The Schools E-Learning Project: a context-responsive teacher professional development model grounded in a research-practice partnership in remote Papua New Guinea

Research published in Frontiers in Education evaluates the Schools E-Learning Project (SELP), a context-responsive teacher professional development initiative in Papua New Guinea established in 2020 through a research-practice partnership between an international development agency, the Long Term Fund, and a university. Aligned with Papua New Guinea's National Education Plan (2020: 2029), the initiative addresses severe infrastructure constraints and geographic remoteness by coupling technology integration with continuous, localised coaching delivered by domestic educational leaders. The model is structured around a program logic framework and wrap-around evaluation architecture.

This initiative matters because it offers an operational blueprint for deploying technology-supported professional development in infrastructure-poor, geographically isolated environments. It demonstrates that digital interventions require localised human coaching and institutional partnerships to overcome systemic delivery bottlenecks. Furthermore, it validates the use of research-practice partnerships to align international development funding with national policy mandates.

Papua New Guinea's National Education Plan (2020: 2029) establishes teacher professional development as a central mechanism for educational quality improvement.

Forward consideration, not a verified fact.