin America.38

United States

Secretary for Education, Arne Duncan, has expressed an u

languages that are essential for our economic and strategic interests languages such as Arabic and Mandarin Chinese, Urdu and Farsi, Pashto and

39

33 http://ec.europa.eu/languages/languages-of-europe/languages-2010-and-beyond_en.htm 34 http://www.thelocal.se/34768/20110706/ 35 European Journal of Education 44, No. 1, 2009, pp. 75-6 36 3 and attainmen The National Curriculum 2007, p. 166. www.qca.org.au/curriculum (accessed 22 January, 2012) 37 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8439959.stm 38 http://www.britishcouncil.org/new/press-office/press-releases/call-for-young-linguists-to-enter-chinese-speaking-x-factor/ 39 http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/education-and-language-gap-secretary-arne-duncans-remarks-foreign-language-summit

http://www.aec.asef.org/

http://www.qca.org.au/curriculum

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8439959.stm

http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/education-and-language-gap-secretary-arne-duncans-remarks-foreign-language-summit

http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/education-and-language-gap-secretary-arne-duncans-remarks-foreign-language-summit


31

Asia Society have been active in incorporating an International Education focus in the US Common Core Standards designed to provide consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn.40

Connect All Schools Initiative aims to link every school in the United States to the world by 2016. So far, 302 classes from 263 schools have been connected to 125 countries. www.connectallschools.org

4%, or 59,860 US students, learning a foreign language were learning Chinese in 2008, with 779 Chinese language programs running in elementary and secondary schools.41

China

Chinese Government sends 5,000 teachers abroad to over 300 Confucius Institutes each year to gain international experience, with more than 230,000 people enrolling in the program so far.42

Chinese Government has a policy to send all high school principals on international experience programs in the next five years to develop their international mindset and learn from others.

Taiwan

underpinned by two core visions to provide a quality learning environment, cultivate good citizens and boost international competitiveness.43

New Zealand

The International Education Agenda 2007-‐2012 is significantly focused on the Asia-‐Pacific region promoting the embedding of Asia into the NZ curriculum, development of resources and to increase teacher, principal and School Board awareness of Asia.44

Links Asia Society: http://asiasociety.org/ Asia NZ Foundation: http://asianz.org.nz/ Asia-‐Europe Foundation: http://asef.org/ Casa Asia: http://casaasia.eu British Council: http://www.britishcouncil.org/new/ Partnership for 21st Century Skills: http://www.p21.org/

40 http://sites.asiasociety.org/pgl2012/2011/11/15/the-common-core-and-global-competence/ 41 Vivien Stewart & Chris Livaccari, Meeting the Challenge: Preparing Chinese Language Teachers for American Schools, New York: Asia Society, 2010, pp. 10-11 42 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8776515/The-rise-and-rise-of-Mandarin-but-how-many-will-end-up-speaking-it.html 43 Wu Ching-Ji, Education in Taiwan 2011-2012, Taipei: Ministry of Education, Government of Taiwan, 2011, p. 45 44 International Education Division,The International Education Agenda: A Strategy for 2007-2012, Wellington: New Zealand Government. 2007

http://www.connectallschools.org/

http://asiasociety.org/

http://asianz.org.nz/

http://asef.org/

http://casaasia.eu/

http://www.britishcouncil.org/new/

http://www.p21.org/


32

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45 As noted by renowned performer and Festival Director Robyn Archer at the Asialink / AsiaSociety National Forum, “Mapping our Future in the Asian Century” in Canberra in May 2010.


33

Given the vast economic, social and security changes implicit in the Asian Century, it

greater understanding of the history, geography, society and culture of the many countries in Asia. Through this, Australia will be better positioned to maximize the opportunities arising from these changes and promote regional harmony. The arts can play a key role in the development of mutual understanding between Asia and Australia. To maximize economic opportunities for business and government by leveraging

-‐

Culture is embedded in all facets of Asian societies and social engagement through culture can be an effective channel to building other relationships. Engagement through culture can build trust and networks that are necessary for developing business relationships. To maximize training, professional development, employment, leadership and

market opportunities for the current and future generation of cultural workers and artists through increased confidence, skills and networks.

Asian cultural markets are expanding exponentially and Australia has a competitive advantage in the supply of highly trained and skilled artists and cultural workers. Given the scope and scale of the investment in cultural infrastructure and facilities this opens up new and exciting opportunities for Australian workers in the cultural sector. However, they must develop confidence and skills by working on projects and programs with and in Asia. To increase innovation and creative stimulation to artists, arts and audiences by

participating in some of the most exciting and creative global markets

sheer scale and complexity of its growth. This is a highly stimulating and creative

make a strong contribution in Asia. f its special expertise in

cultural production, management, infrastructure and policy development to high growth markets in Asia.

Australia has some if the best professional training and courses in cultural production, management and policy. There is a dearth of this in Asia opening up

opportunities. To maximize opportunities from an increasingly competitive and crowded market.


34

-‐

and Asia is now the target of significant cultural investment from Europe, the United Kingdom and, increasingly, the United States. As Asia leverages its new influence to develop cultural relationships with partners with more money and stronger global status, Australia can no longer take its geographic proximity for granted or assume it will enjoy a privileged relationship with Asia. It must be pro-‐active and invest in

countries. To develop strong people-‐to-‐people relationships in the region Cultural engagement is one of the best ways of developing people-‐to-‐people relationships and networks that are vital to building trust. Working on arts projects together and engaging with local audiences is a highly effective means of building long term relationships in the region as demonstrated by the ongoing success of the Asialink residency program. WHAT IS THE CURRENT SITUATION? Since 1990, government policies at local, state and commonwealth levels have taken

Governments have increased their investment in cultural programs, many of which now include an international component that prioritizes international activity, including Asia, both for cultural exchange and commercial export. Similarly, there has been a greater degree of sophistication in utilizing the arts and culture as core

-‐ Australia does not have a single agency such as the British Council, Goethe Institute or Alliance Francaise to co-‐ordinate (and fund) its international cultural relationships.

agencies, organizations, individuals and funding sources to deliver a broad range of activities at official, semi-‐official and non-‐official levels. Some strategic co-‐ordination is based on the DFAT priority years of engagement such as China 2010, Korea 2011 and India 2012. The key players involved in Asia cultural engagement include:

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through its Cultural Diplomacy Section that includes the Australia International Cultural Council as well as

the Australia Japan Foundation that provide some funding for cultural exchange projects;

The Australia Council through its Market Development section as well as organizations, programs and projects funded through individual Boards

Austrade through support for new market development for performing and visual arts and publishing.


35

Individual State and Territory Governments that fund international cultural projects;

Local Governments that may develop international cultural programs, usually as part of Sister-‐City relationships

A number of philanthropic and other government related agencies such as Copyright Agency Limited and the Australia India Institute might fund individual artists or projects.

Programs and projects funded by the agencies listed above are delivered through organisations such as Asialink Arts as well as a variety of small, medium and large performing arts, visual arts, new media and literary organizations and individuals on both a non-‐profit and commercial basis. This diversity and devolution has resulted in a rich, although somewhat fragmented approach to international cultural engagement. Trade in arts and culture can impact the way Australians feel and think about the world and how they act in it. And Australian cultural products influence how the country is seen. It is difficult to get data on the historical and current level of cultural engagement with Asia. Some statistics are captured under ABS trade in products data, but this is misleading as it does not capture the trade in cultural services, and in many cases the level of cultural etrade but for non-‐profit cultural exchange purposes. Therefore it is difficult to obtain quantitative data on the level of cultural exchange and any review must make a more qualitative assessment. A survey of international cultural activity with Asia, underscores the increasing level of cultural engagement although it also reveals the inconsistent approaches to Asian engagement and highlights the need for a more strategic national approach. Specific examples can demonstrate an increased level of activity since 1990 as most of the programs and projects cited below did not exist prior to this date. Asialink Arts began in 1991 and since then Asialink residency programs have enabled up to 40 artists and managers per annum to undertake residencies in Asia resulting in approximately 72,000 resident days in Asia. 80 exhibitions have toured to over 200 venues resulting in an opening of an Australian exhibition in Asia every 23 days. Asialink Arts programs seeded many new initiatives that have since developed their own independent projects and ongoing relationships. In addition, projects such as the Asia Pacific Triennial established in 1993 by the Queensland Art Gallery and major exhibitions on contemporary Chinese art at both the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney and the National Gallery of Australia as well as the establishment of Gallery 4A and White Rabbit in Sydney demonstrate the increased level of engagement. State and National Galleries have expanded their Asian galleries and holdings, most notably the new Asian Galleries at the AGNSW opened in 2003, the new Indian Gallery at the NGA and the refurbished galleries at the NGV.


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Likewise major capital city festivals and performing arts venues are programming Asian theatre, dance and music into festival programs and newly established Asian festivals have emerged such as OzAsia at Adelaide Festival Centre (2009 and 2010), the biennial Kenneth Myer Asian Theatre series at the Arts Centre in Victoria (2010) and Parramasala Australian Festival of South Asian Arts in Parramatta NSW (2010). Writing and publishing activity has also increased with increased representation of

naged through the Australia Council and Asialink. The economic growth in Asia is also reflected in a boom in the art market and a parallel investment in cultural infrastructure that has provided new opportunities to producers and artists. Commercial producers, festival and performing arts venues, publishers and galleries have been exploring new markets in Asia. Increasingly Australia commercial galleries are participating in newly established Asian based Art fairs such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, Delhi and Korea and including Asian or Asian / Australian artists in their exhibition programs. Whilst there is no doubt that the increased level of cultural engagement has had both economic and creative benefits to both artists and business, it most importantly plays a broader role in the community through the people to people dialogue it requires and encourages. WHAT ARE THE KEY ISSUES?

The Asian Century White Paper is one of two key policy initiatives, currently being undertaken by the Commonwealth Government, that have potentially significant implications for Australian art and culture internationally, particularly in Asia.

as an opportunity for deepening our engagement with Asia in the terms of reference for the Asian Century White Paper as so often this dimension of international engagement is ignored. Secondly, the Government has committed to releasing a new national cultural policy in 2012. It will be the first national cultural released since late 1994 when Creative Nation was launched by then Prime Minister Paul Keating. Creative Nation was seen to be a watershed in cultural policy terms, not only because it was the first that Australia had released, but also because it was groundbreaking in terms of the concepts that underpinned its policies and programs including a new focus on market and audience development, including international markets. The coincidence of the timing of these two important policies provides a unique opportunity for Australian cultural policy to, once again, break new ground by positioning and resourcing cultural engagement with Asia as a major priority for Australia. This would also demonstrate the Governm

-‐


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cultural policy must also reflect this acknowledgement and some degree of resource -‐

engagement should not be at the expense of other important markets for Australian

increasingly represented and active at key, high status international events such as the Venice Biennale, which is why it is even more important that Australian maintains its strong representation at such events. However a new national Cultural Policy is also an important opportunity for Australia to make a strong policy statement and associated resource commitment to reflect the new the reality of the remarkable geo-‐politic shift that is occurring from West to East and the implications and opportunities that this offers Australian artists and the broader community.

In reviewing the current situation and status of cultural engagement with Asia it is clear that much has been achieved over the last 20 years. However, there is also a need for renewal to reflect current trends and cultural shifts. The current profile and opportunities in Asia really require us to review the rationales and mechanisms for our cultural engagement to ensure real respect and deep understanding. The environment and resources, both in Asia and Australia, have evolved and there is a need to make some changes. The experience of Asialink Arts is that expectations and opportunities have shifted over the last twenty years. What Asia wants are partnerships, collaboration and

sons will always have a place, it is important to be clear that the conscription of the arts in the service of nation state marketing may not actually be the most effective means of cultural engagement for the long term or even to achieve better understanding, trust and engagement, which is the core aim of cultural diplomacy. Working on cultural projects in partnership with colleagues in Asia provides rich and enduring opportunities to build trust, networks and meaningful dialogue that are important for the cultural sector, but spill-‐over into other important social, educational and economic relationships. This is a far more productive model of engagement that has the potential to build credibility and respect that does not

-‐bwell meaning Moreover, much of Asia itself is becoming increasingly sophisticated and skeptical about export oriented bi-‐ -‐ opportunities for real exchange and engagement based on principles of partnership, collaboration, reciprocity and multilateralism. This requires new models and platforms for program delivery, organizational structure and communication modes.


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Yet much of the currently available very limited resources for cultural engagement and exchange are prioritized for outbound, bilateral projects. Whilst these will always be important, it is critical that resources and infrastructure are also available to support reciprocal visits and multilateral projects. Inbound hosting is vital, but labor intensive to do it properly, yet it is one of the most productive and effective mechanisms to build relationships and understanding about Australia. Likewise, much of the funding that is available for outbound activity is very limited project based funds that limits the opportunities that Australia is able to pursue and makes us non-‐competitive in developing projects and relationships compared to other Western countries. Likewise, whilst there is limited virtually no funding for infrastructure, management, administration, communications or evaluation to properly plan, manage and deliver cultural exchange programs at a more strategic and longer term level. This is short sighted as these roles in themselves provide valuable employment and professional development opportunities to train and mentor our future arts leaders.

An argument is often made that Australia lacks public / cultural diplomacy capacity because it lacks a single delivery agency such as the British Council or the Goethe Institute that has significant resources and co-‐ordination for international cultural delivery in their respective countries. It is often cultural engagement would be enhanced with the establishment of a single new body and significant infrastructure to deliver a comprehensive international cultural strategy. Because of the prominence and profile of such bodies (increasingly in Asia) and the significant resources that accompany them, this is often recommended as

devolved delivery model through a variety of agencies. Certainly, the establishment of such a body may result in stronger strategic direction and coordination, and presumably additional resources. However, Asialink Arts would also make the following points in relation to this issue: Firstly, presuming the government would support such an initiative, it would require very significant funding to establish, much of which would be absorbed in establishing a new bureaucracy and new infrastructure. It is doubtful that Australia could match the resources of other countries already operating such models to

Secondly, the answer to developing better cultural engagement is not necessarily to be found in a different form of infrastructure. The key to improving cultural relationships in Asia is to change the actual model of engagement rather than the delivery means. The lack of infrastructure is certainly an issue, but can be dealt with by far more cost effective means than creating a new bureaucracy to deliver the same sorts of programs. As identified in issue 1 above, the critical issue is developing a new model of cultural engagement through partnerships, collaboration and reciprocity.


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international cultural engagement, with respect to Asia, Australia already has a number of agencies with experience to do, including Asialink, but none have ever been properly funded. Instead, organizations and agencies operate leanly but highly inefficiently due to the resources and effort required to source and service small amounts of funding from multiple sources, rather than delivering their mission. However, Asialink Arts certainly has the knowledge, expertise, networks and track record to undertake a more strategic leadership and coordination role for Asia if appropriately resourced. Fourthly, establishing a single agency with significant government funding with responsibility for international cultural engagement (i.e. putting all or most of your eggs in one basket) can leave the organization vulnerable if governments, policies or priorities change. This is certainly the case with some overseas agencies. Fifthly, Asia is a dynamic and fast changing environment that requires flexibility, the ability to make quick decisions and responsiveness to changing circumstances. These are qualities often difficult for large bureaucracies. Does the Australian arts and cultural sector have the requisite skills? Australia certainly has highly qualified artists, managers, producers and policymaker and excellent education and training courses and indeed such courses are very

understand and have experience of working in and with Asia. We need to be training the next economy. Some opportunities are provided through Asialink programs and projects such as the artist residency program, the touring exhibition program, writing exchanges and the multilateral Utopia project as well as other ad hoc projects including delegations. In addition, other agencies and organizations provide project opportunities for staff

-‐the-‐ we have barely scratched the surface in terms of preparing the current and next generation of cultural leaders to work effectively and with confidence with Asian partners and there is no overall strategy or dedicated resources to properly skill our arts workers and cultural leaders for the future. Organisations have the skills and projects to do this, but lack resources to do the job properly. Opportunities exist to develop intern programs, delegations and training programs to skill our next generation of arts workers and this investment would be recouped through the opportunities provided by working in the region and sharing and exporting these skills to Asia. Asialink has previously proposed a two-‐year intern scheme to train up to 25 Asia-‐specialist arts managers and producers over the next ten years and would be prepared to undertake a pilot project to test such a model.


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RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Make Asia a Key Priority for the new National Cultural Policy The Government must demonstrate their commitment to the opportunities of the

cultural engagement with Asia as a key priority in the new National Cultural Policy under development.

2.

engagement with Asia In making a cultural policy commitment to Asia, the Government and cultural sector

appropriate to the changed Asian and Australian environment, that are focused on partnerships, collaboration and reciprocity to ensure that this engagement results in long term and sustainable relationships that will ultimately be more beneficial to our national interest than overt national image campaigns.

3. Australia must invest in preparing the current and future generation of artists, managers, producers and policy leaders of the future to develop the skills, knowledge and experience to work effectively and with confidence with Asian partners.

1

Australia in the Asian Century Submission Executive Summary Asialink is Australia’s leading centre for the promotion of public understanding of the countries of Asia and Australia’s role in the region. The focus of this submission is on the organisational and individual capabilities required to develop a national Asia capable workplace. The original impetus for Asialink’s work in this area came from the 2010 Asialink National Forum where 130 leaders and specialists convened and noted the importance of this work to Australia’s future competitiveness and productivity. This prompted several pieces of work and the formation of a high-level taskforce comprising leaders from business, education and industry groups – the Asia Capable Workplace Taskforce. Asialink’s Asia Capable Workplace Taskforce is recommending a long-term, bipartisan strategy to develop an Asia capable workplace as a matter of national priority. Asialink has identified an urgent need for additional development in the area of Asia capabilities. For example, our research shows a strong correlation between successful business performance in Asia and businesses that have senior leaders with Asia experience. However, 32% of businesses surveyed have no leaders with these experiences, and the average business states that they are not adequately prepared for engagement with Asia. While Asia capable workplaces will ultimately be primarily driven by businesses according to their priorities, the foundation for business action depends on the crucial role of school education, tertiary education and training initiatives. Government policy is therefore an essential part of achieving and accelerating the development of Asia capable workplaces. A business-driven national strategy to develop Asia capable workplaces, supported by government, is imperative to give Australia a competitive advantage, enhance productivity and social well-being, and sustain a strong foundation for a long-term relationship with Asia. The Asia Capable Workplace Taskforce is committed to developing this strategy by mid-August 2012. To support the development of an Asia capable workforce, Asialink and the Asia Capable Workplace Taskforce are making three recommendations to government:

2

Recommendation One: Drive and resource an aligned multi-sectoral strategy and

initiatives to enhance Asia capabilities. Recommendation Two: Invest in relevant and effective resources and services to

increase Asia capabilities Recommendation Three: Promote national awareness and research into Asian countries

and cultures To advance these recommendations, several specific initiatives have been identified and are tabled below.

Recommendation Area Initiative National Strategy Establish a national strategy to build an Asia capable

Australian workforce. This priority is being progressed by the Asia Capable Workplace Taskforce

Workforce development

Acknowledge the development of an Asia capable workforce as a priority for government funding and support. This priority should be supported by Skills Australia (and in the future by the National Workforce and Productivity Agency)

School education Invest to provide all Australian school students with knowledge and skills to prosper in the Asian Century [see Asia Education Foundation submission]

Tertiary and vocational education

Re-evaluate Asia-focused curriculum and experiences; integrate an Asia focus across coursework including exchanges; recognise the progression of Asia capabilities as a policy priority. This priority could be supported by Universities Australia

1. Drive and resource an aligned multi-sectoral strategy and initiatives to enhance Asia capabilities

Students from Asia

Implement policies that facilitate integration into the workforce for Asian students

Resource creation and evaluation

Evaluate existing, and create new, training and educational resources that support organisations to develop Asia capabilities

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs)

Empower relevant government organisations to support SMEs to engage with Asia by organising trade delegations, business networking events, mentoring, educational seminars, and producing up-to-date guides on conducting business with Asian partners

2. Invest in relevant and effective resources and services to increase Asia capabilities

Quality assurance for training providers

Develop and promote a quality assurance process for providers of Asia capabilities training and/or a Professional Association with quality assurance as one of its functions

National awareness

Establish a targeted multi-channel communications strategy aimed at shifting mindsets regarding Asia engagement

3. Promote national awareness and research into Asian countries and cultures

Research into Asian countries and cultures

Specifically mention Asia research in the Australian Research Council’s National Research Priorities

3

Introduction Established over 20 years ago, Asialink is Australia’s leading centre for the promotion of public understanding of the countries of Asia and of Australia’s role in the region. Our mission is to work with business, government, and philanthropic and cultural partners to initiate and strengthen Australia-Asia engagement. Australia’s successful business engagement with Asia depends on a wide range of macro factors. These include diplomacy, trade terms, financial markets, migration policy, competitors in the global economy and social attitudes. However, whilst these create the conditions for engagement with Asia, organisations themselves need to be equipped with the capabilities and appropriately skilled employees to take advantage of available opportunities. This forms the focus of our submission: what organisations need to do to engage effectively with Asia, and what government and broader stakeholders can do to support this. It is imperative to address this issue as a matter of national priority in order to give Australia a competitive edge. Business and government must work together to equip the Australian workforce such that it is in an optimal position for future engagement in this century’s most economically vibrant region. The OECD estimates that by 2020, Asia will have more middle class consumers than the rest of the world combined,1 and we know that as a society becomes more affluent its demand for services grows. The services sector represents ~70% of Australia’s GDP and employs the majority of our working population. Due to the high degree of personal interaction required in service provision, the extent to which we are able to capitalise on this opportunity depends on employees’ and organisations’ abilities to understand and engage with Asia. In addition, Asia-engaged manufacturing organisations tend to have a larger proportion of Asia-based employees than other sectors. Again, it is crucial that they have the ability to understand the cultural context in which they work as well as a sound knowledge of the Asian business environment. Asialink’s Board provided Dr Henry with a briefing in late 2011 and hosted a consultation for Dr Henry and the White Paper secretariat with a range of business leaders, global capabilities training providers and education sector stakeholders in February 2012.

1 The Emerging Middle Class in Developing Countries, OECD Working Paper 285, 2010.

4

Background and work to date Australia owes much of its current prosperity to the sustained economic growth of our neighbours. Asia’s gross domestic product is likely to double in this decade, in stark contrast to forecasts for Europe and North America. The Australian Government recognises the importance of Australia’s ongoing and expanding ties to the region. We know that business dealings in Asia are extremely important to overall business success, particularly in large businesses. 56% of businesses with dealings in Asia state that their Asia involvement is highly or extremely important to their overall business success and 94% of businesses that currently have business dealings in Asia have interest in expanding those activities.2 Yet Asialink research conducted with Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) and the Business Council of Australia reveals that businesses know they do not have the kind of Asia capabilities that are necessary to fully take advantage of current global economic opportunities. A third of businesses believe they are underprepared for Asia engagement. Asialink’s experience supports this finding.3 The original impetus for Asialink’s work in this area came from the Asialink National Forum, Mapping our Future in the Asian Century, held at Parliament House, Canberra, on 25 May 2010. 130 leaders and specialists from across all sectors of Australian professional life noted the absence of a national strategy for embedding cultural intelligence and Asia skills, and the key importance of such a strategy to Australia’s future. This prompted Asialink to draw together a high-level taskforce comprising leaders from business, education and industry groups - the Asia Capable Workplace Taskforce (ACW Taskforce). Asia Capable Workplace Taskforce membership Mike Smith (Chair), CEO, ANZ Bank Jason Chang, CEO, EMR Capital Glyn Davis, Chair, Universities Australia Mark Johnson, Senior Adviser, Gresham Andrew Michelmore, CEO, MMG Sid Myer, Chair, Asialink Paul O’Sullivan, CEO, Optus Heather Ridout, CEO, Australian Industry Group Doug Ritchie, Chief Executive, Energy, Rio Tinto Hamish Tyrwhitt, CEO, Leighton Holdings Jennifer Westacott, CEO, Business Council of Australia Mike Wilkins, CEO, Insurance Australia Group

2 Engaging Asia, Australian Industry Group and Asialink, 2010, P 11. 3 Survey of Asia Capabilities, Asialink, Australian Industry Group and Business Council of Australia, Feb 2012.

5

Given the strategic importance of Asia to Australia’s future, in 2010-11, Asialink and Ai Group conducted a joint survey of 380 businesses and developed a publication – Engaging Asia: Getting it right for Australian Businesses. This was followed by the completion of a series of case studies in 2011 to distil best practice in Asia capable firms and led to the development of Asialink’s Asia Capable Workplace Framework and Asia Capable Employee Framework. In 2012, a second business survey was conducted with Ai Group and Business Council of Australia members to test the Frameworks further. We are continuing to refine and revise the Frameworks as we engage with business leaders and global capabilities experts. The ACW Taskforce is committed to building on this work by developing and championing an Asia Capable Workplace Strategy, to be launched in mid-August 2012. Australia’s challenge and opportunity is to develop Asia capable workplaces from the Board Room to the Factory Floor, across small, medium and large organisations. Thus, the ACW Taskforce is advocating strongly for a long-term bi-partisan strategy to develop an Asia capable workplace as a matter of national priority. Developing an Asia capable workplace will primarily be the responsibility of business, however the foundation for business action depends on the crucial role of education and training and, therefore, government policy is an essential part of achieving this objective.

Note: Survey methodology In 2010, Asialink commissioned Roy Morgan to assist in developing and administering a survey of senior business decision makers. The sample invited to participate in the survey was sourced from the Ai Group member database. Members include a wide range of small, medium and large business operators. The sample consists of 380 respondents and is referred to as the “Engaging Asia Survey”. In early 2012, the ACW Taskforce tested some of the key findings with Ai Group and Business Council of Australia members. Sixty organisations responded to this second survey, “Survey of Asia Capabilities”. While it is inappropriate to draw statistically significant conclusions from this later survey, it is noteworthy that the businesses that responded to the survey employ on average 13,847 people in their Australia-based organisation, 5,387 in their Asia ex Australia operations and 40,387 in their global organisation. The respective revenue figures are roughly $3.2 billion, $1.5 billion and $12.5 billion. This supports the case that their experiences could yield important lessons or insights for the business community and policy makers.

6

Capabilities required to engage with Asia Asialink initiated work on defining Asia capabilities in 2010. As described above, through a series of organisational surveys and business interviews, we have distilled best practice into two competency-based frameworks for organisations to develop an Asia capable workplace - “The Asia Capable Workplace Framework” and “The Asia Capable Employee Framework”. Importantly, the development of an evidence-based definition of an Asia capable organisation creates a validated benchmark for organisations as well as a common language for reporting, evaluation and stakeholder relations. The single most pressing challenge for organisations wishing to engage in Asia is attracting, retaining and leveraging Asia capable talent. Around one-third of large organisations state that this is a challenge in their Asian dealings.4 To maximise their employees’ Asia capabilities, organisations require a clear understanding of the qualities required to conduct successful cross-cultural business. Asialink describes the Asia capable employee in terms of the knowledge, skills and mindset required to successfully engage with Asia. (The Asia Capable Employee Framework is currently undergoing review and further testing and is not included in this version of the submission.) The Asia capabilities of an organisation that successfully engages with Asia are broader than the sum of their employees’ Asia capabilities. Our research has distilled six domains in which an organisation needs to be proficient in order to maximise its chances of success. Together, these make up the Asia Capable Workplace Framework. The six domains are: Strong leadership and vision; Talent development and retention; Productive local partnerships; Aligned internal culture; Requisite knowledge of local environment; Supportive systems and processes. Each domain compromises four defined levels of proficiency. (The Asia Capable Workplace Framework is currently undergoing review and further testing and is not included in this version of the submission.) Asialink is continuing to validate and refine these Frameworks to create a cross-sectoral, widely applicable measure of Asia capabilities in the workplace. To maximise the functionality and constructiveness of the Frameworks, they must be flexible enough to be widely applied and yet still provide a common language and definition for organisations to use with internal and external stakeholders.

4 Survey of Asia Capabilities, Asialink, Australian Industry Group and Business Council of Australia, Feb 2012.

7

All six of these domains are important for business success in Asia as confirmed by testing the Framework with 67 leading businesses from Ai Group and the Business Council of Australia. Furthermore these six domains account for the majority (~70%) of the hurdles businesses feel they must overcome to engage with Asia. Of the other ~30%, challenges varied from specific country policies and lack of funding to an ‘Australian mindset’ that has not embraced Asia. It is interesting and important to note that organisations indicated that language skills for senior staff were the least important of the assessed factors in contributing to success in Asia. This finding is also reflected in the Framework. However, this is likely to change as the rising economic power and influence of China increases the use of Chinese as a required business language. Long-term initiatives that build language skills (through school and tertiary education) will position the Australian workforce competitively in the future.

8

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9

The opportunity: Benefits and challenges of an Asia Capable Workplace There is a strong correlation between successful business performance in Asia and businesses that have senior leaders with Asia capabilities and experience. The 2010 Engaging Asia survey of 380 businesses confirmed that when a higher proportion of senior leaders have cultural training, speak an Asian language or have lived and worked in Asia for more than 3 months, their business performance exceeds expectations.5 Conversely, if the organisation has a lower proportion of senior leaders with Asia experiences they are more likely to underperform in Asia.

Strikingly, of the 380 organisations surveyed with Asia dealings, 32% have no senior leaders with these crucial experiences and skills, and it is likely that this figure is similar or greater across Australian business. Sound leadership when engaging with Asia generates a flow through effect to the rest of the organisation. It is vital that the knowledge, skills and mindsets required to engage with Asia are present in the leadership of an organisation to enable the development of a culture that is aligned from the ‘Board room to the Factory Floor’.

5 Engaging Asia Survey, Asialink and Australia Industry Group, 2010.

10

Investigations into the organisational and individual competencies developed through these experiences led to the formulation of the Asia Capable Workplace Framework. Subsequently, our follow up survey supported our hypothesis that organisations were under investing and under-prepared against these domains. The average business stated that, against all ACW Framework factors except “clear vision and strategy” they have “some preparation but inadequate”.6 Further, of the 67 businesses surveyed, 60% indicated at least one area with inadequate investment. Asialink’s experience - particularly through our Asialink Leaders Program, which works with emerging leaders - indicates that there are likely to be many organisations that have not fully recognised their need to invest. Our 2010 survey showed that 39% of small businesses and 50% of medium businesses want to expand or deal further in Asia, but that many find it difficult to invest in Asia on a small or medium scale.7 Given that ~46% of Australian GDP is made up of small and medium enterprises8 it is key to Australia’s growth that these organisations are enabled to engage with Asia.

6 Survey of Asia Capabilities, Asialink, Australian Industry Group and Business Council of Australia, Feb 2012. 7 Engaging Asia, Asialink and Australian Industry Group, 2010. 8 Australian Economic Indicators, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Jan 2010.

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Recommendation One: Drive and resource an aligned multi-sectoral strategy and initiatives to enhance Asia Capabilities The development of an Asia capable workplace should be acknowledged as a priority for government funding and support. While the development of an Asia capable workplace would primarily be the responsibility of businesses engaged with Asia, government plays a key role in the education and training required to underpin this. Both short-term (e.g. resources and services) and long-term initiatives (e.g. education and research) will be required. Specifically, the short-term elements should be supported by Skills Australia, and in the future the National Workforce and Productivity Agency, to administer the National Workforce Development Fund to support training and workforce development in areas of current and future skills need. The long-term elements should be supported by Universities Australia and the Australian school education system. A multi-sectoral strategy is necessary to address the challenges that businesses currently face in attracting, retaining and leveraging staff with Asia capabilities. To enhance the link between education and the workforce, we recommend that the government firstly invest in school level education [see our Asia Education Foundation submission]. Secondly, there should be a re-evaluation of Asia-focused curriculum and experiences at a tertiary and vocational education level. There is strong demand from business (73%) for an integrated Asia focus as part of tertiary coursework and a majority (57%) already actively recruit employees or graduates with Asia capabilities.9 While some tertiary institutes have made considerable progress, there needs to be a more consistent broadening of the undergraduate skill set to incorporate Asia capabilities.


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Universities Australia could play an important role in the tertiary sector by specifically recognising the progression of Asia capabilities as a policy priority. This would impact the approximately 1.2m students enrolled in Australian universities (2010 figure). This priority would sit comfortably with Universities Australia’s focus on a ‘third wave’ philosophy for international student engagement, seeking “educational richness and not just simple revenue payoff”. Asia-focussed curricula must also be integrated into TAFE courses, which comprised ~1.8m students in 2010. With regard to international students, we also welcome strategies designed to leverage the contribution of domestic and international students from Asia, for example, work placement programs, language schools, culture centres and accredited volunteer programs. We support and encourage policies that make it easier for Asian students to integrate into the workforce post-study including visa and immigration policy changes. In addition, international students returning to their home country could remain connected to Australia in a more structured way, for example, as official alumni. These former students are often great ambassadors for Australia and critical business links. Ideally government initiatives in this area should be bi-lateral with common goals set in conjunction with partner countries. When attempting integration into the labour market, Asian immigrants can face various forms of unemployment, underpayment and deskilling. Language and recognition of qualifications can be the largest hurdles to integration into the labour market. We endorse the work of government and community organisations that improve work-readiness among Asian immigrants as this work further supports the development of an Asia capable workplace as well as a range of social outcomes. Investments such as these will support the development of a much-needed Asia capable workforce that is highly capable, creative, adaptable, technically skilled and well-versed in the various cultural, bureaucratic, political, linguistic and business ways of the various economies of Asia.

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Recommendation Two: Invest in relevant and effective resources and services to increase Asia capabilities Given the growing demand for Asia capabilities it will be important to evaluate existing, and create new, resources that support organisations to develop these capabilities. Processes that help organisations to identify areas of strength and areas for improvement should be further developed and supported by a range of practical tools and access to appropriate expertise. It is important to acknowledge that Asia is made up of diverse countries and cultures. There is no singular “Asian” way of working or singular “Asian” knowledge to be taught. Experiences, resources and services must be relevant to the specific region and to its stage of development in order to be effective for organisations and employees. While organisations will require a range of services to meet diverse business needs, our experience indicates that leadership development programs focussed on Asia capabilities and personnel exchanges are highly valuable experiences. Our survey of Asia capabilities identified long or short-term personnel exchanges as the most cost effective ways to enhance Asia capabilities, supporting Asialink’s own experience. Delivery methods businesses find useful include: executive education on doing business in Asia; disseminating best practice research on doing business in Asia; workplace-based intercultural training. To a lesser extent organisations would find online forums or online intercultural training modules useful.10


“Asia is made up of many, many diverse and different points of view and cultures. It is important to truly embrace this principle.”

- Paul O’Sullivan, CEO Optus

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Our data also indicates that when organisations conduct joint training or strategy sessions with their local Asian teams or partners it can be very effective. It is notable that language training for senior leaders was not identified as cost-effective, potentially due to the long lead times required and high cost involved.11 For small and medium enterprises (SMEs), government services such as business.gov.au and state government organisations should continue to support SMEs to engage with Asia by organising trade delegations to Asia, business networking events, mentoring, educational seminars, and producing up-to-date guides on conducting business with Asian partners. Government should consider partnering with business to provide more opportunities for next generation executives - particularly in SMEs - to gain significant offshore experience. Asia capabilities are best developed when resources and services are based on the principles of a reciprocal conversation. Best practice case studies show that while Australians are learning about the many different ways of working in Asia, we must also acknowledge that our Asian counterparts are learning too – and be able to communicate in ways that all parties fully understand. In this way the partners can build an agreed, and at times hybrid, way of working together across multiple borders.

11 Survey of Asia Capabilities, Asialink, Australian Industry Group, Business Council of Australia, Feb 2012.

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Asialink’s preliminary research into providers of Asia capability building services shows that there are currently NGOs, HR consultants, marketing firms, universities, major international online providers, and individuals providing varying programs of cross-cultural training and/or global capabilities for Australians. The industry is still immature and has not consolidated around a particular quality standard, nor does it have a professional association. We recommend that in the longer term there is development and promotion of a quality assurance process for providers of Asia capabilities training and/or a Professional Association with quality assurance as one of its functions. Where market regulation can lead to inefficiencies, a quality assurance process could be valuable as a market signal of quality. Australian businesses would be given a competitive edge by fast-tracking the maturation of the Asia capabilities provider industry.

“You have to be able to create relationships from a cultural understanding of Asian and Western ways of doing business.”

- John Curtis, International Managing Partner, Freehills

“This is not just about us learning about them, but Asian colleagues also understanding us – an exchange.”

- Tim Oldham, President Asia-Pacific Unit, Hospira

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Recommendation Three: Promote national awareness and research into Asian countries and cultures Mindsets are a major challenge for businesses wishing to engage with Asia. For example, businesses cite challenges such as “Ignorance by Australians generally of the importance of Asian markets” and “Australia's view that it is not part of Asia - Australia holds itself back and is not engaging”, or even “Xenophobia”.12

National polling suggests that the general Australian public has a rather defensive mindset when it comes to Asia. For example, 65% of Australians polled in 2011 by the Lowy Institute for International Policy believed that China’s aim was to dominate Australia and 64% believed that if China were to gain more power and influence it would harm Australia’s interests. The perceived threat of other countries such as Indonesia is also very high.13 The Australian Human Rights Commission suggests that for part of the population this mindset derives from fear and ignorance. A targeted multi-channel communications strategy aimed at shifting mindsets regarding Asia engagement could be established to counter this.

This strategy would be targeted at the current and future business workforce. [Please see the Asia Education Foundation’s submission for information regarding a wider public communications campaign]. The strategy is likely to include messages such as: best-practice case studies; the benefits to Australia of engagement with Asia to date; communicating the role of Asia in Australia’s future; lifting expectations about Asia capabilities in the workplace; outlining a national strategy for building Asia capabilities; and disseminating research findings about the region and practical tips to build Asia capabilities throughout the community.

12 Survey of Asia Capabilities, Asialink, Australian Industry Group and Business Council of Australia, Feb 2012. 13 Australian Strategic Policy Institute, 2004; Lowy Institute for International Policy, 2010.

“Higher education has a key role to play in developing the kind of Asia-awareness that can both strip away the illusions and build local confidence. There is much to be gained by researching Asia and injecting that knowledge into the public domain. Undifferentiated stereotypes about Asia still abound.”

- Prof. Simon Marginson, Centre for the Study of Higher Education

“It is only when people understand the opportunity and importance of Asia, not just in Australia but in the global context, they will be driven to pursue the Asia-related skills and understanding. National awareness and research generates intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivation.”

- Doug Ritchie, Chief

Executive, Energy, Rio Tinto

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Furthermore, if we are to recognise that we are truly entering the Asian Century, national research priorities must direct funding towards gaining a deeper understanding of our Asian neighbours’ economies, politics, geography, history, sociology, cultures and values. Currently, the Australian Research Council’s national research priorities do not mention Asia, which is a reversal from the 1980s and 1990s when research into Asia was identified as a national priority. It is of vital importance that Asia be specifically mentioned in the National Research Priorities to acknowledge the importance of Asia and facilitate the increased quality and quantity of research into topics related to Asia. For example, Asia could be included in the research priority currently stated as “Understanding our region and the world, enhancing Australia’s capacity to interpret and engage with its regional and global environment through a greater understanding of languages, societies, politics and cultures.” This currently sits under the heading “Safeguarding Australia”; we suggest a new category of research with a connotation of building mutually beneficial relationships.

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Conclusion and Next Steps A business-driven national strategy to develop an Asia capable workplace, supported by government, is imperative to enable Australia to remain globally competitive, enhance productivity and social well-being and sustain a strong foundation for a long-term relationship with Asian countries. The Asia Capable Workplace Taskforce is committed to developing this strategy by mid-August 2012.

The ACW Taskforce is clear that to truly develop an Asia capable workplace, Australia must have a national strategy that integrates government, the education sector, the business sector and the wider community. The ACW Taskforce forward strategy is built on these pieces of work:

• Setting a compelling vision for an Asia Capable Workplace. • Refining and validating the Asia Capable Workplace Framework and Asia Capable

Employee Framework. • Identifying the practical steps that enable businesses to build Asia capabilities,

resulting in a guide for organisations. • Supporting the guide with provision of services, tools and experiences to help

develop these capabilities. • Identifying the target market – that is, organisations with greatest need and

inadequate preparation. • Analysing gaps in the supply side and assessing the degree of change required to

meet organisational needs. • Assisting the maturation of the global capabilities provider market e.g. through a

quality assurance process or professional association. • Identifying cross-sectoral initiatives (government, education, community, business)

that enhance efficiency and effectiveness. • Designing a targeted communications strategy. • Formative evaluation of the strategy to aid continuous improvement.

asialink submission

Documents

asian century white

asialink submission

asian region

asian countries

contemporary asian perceptions

wider australian community

asia education foundation

white paper secretariat