Vanua Sauvi: social roles, sustainability and resilience

Vanua, for an indigenous Fijian, encompasses the land, the sea, the cosmos, the people – all living things, including spirits, in a specific ‘place’ and how each of them are related to and responsible for each other. It also includes the culture, traditions, knowledge, skills, and ways of knowing, love, peace, prosperity and communalism. In the indigenous Fijian psyche, vanua embodies social institutions responsible for the management of the vanua. Each member of the vanua is ascribed into one of these social institutions. The members of these social institutions are equipped with traditional knowledge, skills and wisdom that enable them to be responsible guardians of the vanua, managing it so that it is sustainable and resilient and safeguarding it for the next generation. This chapter explores the significance of these social institutions in the sustainability and resilience of the vanua in this climate change era. Using an Indigenist research approach, a case study was conducted on a coastal village of Ovalau, Rukuruku, on how their social systems, social roles, knowledge, skills and wisdom enabled sustainability and resilience in this climate change era. It was found that the people of Rukuruku managed to forecast the change in climate, save their vanua from coastal erosion, and ensure both food and human security through the practice of their social roles, knowledge, skills and wisdom

Compulsory teaching of English: Impacts on learning in a Fiji classroom

English is the second language for the majority of students in Fiji, but it is viewed as the official language of instruction in Fiji classrooms. This study explored the impact of using English as a second language on students’ academic performance. The study was conducted in a multicultural school in Labasa, located in the northern part of Fiji. This school consists of students and teachers from multicultural backgrounds. Using a qualitative approach, this study found that 77% of the students do not have problems in understanding and using English in learning. It was also found that, while Fijian Vernacular* is a compulsory subject, 30% of the indigenous Fijian students in this school do not perform well in Fijian Vernacular. One of the reasons is that indigenous Fijian parents speak to their children in English at home, fearing that their children will not do well in school if they do not know how to speak in English. Also, there are not enough qualified Fijian Vernacular teachers. This study recommends that parents be made aware of the importance of the Vernacular in students’ learning, and the Ministry of Education should invest in developing the qualifications of Fijian Vernacular teachers. Finally, it is also recommended that a future study be conducted to find out the impacts of the teaching of compulsory Fijian Vernacular to non-indigenous Fijian students

Indigenous Knowledge systems’ role in addressing sea level rise and dried water source: A Fijian case study

Global responses to the climate crisis continue to focus on Western theoretical perspectives and scientific solutions but overshadow community-based responses by indigenous communities. An effective response to the climate crisis in the Pacific Islands needs the Pacific Islanders' own story and their own response systems. This study will explore the role of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in addressing sea-level rise (SLR) and dried water sources (DWS) drawing from a case study in Vatutavui village, Fiji. Using the methods of focus group discussion and individual interviews, the study will identify how members of Vatutavui village are responding to SLR and DWS using their Indigenous knowledge and practices. The paper will then weave the findings of this study together with contemporary discourses of social ecological resilience to the climate crisis. We discovered that Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS) continue to cement their significance in Indigenous Fijian villages, and it is a foundational response to the climate crisis. Placing emphasis on IKS in addressing the climate crisis in Vatutavui had positive ecological and social cultural implications

Education for the Future - UNESCO Study: Case Study Fiji

Paper presented at Vaka Pasifiki Conference held at the Tonga Convention Center, Nuku'alofa, September 25 2014

Aiming Higher? Implications for Higher Education of Students’ Views on Education for Climate Justice

settingsOrder Article Reprints Open AccessArticle Aiming Higher? Implications for Higher Education of Students’ Views on Education for Climate Justice by Caine Rolleston 1,*ORCID,Jackline Nyerere 2,Luciana Brandli 3ORCID,Rosiana Lagi 4ORCID andTristan McCowan 1 1 Institute of Education, University College London, London WC1H0AL, UK 2 Department of Educational Management, Policy and Curriculum Studies, Kenyatta University, Nairobi P.O. Box 43844-00100, Kenya 3 Technology Institute, Postgraduate Program in Civil and Environmental Engineering (PPGEng), University of Passo Fundo (UPF), Passo Fundo 99052-900, RS, Brazil 4 Discipline of Education, School of Pacific Arts, Communication and Education, University of the South Pacific, Suva, Laucala Bay Road, Suva 1168, Fiji * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14473; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914473 Received: 30 July 2023 / Revised: 26 August 2023 / Accepted: 25 September 2023 / Published: 4 October 2023 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change Education and Sustainability Learning) Downloadkeyboard_arrow_down Browse Figures Versions Notes Abstract In 2023, a high number of climate disasters were recorded globally, highlighting the urgent dangers inherent in climate change and the inequities that result from its uneven impacts. Higher education institutions (HEIs) potentially play a crucial role in furthering climate justice through their research, teaching, community engagement and public awareness. Many students enter HEIs with high expectations concerning their education regarding climate change and more broadly of their institution’s contribution to climate action. In this article, we explore these expectations alongside the perceptions of students regarding how HEIs are delivering on them, i.e., the extent to which students are satisfied with their HEIs’ policies and practice on climate change. We employ data from a large-scale survey of more than 4000 students conducted by the Transforming Universities for a Changing Climate (Climate-U) project collected in nine HEIs in three countries (Brazil, Fiji and Kenya) during 2021–22. Results indicate that satisfaction among students in the sampled HEIs is often low, while expectations are typically high. There is some evidence that students in contexts already more directly exposed to the impacts of climate change were somewhat more active and more satisfied. Overall, students frequently expected to learn more about climate change than they were in fact learning and expressed high levels of environmental concern as well as some dissatisfaction with HEIs’ wider activities to limit the impact of climate change and to promote understanding of the issues. We discuss the findings in relation to the gaps between what students expect from their HEIs and what HEIs are currently doing in the three countries. Furthermore, we consider how HEIs in Brazil, Fiji and Kenya may improve their engagement with issues of climate change and respond to students’ views and expectations, including the promotion of preparedness for and resilience to the climate crisis and its effects

‘Curui’: weaving climate justice and gender equality into Fijian educational policies and practices

This paper takes inspiration from the Indigenous Fijian practice of ‘curui’ – weaving or patching together – as a metaphor to explore connections between climate justice, gender equality, and education in Fijian policies and practices. The paper argues that neither gender equality nor education can be ‘silver bullets’ for the huge challenges that the climate crisis raises, particularly for small island developing states (SIDS) such as Fiji that exist at the sharp end of the crisis. The paper contributes close analysis of Fijian national climate change policies and development plans from 2010, identifying the ways in which these policies frame and discuss the connections between climate, gender, and education, and asking whether these policies acknowledge traditional ecological knowledges, and the extent to which they are aligned with notions of justice. It argues that connected approaches to education, centred in Indigenous knowledges and ontologies, have thus far been insufficiently included in Fiji’s policies

Climate change in higher education in Fiji: a literature review

This review explores the literature available regarding climate change and higher education in Fiji, especially in recognising the importance of learning about climate change for higher education students. The Fiji Climate Change Policy prioritises climate change in higher education but it is not clear what the role of higher education is in responding to climate change, or how to prioritise the capacity building of local communities to be able to prevent and reduce risks associated with climate change. However, the three main higher education providers – University of Fiji, Fiji National University and the University of the South Pacific – focus on climate change in their learning, teaching and research programmes and more can still be done to improve community response to climate change. As part of the Transforming Universities for a Changing Climate (Climate-U) research project, this literature review aims to identify what has been done to date and the gaps in the provision of the three higher education providers under study, including their climate change courses and programmes, and to create interventions to improve what is currently offered. It is argued that relevant and well targeted interventions will improve the communities’ capacity to reduce the risks posed by climate change and build a more resilient and safe nation for future generations

Stepping Up or Falling Behind? Students’ Views on Universities and the Climate Crisis

This report presents the findings from a large-scale survey conducted among undergraduate students in twelve universities in Brazil, Fiji, Mozambique and Kenya. Carried out as part of the Transforming Universities for a Changing Climate (Climate-U) project, the survey centres on students’ attitudes and experiences in relation to climate change and perceptions of climate action in their universities. It responds to the overall aim of the project, which is to generate insights into how to maximise the contribution of universities to the mitigation and adaptation challenges of climate change, and to understand how universities might contribute to climate justice. The aim of this report is primarily descriptive; it serves to document the results of the survey comprehensively, providing basic analysis of the data including in comparative perspective across the four countries as well as serving as a reference for intended data users. To facilitate comparisons, a student home assets index is constructed using principal components analysis (PCA) and environmental attitudes are assessed using the Milfont and Duckitt (2010) reduced-form inventory and estimated using a latent-trait model based on Item Response Theory (IRT). Findings are reported mostly as descriptive statistics with a limited number of linear regression models being employed to estimate predictors of environmental attitudes. Findings focus on, inter alia, students’ backgrounds and areas of study, their experience, environmental attitudes, understandings and beliefs about climate change, feelings of personal responsibility and engagement with and willingness to participate in climate action as well as students’ assessments of what universities are doing and what they should be doing with regard to climate change. Overall, in all countries, students reported that they were most likely to learn about climate change from internet and social media sources. There is strong consensus that students should be learning more about climate change at their universities and that they are not satisfied with current learning. ‘Environmental concern’ was found to be higher among students studying science, agriculture, and health/ welfare related subjects, by women, by more economically advantaged students, and among students in Brazil. While students in Brazil were most likely to believe human actions are the major cause of climate change and provided the most pessimistic estimations of the impact of climate change, they were also the least likely to be confident that government action could make an impact. Conversely, students in Kenya had the greatest confidence in government action, were the most willing to participate in climate-change activities and were most optimistic about the impacts of climate change. The report provides indicative evidence for participating universities and others who may be intending to improve their engagement with students on issues relating to climate change and climate justice

Teaching literacy in Fiji classrooms: curriculum innovation at Levuka Public Primary School

Literacy is the ability to read, write, think critically and make wise decisions. Although education is free in Fiji, more than 50% of primary schools in Fiji scored below average in the Literacy Assessment in 2013. This article explores the main literacy problems in Levuka Public Primary School and highlights the school approach implemented to address the literacy issues. Using the qualitative approach, data was collected through Talanoa (an indigenous Fijians’ culturally acceptable way of collecting information through oral communication) and lesson observation. This article discoversthat the main literacy problems are speech sounds (phonology), spelling (orthography) and the lack of relevant reading materials. Students who cannot sound letters are not able to pronounce, spell and read. To address these issues, a school based approach was taken by first teaching students in infant classes’ vernacular phonics before bridging this skill to English phonics. Then, in situations where students still find difficulties in understanding English vocabulary, teachers code switch to vernacular and English to explain. Finally, fundraising was held by the school for the purchase of relevant reading materials to broaden students’ vocabulary and improve their literacy skills. All in all, this approach can be replicated in schools that have similar problems. If this is done, the literacy skills of children in Fiji will be improved and so their academic performance and critical thinking skills

COVID19-resilient education in the islands

This paper reflects on the University of the South Pacific Tuvalu Campus experience. Whilst COVID-19 poses pedagogical and financial issues in a university already experiencing management crisis, it also creates an opportunity for the strengthening of institutional systems and relationships that brought out the resilient ability it has to bounce back stronger and better than before