Discussion and debates in Pacific education

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

Environmental Education to Promote Peace and Cooperation: A Case Study of Tree Nurseries in Nakuru, Kenya

This field report describes a peace education program in the Nakuru district of Kenya, focusing on environmental education tree nurseries. The peace clubs introduced tree nurseries as a way of equipping children to take care of their environment. The interaction required to maintain these nurseries strengthens these relationships and promotes cooperation. By planting and caring for tree nurseries, children are able to express their commitment to their community and to the lasting health of their environment.sch_iih23pub2969pub

Education for Development in Context: Solomon Islands and Tonga

In this chapter, an overview of the 'education for development' context for each of the two interventions under discussion, Solomon Islands and Tonga, is provided. Although both are island archipelagos in the south-west Pacific, and both fit the definition of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), there are marked differences between them in cultural, educational, and 'development' terms. The chapter takes as a starting point the contention of some comparative educationists that education in any context cannot be understood, and interventions aimed at improvement cannot be effective, if researcher-practitioners are not informed by the development of education within the particular social-historical and political contexts concerned. Accepted is that the interplay of culture and education is central to the operations of systems, schools and classrooms, and that social structures, values and practices shape and enable teaching and learning within a specific context. Improtantly, in tracing the historical development of schooling in each context, the chapter is informed largely by writers indigenous to that country. When the discussion moves to 'education for development' in the post/neo-colonial period, a focus is the aid relationships that continue to shape education policy and practice in context, particularly those between New Zealand and the two countries concerned. Today's system in each country is summarized and the intervention for each country context introduced

MoneyMinded in Solomon Islands Impact Report 2013

MoneyMinded was first introduced as a pilot project in the Solomon Islands in 2011 in collaboration with the Solomon Islands Women in Business Association and Rokotanikeni. From 2011-2013, 250 individuals from these organisations as well as a number of ANZ employees participated in the MoneyMinded program to build their financial skills, knowledge and confidence. Results from the survey conducted by the University of the South Pacific to understand the impact of the pilot program reveal that the majority of respondents reported that they have acquired useful and relevant financial knowledge and skills for their daily management of money, more positive attitudes and behaviors towards managing money, and a future orientation that involves setting financial goals, budgeting, saving and investing. Most had started saving and those who were already saving before the program increased the amount they saved. In addition, the MoneyMinded program has had a positive impact on the respondents’ outlook on life, as well as indirect positive effects on the participants’ families and friends

Building National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace in the Solomon Islands: The Missing Link

This chapter contends that the local cultural dynamics of reconciliation were not featured in the design of the Solomon Islands TRC. Community reconciliation processes were therefore not utilised, and consequently the ambitious goal of the TRC to promote reconciliation was not realised. Discussions in this chapter consider the following questions: • How did the Truth and Reconciliation Commission define reconciliation, and what has it reconciled? • What is the nature of the ‘truth’ that has surfaced? What purpose has this served in terms of reconciliation? • How did the Truth and Reconciliation Commission engage with local conceptions of reconciliation and adapt to the Solomon Islands context? This chapter draws from the authors’ experiences living and working in the Solomon Islands. Jack Maebuta is a Solomon Islander, educator and peace researcher. Louise Vella worked for the Solomon Islands TRC for one year, and has subsequently conducted doctoral research into the experiences of the commission and its potential as a means of peacebuilding in Melanesia. Interview material for this chapter draws from her research with TRC staff and stakeholders in Honiara in 2012