Education is about developing knowledge and academic skills, but it is also about developing the person who will use that knowledge.
Visit good schools around the world, and you will almost certainly find a set of words describing the qualities they hope to nurture in their students. A shared set of characteristics gives the whole school community a common language to support that development.
While having a learner profile is common, what makes Dyatmika’s learner profile distinctive is how it was developed, how it is embedded in everyday school life, and its strong connection to the Indonesian and Balinese cultural context.
Recognisably Dyatmika
The school’s previous learner profile had served the school well, but it felt it needed to be refined, streamlined, and made more recognisably Dyatmika. As an international school in Bali with a strong Indonesian identity, Dyatmika want its students to develop an understanding of the wider world while remaining connected to the culture and community around them.
This thinking influenced the design of the icons accompanying each characteristic. The intention was not simply to make the profile attractive. The icons needed to be memorable and feel as though they belonged to the school, rather than representing a generic set of educational values. For example, the icon for ‘Respectful’ features hands in a gesture of greeting or prayer, alongside an image of traditional Balinese temple gates, providing a visual reminder of respect and connection to the culture in which the students are growing up.
The Process Mattered
Perhaps the most valuable part of developing the new profile was the process itself. Staff and students were asked to consider the existing learner profile, identify the characteristics they felt were most important, and explain what those characteristics meant to them. Surveys allowed the school to gather and compare their views. From this, a refined set of characteristics emerged.
A staff team then worked carefully on the language used to describe each characteristic. Dyatmika School developed shorter definitions for Primary students and more detailed versions for High School students, while retaining the same underlying values throughout the school.
While coming up with a set of words or characteristics is relatively straightforward, the conversations about what those values actually meant were far more important. Colleagues discussed, challenged, and refined their understanding of each characteristic, considering how each related to the school’s setting and could influence everyday life at school.
The icons were developed in a similarly collaborative spirit. Students were invited to submit ideas through a competition, with the strongest concepts then adapted and refined by Dyatmika’s Art teachers, with a focus on symbolism and their connection to the context.
Living the Profile
The characteristics are visible in every classroom and in prominent locations around the school. ‘Launch weeks’ at the start of the school year help familiarise students with the learner profile and raise awareness of its characteristics through a series of fun, engaging lessons and activities. The characteristics also feature in or shape assemblies throughout the year.
School events are mapped to the learner profile, and its language is consistently incorporated into classroom learning. These learner characteristics also provide reference points for behaviour, guidance, and the social and emotional aspects of school life, as well as informing recognition and reward frameworks.
They are not targets against which students are graded, nor are they a checklist to be completed by a particular age. Instead, they are applied appropriately at every stage of a student’s development and throughout their journey at Dyatmika School.
Ultimately, the real test is whether students understand what those words mean. A student should recognise the importance of collaboration while working in a science laboratory, understand resilience after a disappointing result, or demonstrate respect during a football match. They might recognise the importance of curiosity when investigating a question in class or understand responsibility when reflecting on a choice they have made.
Looking Ahead
Dyatmika knows that its students leave Dyatmika with strong academic foundations, progressing to universities around the world to study the courses of their choice. However, academic success is only part of what Dyatmika want for them. The school also want them to have the confidence, character, and habits of mind to make good choices, work well with others, respond to challenges, and understand their broader responsibilities.
For us, this is the purpose of the Dyatmika Learner Profile. It is one way in which Dyatmika turn its wider vision of “Education for a better world” into something that students can understand, embody, and carry with them long after they leave Dyatmika School.
Prospective parents are always welcome to visit Dyatmika and see the Learner Profile in action for themselves. Dyatmika’s Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn pages also provide a window into a happy, successful school.