THE DELEGATION of the Congressional Education Commission II or EDCOM 2 wrapped up its learning visit in Australia.

EDCOM 2 Co-Chairpersons Senator Sherwin Gatchalian and Representative Mark Go led the Philippine delegation to key Australian organizations and institutions in the visit from April 30 to May 6, 2023.

The trip, organized by the Philippine Business for Education with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, aimed to help EDCOM 2 gain insights from the Australian education system, particularly in areas of governance, teacher quality, assessment, early childhood education and government-industry-academia collaboration for lifelong learning.

During a visit to the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, the delegation studied best practices on how to reduce the amount of time school leaders and teachers spend on non-teaching, non-learning or non-leadership tasks.

The delegation also visited the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, the organization that manages the national curriculum of Australia, where they learned about how the country develop and review their national curriculum, as well as setup mechanisms for assessment.

Under EDCOM 2’s Priority Area 7, the Commission will look into validating current efforts for curriculum reform by the Department of Education.

The delegation also visited the Australian Education Research Organization which commissions research on effective teaching and learning practices for teachers and school leaders across Australia.

It sought to understand how the Australian government studies gaps in their system, providing an internal feedback loop that enables them to continuously improve.

EDCOM 2’s Priority Area 25 explores implementing integrated performance management systems and accountability within the education sector.

The Philippine delegation also visited other institutions that indirectly play important roles in the Australian education system, including the Sydney General Assembly and the Western Parkland City Authority.