Books by C. Frances Koya Vaka'uta
A collection of papers based on twelve presentations delivered as part of the School of Education... more A collection of papers based on twelve presentations delivered as part of the School of Education's Talanga Seminar Series, at the University of the South Pacific. Published by: Common Ground Publishing, Champaign, Illinois.
This Art exhibition featured 19 Fijian emerging artists who participated in a one year project le... more This Art exhibition featured 19 Fijian emerging artists who participated in a one year project learning about Wellness, health and NCDs in Fiji and the Pacific. Their conceptual art projects were designed to generate dialogue with the wider community and with the Ministry of Education's Health Promoting School Project. The exhibition is an outcome of the Educating for Sustainable Lifestyles through the Arts is co-managed by Peter Sipeli (FNU) and Cresantia Frances Koya (USP). It is funded through the Fiji College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, FNU, AusAid, Ministry of Health and the Faculty of Arts, Law and Education, USP.
Pacific people have survived in vulnerable environments for thousands of years. This collection d... more Pacific people have survived in vulnerable environments for thousands of years. This collection documents Pacific notions of adaptation and survival. The articles portray how Pacific societies live the principles of ESD in their daily lives. "Continuity & Survival" provides an avenue for deeper understanding of Indigenous notions of education and sustainable living and development. This book is recommended as an avenue for mainstreaming ESD principles and practices relevant to the Pacific.
This collection takes a radical approach to ESD, challenging concepts that compartmentalize the e... more This collection takes a radical approach to ESD, challenging concepts that compartmentalize the environment and the economy from the personal and cultural life experience. It offers an insight into indigenous knowledge systems through painting, photographs, poetry, chants, stories and dance theatre. A combination of traditional stories and contemporary interpretations of cultural knowledge, the book deliberately shifts emphasis from looking to the outside for solutions, to a reflective analysis of traditional practices often taken foregranted.
Pacific stories of Sustainable Living is intended to stimulate reflection and discussion on local conceptions of ESD in order to engage students, scholars, institutions and the wider Pacific community in an ongoing dialogue that will inform contemporary practice.The contributors share the view that remembering and realigning beliefs, attitudes and behavior may provide contextual solutions to existing and emerging challenges faced in the region.
An annotated bibliography compiled for students includes a selection of article and book summarie... more An annotated bibliography compiled for students includes a selection of article and book summaries related to ESD.
Pacific Education: Issues and Perspectives covers a number of contemporary issues in Pacific Educ... more Pacific Education: Issues and Perspectives covers a number of contemporary issues in Pacific Education. Presenting a combination of empirical research, critical reviews and eclectic approaches, this book discusses issues and perspectives ranging from factors affecting teaching and learning, to various change agendas in Pacific education. The collection holds relevance to anyone with an interest in Pacific education including students, teachers and scholars, as well as policy makers and other educational stakeholders.
Papers by C. Frances Koya Vaka'uta
Restorying the Pasifika Household , 2023
This chapter focuses on education for the future, exploring critical areas of
learning for resili... more This chapter focuses on education for the future, exploring critical areas of
learning for resilience in preparing the Pacific child as an emerging leader and agent of change. The argument is made for an educational rethink drawing on core themes of what resilience means and what sustainability looks like in the Pacific. It highlights Pacific youth issues and challenges against a backdrop of regional ecological tensions and global challenges. Informed by global shifts, regional thinking and local needs, a glocal approach is advocated to enable culturally relevant, critical and creative thinking about what and who education is for. At the regional level, the Pacific Regional Education Framework (PacREF) 2018–2030 provides a 12-year framework promoting equitable access to high quality education for all, and the Pacific Regional Culture Strategy 2022–2032 sets the culture for development agenda. While it is heartening to see a culture-positive approach to education and development at the policy level, the test of time will indicate whether we have the political will, commitment and capacity to deliver on these aspirational priorities. A future-proof education may not be possible, but the ever-changing Pacific development context means that an adaptable futures-thinking approach is essential. Central to this rethinking is the return to source, looking closely at
culture, language and indigenous knowledge systems. On the one hand, there is an urgency to ensure continuity and revitalisation of those aspects of our ways of life that are at risk. At the same time, there remains a critical need to ensure transmission of knowledge and skills that strengthen our collective resilience, ensuring our ability to adapt to future challenges. By focusing on these two dual priorities in education, we might be better able to nurture resilient individuals and households for truly sustainable Pacific societies for the future
Cultural Heritage, Arts and Sustainability in the Pacific: Indigenous knowledge systems and academic education, 2023
Indigenous knowledge, including heritage arts and languages, has, for the most part, remained on ... more Indigenous knowledge, including heritage arts and languages, has, for the most part, remained on the margins of educational and national development discourse in the Pacific. While the 'developed' world has long recognized the value and benefit, both sociocultural and economic, of the creative industries and the cultural economy, Pacific Island nations have only recently begun this conversation, having focused primarily on economic development. This chapter is presented in three parts: the first explores the context of Pacific development, education and culture; the second discusses the role and significance of Pacific heritage; and the third considers the potential role of Pacific universities in helping to foster Pacific indigenous knowledge systems, culture and the arts to better frame national and regional development discourses within the broader sustainable development agenda. frances c. koya vaka'uta Who walked the earth, Shapeshifting … And so, I learned the family stories Birthed in Sale'imoa and Nofo'ali'i And I learned the love of culture But I was deprived of language And given instead this foreign tongue to think and speak Having been instructed That my first duty was to listen to my elders The second was to excel in school ….
Relational Hermeneutics: Decolonisation and the Pacific Itulagi, 2017
This chapter focuses on Pacific island ways of negotiating knowledge. It begins from the premise ... more This chapter focuses on Pacific island ways of negotiating knowledge. It begins from the premise that the researcher as learner, seeking knowledge (data), needs to learn how to negotiate access to a particular knowledge base in various indigenous contexts. Numerous Pacific island scholars assert that a decolonisation of research is needed to cater for the fact that Pacific indigenous peoples view and engage in the world differently.
Tapa: from Southeast-Asia to Polynesia, 2017
In Samoa and Tonga, Tapa is made from treated bark of the paper mulberry tree (Broussonetia papyr... more In Samoa and Tonga, Tapa is made from treated bark of the paper mulberry tree (Broussonetia papyrifera L. Moraceae) (Bunnell 2004). The word tapa refers to the uncolored border of completed siapo/ngatu, and its generic use for bark cloth is attributed to early mariners. The finished product siapo (Samoa) and ngatu (Tonga) remain an aspect of female cultural knowledge and wealth. Significantly, despite the evolution of tapa materials and discontinuity of functional uses of the textile; gendered spaces within which tapa exists is maintained and women are still considered the cultural knowers, producers and presenters of this important heritage art form.
This paper is based on the findings of a qualitative study exploring the views of contemporary cultural communities on the cultural memory and practice of tapa in Samoa and Tonga. It begins from the premise that Tongan occupation of Samoa, believed to have lasted about 300 years and ending around 1300 A.D. (Meleisea 1987), invariably resulted in shared cultural practice and ideologies. Tapa culture is posited as a significant epistemological site of Indigenous Knowledge Systems. The process of meaning-making in symbolic interactionism is examined through the lens of the motif as cultural symbol and textual narrative. Additionally, the spiritual concept of vā (relational space) is presented as a life philosophy reinforced through the lived experience and practice of tapa culture. The main assertion is the idea that holistic understanding of tapa requires a re-positioning of narrative that begins from an indigenous standpoint (Koya Vaka’uta, 2013).
Tidalectics: Imagining an oceanic worldview through art and science, 2018
In the context of the Small Island Developing States (SIDs) in the Pacific island region, referre... more In the context of the Small Island Developing States (SIDs) in the Pacific island region, referred to here, as Oceania, the violence of the colonial experience is perpetuated to this day by widespread Christianity and education systems which marginalize indigenous knowledges and ways of being and doing. Dominant global development paradigms exacerbate this mindset relegating indigenous ways of knowing the world and being in it to the periphery of all discourse. Climate change brings to the fore the significance of indigenous knowledge systems which are inherently about sustainability and balance – living in harmony with the rhythms and cycles of the planet – our known cosmos. This paper explores the indigenous conceptions of custodianship and the role of the human within the known universe, in communion with land, sky and sea. It also presents the view that the arts; both heritage and contemporary are critical to meaningful discourse about sustainability. Relationships are at the core of indigenous Pacific island worldviews. Despite the rich cultural diversity across and between the sub-regions of Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia, this is the one constant. At the core of what it means to be human is a shared life philosophy of balance, harmony and deep connectedness. Our epistemologies, our knowledge systems and practices are premised on relational spaces – hermeneutical dimensions of the life worth living. The 'good life; is one that is grounded in core values such as love and compassion trust, respect, service, duty, responsibility and an important component of custodianship of the land, sky and sea. These we believe can never be truly 'owned' but rather are inherited from the ancestors and borrowed from the next generation. In the indigenous psyche, each generation are temporary custodians tasked with maintaining and nurturing human relationships within our known cosmos Growing up in the Pacific islands, the ocean is a fact of life. One could say it is in our blood. Teresia Teaiwa is famously quoted for the line; " We sweat and cry salt water, so we know that the Ocean is really in our blood " (Hau'ofa 1998, p.392). Our epistemologies and lived cultural praxis reinforces a simple fact; we are the people of the sea and the ocean is in us (Hau'ofa, 1993). The reality of the 21 st century however, is that many Pacific young people, have either lost or are at risk of losing that ancestral connection with the ocean. Our ability to read, connect and treat the Moana (Ocean) are now minimally understood and read through the use of modern instruments and western science. In this new mind-set, the ocean is viewed as separate from humanity and is treated as a resource to be exploited. Culturally, Pacific peoples saw the ocean as an extension of the land. The ocean is a highway (Hau'ofa 1993; 2000; 2008) for navigation, a dwelling place of ancestral gods and as a mother who nurtures and replenishes. Within this epistemological understanding rests a deep respect for
The Relational Self: Decolonizing Personhood in the Pacific, 2017
The shared life philosophy of the Vā or socio-spatial relations has been presented as social,. Th... more The shared life philosophy of the Vā or socio-spatial relations has been presented as social,. The Vā, simply defined as relational spaces or space-between, is theorized as a philosophy underpinning identity formation. It enables the reinforcement and strengthening of relationships with self, within community and the wider world. Traditionally, the multiple complexities of the various aspects of the Vā played out solely as abstract spaces within real-time and place. This chapter explores the notion of the digital Vā within cyber places and spaces using Facebook as an example of the use of social media by Pacific communities. It presents the core question, are we digitizing the Vā? A family intergenerational case-study is used as an exploratory entry point to demonstrate shifting boundaries of acceptability of the kinds of conversations that take place in social media. Drawing from the theoretical lens of values theory, these reflections pose key questions for Pacific youth for whom eCulture and cyber-identity form a critical component of their identity formation which plays out in real-place and time.
Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education., 2017
This article reports on the findings of original field research carried out
in the small island d... more This article reports on the findings of original field research carried out
in the small island developing state of Fiji, in the South Pacific. A North-
South research partnership was built upon previous collaboration
between team members and, in so doing, pioneered the blending of
Pacific and Western research approaches sensitive to a postcolonial
positioning. The study interrogates practitioner perspectives on: the
nature and quality of teachers and teaching in Fiji; the challenges of
teachers’ work and lives; priorities for successful qualitative reform;
and theoretical implications for the processes of education policy
transfer and qualitative improvement. The analysis draws upon
work on the politics of aid and international development, revealing
tensions between existing learner-centred policy frameworks and
emergent neoliberal and performativity oriented initiatives influenced
by international surveys of student achievement, related league tables
and the experience of the regional reference societies of Australia,
New Zealand and India.
Biography: Indigenous Conversations about Biography, 2016
A creative response to Ngarino Ellis "Te Ao Hurihuri O Nga Taonga Tuku Iho: The Evolving Worlds o... more A creative response to Ngarino Ellis "Te Ao Hurihuri O Nga Taonga Tuku Iho: The Evolving Worlds of Our Ancestral Treasures". In Biography: Indigenous Conversations about Biography, Vol 39, No 3 pp. 461 - 464.
Transforming Pacific learning, teaching and teacher education requires rethinking. This paper is ... more Transforming Pacific learning, teaching and teacher education requires rethinking. This paper is premised on the ideal of educational reform focused on achieving sustainable Pacific societies. It offers a futures-thinking approach to the rethinking of quality Pacific education centralizing the role of the teacher and teacher education. At the core of this discussion are local approaches to teaching and learning and the significance of research in understanding and improving teacher performance. It argues that a review of teacher standards and attributes is necessary covering issues such as aptitude, literacies and competencies required for teaching in the 21 st Century Pacific. It is postulated that education for sustainable Pacific societies must begin with an education system that brings together the best of both worlds inclusive of mainstreaming western knowledge systems and philosophies and Pacific indigenous education ideologies and approaches. The onus will be on Teacher Education providers to ensure that the Pacific teacher is one who is confident in his or her identity, armed with the necessary set of values, attitudes and skills to be agents of change. A Pacific transformative learning theory is presented as an example of ways by which we may begin to rethink teacher preparedness as well as reconstruct what we assume to know about the way we teach and learn. Prelude Nelson Mandela is famously quoted as saying " Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. " Teachers and teacher educators the world over use this and other quotes as a source of inspiration to drive home the belief that education changes lives and liberates. Similarly in Pacific Teacher Education classrooms and online portals would-be teachers deliberate the functionality and liberal nature of education and the role of effective teachers. Each of these teachers-in-waiting aspires to be an inspirational role model for the hundreds of students who will journey through their classrooms. They share the collective belief that teacher education will provide the necessary competencies to be effective and inspiring. My life as a teacher and ongoing Talanoa with Pacific teachers and education students however, has provided increasingly awareness of the gaps that exist in Pacific Teacher Education. In fact, many Pacific teachers believe that they were ill-prepared for the realities and challenges of the school in their respective communities. This realization coupled with a growing awareness of the politics of Pacific education systems culminate in this paper. I bring to this Vaka Pasifiki Conference a humble offering, honouring the straight talk that the founders of RPEI began 15 years ago. I also offer a warning about the crooked thinking that we continue to battle and sometimes unknowingly perpetuate in our quest for effective teachers and improved educational outcomes.
Koya, C.F (2016). Straight Talk & Crooked Thinking: Transforming Pacific Learning, Teaching and Teacher Education as an Education for Sustainability Initiative, In Weaving Theory and Practice in Teacher Education in Oceania: Vaka Pasifiki 2 Conference Proceedings, Eds. Kabini Sanga, Toumu’a. R., & Johannson-Fua, J, Institute of Education, Tonga Campus, The University of the South Pacific.
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is based on a global vision of ‘sustainability’ as a ... more Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is based on a global vision of ‘sustainability’ as a goal; a value; and, a philosophy. It provides an overarching umbrella framework that is encompassing with opportunity for interconnectivity of all other mainstream educational instruments which have been ratified and which form the basis for educational development in Fiji. These include the Millennium Development Goals 2000 - 2015, United Nations Literacy Decade 2003 – 2012, and Education for All (Jomtein, 1990; Dakar, 2000).
With the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development nearing its end (2005 – 2014), it is disheartening to find that for many ESD remains poorly defined and reserved for scholarly and developmental discourse. Others see ESD as separate and distinct from other educational instruments and in this view may be cumbersome – an additional instrument that needs to be mainstreamed or integrated. Still others believe that ESD has the potential to bring together diverse interests and agendas under one principle vision – of sustainability and education for the future. However one chooses to view ESD, it is undeniable that the movement has become a dominant discourse in education with focused international, regional and national debates on how best to devise curricula for mainstreaming sustainability in basic education both formally and non-formally.
A case may be made for ESD as both a philosophy and a methodology. As a philosophy it guides vision-making and helps to set the broader goals of education. This is relatively easy to do. As a methodology however, there are real pedagogical implications– that is what and why teachers’ do what they do and how they do this. In the wider Pacific context, the challenge of curriculum-full and resource-empty realities pose a threat to realizing the vision of education for a sustainable future. A potential outcome of such a reality may very well be “Education about Sustainable Development” rather than “Educating for Sustainable Societies”. In the former, the emphasis is learning about what SD is, i.e. SD content curricula is identified, taught and assessed. In the latter, sustainability, including both SD and sustainable livelihoods are seen as long-term learning outcomes of the schooling experience.
From the onset, it should be obvious that a “Healthy” society is at the heart of ESD. Healthy populations are essential to ensuring Sustainable Societies, Economies and Environments – the three pillars on which SD and ESD are constructed upon. This paper provides some insight into Health and Well-being as central to the broader ESD Mainstreaming effort within formal education. It also provides a theoretical framework for curriculum mapping of ESD within the Health Promoting Schools Program in Fiji.
Fakaikiiki (Synopsis)
Our involvement in the Rethinking Pacific Education Initiative discourse ha... more Fakaikiiki (Synopsis)
Our involvement in the Rethinking Pacific Education Initiative discourse has informed our ways of conceptualizing and approaching Pacific Contemporary Art development in the Islands. For the last fifteen years we have been involved in Pacific Art and Educational Discourse and pedagogy at the University of the South Pacific. The philosophical standpoint of the Rethinking Movement resonated with our own educational experiences and highlighted the need for awareness, training and education, leadership, research, dialogue and publication in the arts. Moreover it emphasized the post-colonial reality of hegemonic Western paradigms of conceptualizing Pacific Art and artists. Pacific island artists and their works continue to be marginalized, relegated to the periphery of Contemporary Pacific Art discourse with artists of Pacific heritage living in diaspora claiming primary attention, development and support from the global and often regional community.
This Tala reflects our reflections, re-thinking and journeying towards a sustainable arts industry through purposeful efforts in arts education and training, capacity building, leadership and research in the arts and the establishment of the Pacific Island Arts Initiative in 2012.
Key note delivered at the Vaka Pasifiki Conference II held at the Tonga Convention Center, Nuku'a... more Key note delivered at the Vaka Pasifiki Conference II held at the Tonga Convention Center, Nuku'alofa on September 25, 2014.
Paper presented at Vaka Pasifiki Conference held at the Tonga Convention Center, Nuku'alofa, Sept... more Paper presented at Vaka Pasifiki Conference held at the Tonga Convention Center, Nuku'alofa, September 25 2014.
Paper presented at the Samoa Conference III, 2014 held at National University of Samoa, Apia : Au... more Paper presented at the Samoa Conference III, 2014 held at National University of Samoa, Apia : August 27, 2014
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Books by C. Frances Koya Vaka'uta
Pacific stories of Sustainable Living is intended to stimulate reflection and discussion on local conceptions of ESD in order to engage students, scholars, institutions and the wider Pacific community in an ongoing dialogue that will inform contemporary practice.The contributors share the view that remembering and realigning beliefs, attitudes and behavior may provide contextual solutions to existing and emerging challenges faced in the region.
Papers by C. Frances Koya Vaka'uta
learning for resilience in preparing the Pacific child as an emerging leader and agent of change. The argument is made for an educational rethink drawing on core themes of what resilience means and what sustainability looks like in the Pacific. It highlights Pacific youth issues and challenges against a backdrop of regional ecological tensions and global challenges. Informed by global shifts, regional thinking and local needs, a glocal approach is advocated to enable culturally relevant, critical and creative thinking about what and who education is for. At the regional level, the Pacific Regional Education Framework (PacREF) 2018–2030 provides a 12-year framework promoting equitable access to high quality education for all, and the Pacific Regional Culture Strategy 2022–2032 sets the culture for development agenda. While it is heartening to see a culture-positive approach to education and development at the policy level, the test of time will indicate whether we have the political will, commitment and capacity to deliver on these aspirational priorities. A future-proof education may not be possible, but the ever-changing Pacific development context means that an adaptable futures-thinking approach is essential. Central to this rethinking is the return to source, looking closely at
culture, language and indigenous knowledge systems. On the one hand, there is an urgency to ensure continuity and revitalisation of those aspects of our ways of life that are at risk. At the same time, there remains a critical need to ensure transmission of knowledge and skills that strengthen our collective resilience, ensuring our ability to adapt to future challenges. By focusing on these two dual priorities in education, we might be better able to nurture resilient individuals and households for truly sustainable Pacific societies for the future
This paper is based on the findings of a qualitative study exploring the views of contemporary cultural communities on the cultural memory and practice of tapa in Samoa and Tonga. It begins from the premise that Tongan occupation of Samoa, believed to have lasted about 300 years and ending around 1300 A.D. (Meleisea 1987), invariably resulted in shared cultural practice and ideologies. Tapa culture is posited as a significant epistemological site of Indigenous Knowledge Systems. The process of meaning-making in symbolic interactionism is examined through the lens of the motif as cultural symbol and textual narrative. Additionally, the spiritual concept of vā (relational space) is presented as a life philosophy reinforced through the lived experience and practice of tapa culture. The main assertion is the idea that holistic understanding of tapa requires a re-positioning of narrative that begins from an indigenous standpoint (Koya Vaka’uta, 2013).
in the small island developing state of Fiji, in the South Pacific. A North-
South research partnership was built upon previous collaboration
between team members and, in so doing, pioneered the blending of
Pacific and Western research approaches sensitive to a postcolonial
positioning. The study interrogates practitioner perspectives on: the
nature and quality of teachers and teaching in Fiji; the challenges of
teachers’ work and lives; priorities for successful qualitative reform;
and theoretical implications for the processes of education policy
transfer and qualitative improvement. The analysis draws upon
work on the politics of aid and international development, revealing
tensions between existing learner-centred policy frameworks and
emergent neoliberal and performativity oriented initiatives influenced
by international surveys of student achievement, related league tables
and the experience of the regional reference societies of Australia,
New Zealand and India.
Koya, C.F (2016). Straight Talk & Crooked Thinking: Transforming Pacific Learning, Teaching and Teacher Education as an Education for Sustainability Initiative, In Weaving Theory and Practice in Teacher Education in Oceania: Vaka Pasifiki 2 Conference Proceedings, Eds. Kabini Sanga, Toumu’a. R., & Johannson-Fua, J, Institute of Education, Tonga Campus, The University of the South Pacific.
With the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development nearing its end (2005 – 2014), it is disheartening to find that for many ESD remains poorly defined and reserved for scholarly and developmental discourse. Others see ESD as separate and distinct from other educational instruments and in this view may be cumbersome – an additional instrument that needs to be mainstreamed or integrated. Still others believe that ESD has the potential to bring together diverse interests and agendas under one principle vision – of sustainability and education for the future. However one chooses to view ESD, it is undeniable that the movement has become a dominant discourse in education with focused international, regional and national debates on how best to devise curricula for mainstreaming sustainability in basic education both formally and non-formally.
A case may be made for ESD as both a philosophy and a methodology. As a philosophy it guides vision-making and helps to set the broader goals of education. This is relatively easy to do. As a methodology however, there are real pedagogical implications– that is what and why teachers’ do what they do and how they do this. In the wider Pacific context, the challenge of curriculum-full and resource-empty realities pose a threat to realizing the vision of education for a sustainable future. A potential outcome of such a reality may very well be “Education about Sustainable Development” rather than “Educating for Sustainable Societies”. In the former, the emphasis is learning about what SD is, i.e. SD content curricula is identified, taught and assessed. In the latter, sustainability, including both SD and sustainable livelihoods are seen as long-term learning outcomes of the schooling experience.
From the onset, it should be obvious that a “Healthy” society is at the heart of ESD. Healthy populations are essential to ensuring Sustainable Societies, Economies and Environments – the three pillars on which SD and ESD are constructed upon. This paper provides some insight into Health and Well-being as central to the broader ESD Mainstreaming effort within formal education. It also provides a theoretical framework for curriculum mapping of ESD within the Health Promoting Schools Program in Fiji.
Our involvement in the Rethinking Pacific Education Initiative discourse has informed our ways of conceptualizing and approaching Pacific Contemporary Art development in the Islands. For the last fifteen years we have been involved in Pacific Art and Educational Discourse and pedagogy at the University of the South Pacific. The philosophical standpoint of the Rethinking Movement resonated with our own educational experiences and highlighted the need for awareness, training and education, leadership, research, dialogue and publication in the arts. Moreover it emphasized the post-colonial reality of hegemonic Western paradigms of conceptualizing Pacific Art and artists. Pacific island artists and their works continue to be marginalized, relegated to the periphery of Contemporary Pacific Art discourse with artists of Pacific heritage living in diaspora claiming primary attention, development and support from the global and often regional community.
This Tala reflects our reflections, re-thinking and journeying towards a sustainable arts industry through purposeful efforts in arts education and training, capacity building, leadership and research in the arts and the establishment of the Pacific Island Arts Initiative in 2012.
Pacific stories of Sustainable Living is intended to stimulate reflection and discussion on local conceptions of ESD in order to engage students, scholars, institutions and the wider Pacific community in an ongoing dialogue that will inform contemporary practice.The contributors share the view that remembering and realigning beliefs, attitudes and behavior may provide contextual solutions to existing and emerging challenges faced in the region.
learning for resilience in preparing the Pacific child as an emerging leader and agent of change. The argument is made for an educational rethink drawing on core themes of what resilience means and what sustainability looks like in the Pacific. It highlights Pacific youth issues and challenges against a backdrop of regional ecological tensions and global challenges. Informed by global shifts, regional thinking and local needs, a glocal approach is advocated to enable culturally relevant, critical and creative thinking about what and who education is for. At the regional level, the Pacific Regional Education Framework (PacREF) 2018–2030 provides a 12-year framework promoting equitable access to high quality education for all, and the Pacific Regional Culture Strategy 2022–2032 sets the culture for development agenda. While it is heartening to see a culture-positive approach to education and development at the policy level, the test of time will indicate whether we have the political will, commitment and capacity to deliver on these aspirational priorities. A future-proof education may not be possible, but the ever-changing Pacific development context means that an adaptable futures-thinking approach is essential. Central to this rethinking is the return to source, looking closely at
culture, language and indigenous knowledge systems. On the one hand, there is an urgency to ensure continuity and revitalisation of those aspects of our ways of life that are at risk. At the same time, there remains a critical need to ensure transmission of knowledge and skills that strengthen our collective resilience, ensuring our ability to adapt to future challenges. By focusing on these two dual priorities in education, we might be better able to nurture resilient individuals and households for truly sustainable Pacific societies for the future
This paper is based on the findings of a qualitative study exploring the views of contemporary cultural communities on the cultural memory and practice of tapa in Samoa and Tonga. It begins from the premise that Tongan occupation of Samoa, believed to have lasted about 300 years and ending around 1300 A.D. (Meleisea 1987), invariably resulted in shared cultural practice and ideologies. Tapa culture is posited as a significant epistemological site of Indigenous Knowledge Systems. The process of meaning-making in symbolic interactionism is examined through the lens of the motif as cultural symbol and textual narrative. Additionally, the spiritual concept of vā (relational space) is presented as a life philosophy reinforced through the lived experience and practice of tapa culture. The main assertion is the idea that holistic understanding of tapa requires a re-positioning of narrative that begins from an indigenous standpoint (Koya Vaka’uta, 2013).
in the small island developing state of Fiji, in the South Pacific. A North-
South research partnership was built upon previous collaboration
between team members and, in so doing, pioneered the blending of
Pacific and Western research approaches sensitive to a postcolonial
positioning. The study interrogates practitioner perspectives on: the
nature and quality of teachers and teaching in Fiji; the challenges of
teachers’ work and lives; priorities for successful qualitative reform;
and theoretical implications for the processes of education policy
transfer and qualitative improvement. The analysis draws upon
work on the politics of aid and international development, revealing
tensions between existing learner-centred policy frameworks and
emergent neoliberal and performativity oriented initiatives influenced
by international surveys of student achievement, related league tables
and the experience of the regional reference societies of Australia,
New Zealand and India.
Koya, C.F (2016). Straight Talk & Crooked Thinking: Transforming Pacific Learning, Teaching and Teacher Education as an Education for Sustainability Initiative, In Weaving Theory and Practice in Teacher Education in Oceania: Vaka Pasifiki 2 Conference Proceedings, Eds. Kabini Sanga, Toumu’a. R., & Johannson-Fua, J, Institute of Education, Tonga Campus, The University of the South Pacific.
With the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development nearing its end (2005 – 2014), it is disheartening to find that for many ESD remains poorly defined and reserved for scholarly and developmental discourse. Others see ESD as separate and distinct from other educational instruments and in this view may be cumbersome – an additional instrument that needs to be mainstreamed or integrated. Still others believe that ESD has the potential to bring together diverse interests and agendas under one principle vision – of sustainability and education for the future. However one chooses to view ESD, it is undeniable that the movement has become a dominant discourse in education with focused international, regional and national debates on how best to devise curricula for mainstreaming sustainability in basic education both formally and non-formally.
A case may be made for ESD as both a philosophy and a methodology. As a philosophy it guides vision-making and helps to set the broader goals of education. This is relatively easy to do. As a methodology however, there are real pedagogical implications– that is what and why teachers’ do what they do and how they do this. In the wider Pacific context, the challenge of curriculum-full and resource-empty realities pose a threat to realizing the vision of education for a sustainable future. A potential outcome of such a reality may very well be “Education about Sustainable Development” rather than “Educating for Sustainable Societies”. In the former, the emphasis is learning about what SD is, i.e. SD content curricula is identified, taught and assessed. In the latter, sustainability, including both SD and sustainable livelihoods are seen as long-term learning outcomes of the schooling experience.
From the onset, it should be obvious that a “Healthy” society is at the heart of ESD. Healthy populations are essential to ensuring Sustainable Societies, Economies and Environments – the three pillars on which SD and ESD are constructed upon. This paper provides some insight into Health and Well-being as central to the broader ESD Mainstreaming effort within formal education. It also provides a theoretical framework for curriculum mapping of ESD within the Health Promoting Schools Program in Fiji.
Our involvement in the Rethinking Pacific Education Initiative discourse has informed our ways of conceptualizing and approaching Pacific Contemporary Art development in the Islands. For the last fifteen years we have been involved in Pacific Art and Educational Discourse and pedagogy at the University of the South Pacific. The philosophical standpoint of the Rethinking Movement resonated with our own educational experiences and highlighted the need for awareness, training and education, leadership, research, dialogue and publication in the arts. Moreover it emphasized the post-colonial reality of hegemonic Western paradigms of conceptualizing Pacific Art and artists. Pacific island artists and their works continue to be marginalized, relegated to the periphery of Contemporary Pacific Art discourse with artists of Pacific heritage living in diaspora claiming primary attention, development and support from the global and often regional community.
This Tala reflects our reflections, re-thinking and journeying towards a sustainable arts industry through purposeful efforts in arts education and training, capacity building, leadership and research in the arts and the establishment of the Pacific Island Arts Initiative in 2012.
Presentation at the Workshop on Indigenous Knowledge, Contemporary Art and Education in Fiji , Jointly hosted by School of Education, University of the South Pacific and the Fiji Arts Council, Department of National Heritage, Culture and the Arts, Ministry of Education, Fiji , Held at the University of the South Pacific , Laucala Campus, Suva Fiji. March 15 – 17, 2012."