'Yumi Yumi’ - a pre-service teacher global immersion in Vanuatu

Abstract

Gaining understanding and appreciating variances within culture and education is an important goal for teacher education. Therefore, opportunities to become immersed in local communities and school systems within globilized contexts needs to be embedded within education programs. As advocated by Darling- Hammond (2011), having the experience to plan, teach and reflect on practice, whilst in practice, provides pre-service teachers with a stronger understanding of the interconnectedness between curriculum, pedagogy and culture. Coupled with this, the availability of mentoring from academics, with continuous support from peers established as a community of learners, has the potential for significant and deep learning for all participants. Therefore, it is recommended that global immersions such as the Vanuatu experience reported upon in this paper, are encouraged and regarded as 'Yumi Yumi' - 'You and Me' - where we belong together in the quest for effective learning and teaching.