- Posted on 9 Mar 2026
- 3-minute read
There is something marvellous about taking a preservice teacher from South Korea into an Australian school and hearing them ask with wonder, “Why are the children sitting on the floor outside of the building eating food?”
Emre Mehmet, the Head Teacher of Teaching and Learning at Chatswood High School, which is a culturally diverse and semi-selective high school located in the north shore, replies how Australian students bring their own food that they eat outside during their break times.
Really, how amazing!” the Korean preservice teacher replies.
A seven-year partnership
On the 9th of February 2026, fifteen South Korean preservice teachers from Seoul National University (SNU) College of Education, accompanied by Professor Byungmin Lee and Seungyun Oh, came to Sydney for observation-based international placement.
It was the seventh year of the UTS and SNU partnership that been supported and funded by the Australian Korean Foundation (AKF), Department of Foreign Affairs. This visit was preceded by an observation-based field trip to Seoul by UTS preservice teachers in 2025.
South Korea’s PISA scores reveal it to be one of the highest performing countries in math, science and reading. This hard work ethic and immense respect for education was witnessed by the UTS preservice teachers when visiting South Korean schools. It was therefore very exciting to see what the SNU preservice teachers would learn from observing Australian classrooms.
Beyond the classroom
Their first day was kicked off by a visit to the Sydney Aquarium and the Australian Museum to speak with the educators about their rich learning programs and experiences. Informal learning experiences are a huge part of Australian schooling, and SNU students could witness firsthand the authentic and engaging learning opportunities that lay beyond the classroom.
Into Australian schools
Where would UTS be without their dedicated and passionate community of school partners? The next three days involved visits to Chatswood High School, MLC School and Macquarie Fields High School.
The unique environments of the schools offered up many insights into diverse teaching and learning practices. Emre Mehmet, Cathryn Moore (MLC School’s Strategic Projects Leader) and Sangeeta Hegde (Macquarie Fields High School Head Teacher of Teaching and Learning) worked hard to organise classroom visits for SNU students to observe, paying particular attention to showing a breadth of experiences that they may perhaps not have encountered in their own country.
Our guests acted in drama classes, played a game of cricket and participated in a classic playground activity of ‘bull-rush.’ They spoke with the school’s executive staff about the school’s vision and teacher professional learning, whilst also participating in staff meetings where they learnt about explicit teaching.
The SNU preservice teachers expressed wonder over aspects of Australian schooling, reflecting on the deeper cultural values driving our approaches to teaching, learning and schooling.
Learning together
Finally, they finished their trip with a visit to UTS, where they taught UTS preservice teachers the basic characters of ‘hangeul,’ the Korean language, whilst the UTS students quizzed them on Australian idiom and slang. The day was topped off with a visit to the pub, where SNU students were initiated into Australian’s ‘watering hole’ culture of unwinding.
Due to the high level of resourcing required, international exchanges may be challenging to coordinate, but its value was clear through its profound impact. Both the Korean and Australian educators found that in sharing their strengths and weaknesses, they could find the most opportunities for growth.
UTS looks forward to many more years of close collaboration with SNU’s College of Education!
Image caption: Preservice teachers from Seoul National University (SNU) College of Education learning from MLC School
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