S E C O ND AR Y ED UC AT I O N
IN FIJI:
E FF E C T I V E N E S S
AN
INV ES TI GA TI ON
IN A CH A N G I N G SOCIETY.
By Helen Goodwill
Su b m i t t e d
London
for
School
the
of
de gree
Ec ono mic s
Un iv e r s i t y of London.
INTO SC HOOL
of
Tavola.
Doctor
and
of
Political
Philosophy.
Science,
UMI Number: U050087
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A B STR AC T
The major issue a d d r e s se d in this thesis is the
qu al ity
of
s e c o n d a ry
educ ati on
in
Fiji,
i n ve st iga tin g the
var ia b l e s
which
affect
school
effectiveness. The
theoretical and conceptual pe rc ept iv es on the q u a l i t y of
ed uc at io n are initially exa mi ne d with a
re vi ew
of
the
literature, c o n t r a s t i ng western pe rs pe ct iv es with
those
s p e ci f i c a ll y related to d e ve l o p i n g countries.
The main empirical part of this thesis
is
ba sed
on
a
study of eleven s ec on d ar y
schools in Fiji and
the Form
Four
st udents
in
these
schools.
The
aim
was
to
investigate what the critical factors are for
improving
school effectiveness, me a su re d largely in terms of pupil
achievement. The thesis conc lu de s that in-school factors
are more important than the an te cedent v a ria bl es of
the
individual children,
such
as
race
or
s o c io -e co no mi c
status. The st ab i li t y and str ength of school management,
principalship,
co mb i ne d
with
the
judicious
use
of
r es our ces em erged as
the
critical
factors
in
school
effectiveness. Various po li cy implications
re l a t i n g
to
se c o n d a r y education in Fiji are drawn on
the
basis
of
these findings.
A
historical
study
of
education
in
Fiji
from
pre -colonial times to the present focusses on
edu ca tio n
within its
so ci o- pol iti c al
param et ers
and
tests
the
hyp oth e s is that s o c i o - e co no mi c
and
political
con te xts
provide the demand for education.
The Gr an t- i n - a i d sy st em of education was e s t a b l i s h e d
in
1916 which p r ov ide d for g ov er nm ent
and
the
people
to
enter into a p a r t n e rs h ip in the pr ovision of
education.
This sy st em is st udied as it has proved
to
be
both
a
str ength and a major we akness of
the
F i j i ’s
edu cation
system.
- 2 -
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
Res ear ch in the social sc iences inevitably involves
many
people other than the researcher. The research
on
which
this thesis is based is no exception.
Ac c o r d i n g
to
the
Brazi lia n
sociol ogi st
Mar ia
Edy
Ferreira, thematic investigation is only justi fie d to the
extent that it returns to the people what
truly
belongs
to them; to the extent that it represents, not an attempt
to learn about the people, but to come to know with
them
the re al it y which ch al le n g e s them. (In Freire, 1972:102).
I hope this is true of my thesis, for
what
it
co nta ins
belongs to the many
people
in
Fiji
who
d i r e c t ly
and
ind irectly made it possible.
Many people in Fiji hel ped make my fieldwork
a
reality.
The Pe rma nen t Sec re t ar y for Education, Mr Hari Ram,
gave
me
co nti nuo us
support
which
enab led
me
to
p r oc ee d
unhindered. The principals, teachers and students in
the
eleven schools I vis ite d
gave
their
time
freely
and
without their generous assistance,
this
research
co uld
not have been done, for they are the essence of it.
Also in
Fiji,
Ruth
Lechte
of
Nadi,
the
Yarrow
and
N a b a i n i v a l u families of
Suva
and
the
Salu
family
of
Namalata, Kadavu gave me acc om mo da ti on and friendship. My
fat he r- in -l aw Maciu Waq an is au was
my
valued
guide
and
inter med iar y in Kadavu. L o se n a Sal abula guided me up
the
S ig at ok a Valley.
The sup port of many
friends
and
re la tives
in
various
other parts of the
world
have
helped
me
greatly.
My
sisters Jenny, Sylvia and R o sem ar y in
New
Ze al an d
took
care of my children while I did the bulk of my
fieldwork
in Fiji.
Vimla
and
Peter
Westwood
provi ded
friendl y
ac co mm od at io n
in
London
on
many
occasions.
Mereia
Sau vukivuki Ravana liberated me from many dom estic chores
dur ing the latter part of my thesis wr it in g in Brussels.
My chi ldren Mereia, Georgie and Ema have been
c h ee rf ul ly
tol erant of my p r e o c c up at io ns and my abs ences
from
home
over the past few years. Their steadfast con fid en ce in my
abil ity to succeed has been a strength.
A grant from the Central Re search Fund of the
Uni ve rs it y
of London was of great assis tan ce
towards
the
cost
of
f ieldwork.
- 3 -
Dr. Ant hon y Hall of the London School
of
Ec onomics
Political Science was my s up erv is or for the
dur ation
this
thesis.
He
guide d
me
through
the
stages
f ac i li ta te d my path. For this I am grateful.
and
of
and
This thesis
would
never
have
ev e n t u a t e d
without
the
profes sio nal help
and
guida nc e
of
Mr.
H.C.A.
(Tony)
Somerset.
He
was
co- sup er vi so r
both
of fi c i a l l y
and
u n o f f ic a l ly
and
gave
g e n e ro us ly
of
his
time
and
expertise. He illuminated my
thinki ng
at
many
stages,
especially
when
designing
fieldwork
qu es ti onnaires,
a n a l y s i n g stat is ti cs and brin gin g it all together.
I am
truly indebted to him.
For his un fai li n g support, love and strength, I am deeply
grateful to my husband, Kalio pat e Tavola. He hel pe d me in
so many ways, not abl y with the time
con su mi ng
tasks
of
data c ol le ct io n and proof-reading. For this,
I ded ic ate
this thesis to him.
Helen Tavola.
Brussels, April
1990.
- 4 -
TABLE OF CONTENTS,
C H A P T E R ONE:
1.1 The
I N T R O D U C T I O N .................................. 11
Issues Under S t u d y ................................. 11
1.2 M e t h o d o l o g y ................................................ 13
1.3 The F i e l d w o r k ............................................. 15
CH AP TER TWO:
THEORETICAL
AND
CONCEPTUAL
PERSPECTIVES
ON THE Q UA LI TY OF
ED UC A T IO N
IN
DE VE LO P IN G
COUNTRIES: A RE VI EW OF THE L I T E R A T U R E
19
2.1 Educational
E xp an si on
and
the
Human
Capital
T h e o r y ................ ..................................... 19
2.2 Western
Resear ch
on
Qual ity
and
E q ual it y
in
Educat i o n .................................................. 32
The Influence of Envi ron men ta l F a c t o r s .............. .33
The Genetic D e t e r m i n i s t s ................................ 36
The St ruc tu r al i s t P e r s p e c t i v e .......................... 40
The Importance of Internal School F a c t o r s ....... ....45
2.3 The Qu al it y of E du ca ti on in D e v e l o pi ng C o u n t r i e s ...50
B e e b y ’s Pi on ee r i n g W o r k ................................. 50
The Move Towards Qua li ta ti ve I m p r o v e m e n t s ........... 52
Teac he rs as the Critical V a r i a b l e ..................... 56
Text bo oks as the Critical V a r i a b l e
.............61
Other Educational Po l ic y V a r i a b l e s ............
65
The Home B a c k g r o un d V a r i a b l e .............
71
2.4 Cross -na ti ona l
CH AP TE R THREE:
S t u d i e s .................................. 72
P R E - I N D E P E N D E N C E E D U C A T I O N IN FIJI IN ITS
S O C I O - EC O N O MI C AND PO LI TI CA L C O N T E X T . . . 81
3.1 Pr e - colonial F i j i ..............
White Settlers and M i s s i o n a r i e s
3.2 Early Colonial Rule from 1874 to
Intervention in E d u c a t i o n .......
3.3
3.4
82
................ 85
1916:
the Perio d
of
....92
The
Be gi n n i ng
of
G o ve rn me nt
Intervention:
1 9 1 6 - 1 9 4 8 ................................................96
The Colonial Political A g e n d a ....................... 99
The
Emer gen ce of a T ri par ti te Ed uca tio n System. 101
Increasing G ove rn men t
3.5 The Decade Lea din g to
Intervention:
1 9 4 8 - 1 9 6 0 ..... 116
I n d e p e n d e n c e ................... 120
- 5 -
CH A P T E R FOUR:
POST-INDEFENDENCE EDUCATION
IN F I J I ......135
4.1 P o st -i n d ep en d en ce Ed ucation Policy .................. 137
Integration: the P o s t - i n d e pe nd en ce G o a l ............. 150
4.2 Q u a l it ati ve
4.3 The Access
Improvement through C u r r i c u l u m C h a n g e . 153
I s s u e .........................................158
4.4 After May
1987:
Ed uca tio n
in the New R e p u b l i c .....169
C H A P T E R FIVE:
EXAMINATIONS
AS
AN
INDICATOR OF
SCHOOL
Q U A L I T Y ....................................... 182
5. 1 The Use
of
E x a m in a t io ns
in
Ass es si ng
Educat ion al
P e r f o r m a n c e , ............................................. 182
The Case for and agai nst E x a m i n a t i o n s ............... 183
Improving Ex a m in a ti on s to Improve P e d a g o g y ......... 186
5.2 The Use of Ex ami n at io ns in F i j i ...................... 188
The Pr imary School E x a m i n a t i o n s ......................189
The Fiji Junior C e r ti fic ate E x a m i n a t i o n ............. 198
Senior Seco nd ar y E x a m i n a t i o n s .........................203
209
Se t ti n g E xa min at ion s in F i j i .............
5.3 Resear ch into
Ed ucat ional
Ach iev eme nt
in
Fiji: A
Brief R e v i e w ............................................. 212
Ps yc hological and S o ci o- Ps yc ho lo gi ca l R e s e a r c h .... 213
So c io -c ul tu ra l Educational Research ................ 218
CH AP TER SIX:
THE FI ELD STUDY - THE S C H O O L S .............. 227
6.1 The Role of M a n a g e m e n t ................................. 227
6.2 The School P r i n c i p a l ................................... 243
P ri nci pa ls and School E t h o s ........................... 247
6.3 The Role of Material
R e s o u r c e s ...............
251
6.4 The Role of T e a c h e r s ................................... 258
Teac he rs and A t t a i n m e n t ................................ 263
6.5 School
Size:
CH AP TE R SEVEN:
does
it Make a D i f f e r e n c e ? .............267
THE ST U D E N T S
IN THE S C H O O L S .............. 273
7.1 Social, Eco nomic and Political Contextual Variables..
............................................................273
7.2 Parental
Oc cup a ti on s and E d u c a t i o n ...................280
7.3 Homes and H o m e w o r k .........
7.4 The
286
Age F a c t o r ........................................... 295
7.5 W a s t a g e ................................................... 298
- 6 -
7.6 As p ir at ion s
7.7 Ethnicity:
and Per ce p ti on s of E d u c a t i o n .......... 301
does
it Over rid e All
E l s e ? ............... 305
CHAPTER
EIGHT:
S C HO OL
EF FE CTIVEN ESS:
THE
CRI TI CAL
F A C T O R S ........................................................ 312
8.1 Bri n gi n g the Data T o g e t h e r ............................ 312
A Closer Look at School E f f e c t i v e n e s s ............... 321
8.2 Case Study:
C H A P T E R NINE:
The Three
CONCLUSIONS
Schools on K a d a v u ............ 327
AND PO LICY
I M P L I C A T I O N S .... 340
9.1 The Q u a lit y of Education: S e tt in g the Pa ra me t er s
for
School E f f e c t i v e n e s s ......................
340
Teachers, Princi pal s and M a n a g e r s .................... 340
Sch oo ls in their Local and National C o n t e x t s ...... 346
Re sou rc es and F a c i l i t i e s ...............................348
9.2
Improving School Quality: Po licy I m p l i c a t i o n s . .... 351
School Support S e r v i c e s ................................ 352
Research and S t a t i s t i c s ................................ 356
The Role of Cu rr i c u l u m
and
Examinations
in
School
£ ff
e
e
t
i
v
e
n
e
s
s
.
.
357
R at i on al i z at io n
for
Q u a l it at ive
Improvement:
the
Future
of
Junior Sec on da ry Sch ools and
Very
Small
Schoo I s ................................................... 360
9.3 C o n c l u d i n g R e m a r k s . . . . . ................................ 369
Ty ing in the Theoretical E n d s .........................369
R e t u r n i n g to the H y p o t h e s e s ........................... 371
A P PE ND I CE S
App en d i x One:
Fieldwork
Q u e s t i o n n a i r e ................... 377
App en di x Two:
Map of F i j i ..................... ............380
Ap p e n d i x Three:
Racial Composition, Size and Lo cation of
S ec on d ar y Schools in Fiji, 1 9 8 6 ......... 381
App e n d i x Four:
Fiji Junior C er tif ic at e
Results, 1983
1 9 8 8 ........................................ 386
A pp en di x Five:
Summ ar ie s of School
Ap pen dix Six:
D a t a ................. 391
Co rr el a t i o n s
of
Fiji Junior
C e rt ifi cat e
Marks by
Subject
For
Schools
in
Field
S t u d y ......................................... 404
B I B L I O G R A P H Y .................................................. 408
- 7 -
T AB L ES
3.3.1
3. 3.2
P opulation
of Fiji:
1921 -
1946 ..................... 99
Number
of
Metho dis t
Mi ssion Sc hools
and
S t u d e n t s ............................................. 103
3. 3.3 Expend it ure Per Ca p i t a on
Educ ati on
for
Children
Aged 5 to 15 Y e a r s .................................... 112
3.3.4 Se co nd ar y School
Enr oll men ts
in
1 9 4 6 ............. 115
3.5.1 M an age me nt of Schools,
1 96 4 ........................ 122
3.5.2 Sec on d ar y School
1946 -
Polls
3.5.3 Schools and School
3.5.4 Pacial
Breakdown
En ro llm ent s
1 9 6 0 . . . ............ 123
1960 -
of Pupils A t t e n d i n g
3.5.5 S e con da ry E nr ol l me nt s
1 96 9 ...... 123
School,
1968
126
1 96 9 ......................... 126
3 .5.6 Pr op ortion
of
C hi ld re n
Aged
6 - 1 3
Years
in
Schoo 1 .................................................. 126
3.5.7 Exa mination
Re sul ts
4.1.1 Number of Sc hools
1961 and
1 96 9................... 130
Enr ol lm en ts
1971-1984... 140
4.1.2 Types of Ed uca tional Institutions
and
Controlling
Authorities, 1 9 8 6 ..............................
140
4.1.3 Ed ucation and Health in Fiji G o v e r n m e n t ’s Ope ra ti ng
Budget, 1964 - 1 9 7 8 .................................. 145
4.1.4 G ov er nm en t E xp en d it ur e on Educa tio n and Health
Per
Head of P o p u l a t i o n ............................... ....145
4. 1.5 Pacial
Com pos iti on
of Sec on da ry Schools,
1986...152
4.3.1 Student En rol lm e n t
in Se con dar y Schools,
1986...159
5.2.1
Se co n d ar y Schools
Entrance
Re sults
1954 -
1969..190
5. 2.2 Percen ta ge of
Class
Eight
Chil dre n
Sitt ing
the
S e c o nd a ry Sch ools En trance Examination, 1971-1986..
......................................................... 192
5. 2. 3 S e c o n d a ry Schools En trance Ex am i n at io n
Pass
Rates
for Different Ethnic Groups 1966 - 1 98 4 .......... 195
5.2.4 Fiji Junior C e r t i f i c a t e Pass Pates and
Numbers
of
C and id ate s 1955 - 1 9 89 ...............................200
5.2 .5 Fiji
Junior
C e r ti f i ca te
Pass
Pates
by
Ethnic
Group, 1971 - 1 9 8 6 .....................................201
- 8 -
5* 2.6 Wastage
6.1.1
for
1983 Form Four C o h o r t * . . * . . * * ........ 205
Fiji Junior C er ti fi ca te Ex am i n at io n Pass Rates
for
Schools in Fi eld Survey, 1983 - 1 9 8 8 .............. 230
6.4.1 Fiji
Junior
Ce rt i f i c a t e
Sub ject
Harks
Mean
Perc en ta ge Marks:
(a) Marks for Four C o m p u l so ry S u b j e c t s
.....265
(b) Marks for Optional S u b j e c t s .................... 266
7.2.1 Mean
Scores
in
F.J.C.
Exa mi na ti on
(1988)
by
Oc cup at ion s of Fathers in S a m p l e . . . . .............. 281
7. 2.2 Major Occ upational
7.3.1
Groups by R a c e ................. 283
Number
of
Sibl ing s
and
Fiji
Junior
Means
for
Diff er en t Family Sizes for Fi eld wor k Sample ....286
7.3.2 Possible Sources of Homework H e l p . . . .............. 288
7.3.3 Fiji
Junior C e r t i fi c a te
7.4.1 Age Sp read
Means by Place by A b o d e . 291
in Field St udy S c h o o l s ................. 296
7.4.2 Age Patterns
by R a c e ................................. 296
7.4.3 Age and Race
in Fiji
Pr imary Schools,
1 9 8 6 .......297
7.4.4 Fiji Junior Ce rt i f i c a te Means for Fi eld
Age G r o u p .................................
Sample
7.5.1 St ud ent s who Left School Between
Ju ly /A ug us t
and November 1988, by School, Race and S e x
7.7.1
Fiji Junior C er ti fi ca te
Field Sample, by R a c e
(1988)
by
297
1988
299
Means for Schools in
........
308
8.1.1
Mean Marks in Fiji Junior
C e rt ifi cat e
Ex am ina tio n
(1988) for
Field
Sample
Po pu lat ion
by School and
and Fathers* O c c u p a t i o n ...............................313
8 .1 .2
(a) S t an da rd
D evi at io ns
of
SES
Groups
Within
Schoo I s * . ......................................... 317
(b)
St and ard
De vi at i o n s
of
Scho ols
Within
SES
G r o u p s . ..........................................317
8. 1.3 Posit ion of Sc hools in Fieldwork
Sample Relati ve to
Each
Other
by
Way
of
Total
Means
and
Four
Co mp u l s o r y
Sub je ct s
in
Fiji
Junior
Ce rt ifi ca te
Exa min at i o n ............................................ 322
8.1.4 Su mm a r y
of
Critical
School
Fa ctors
by
Groups
D e f i n e d in Table 8 . 1 . 3 ............................... 323
8.2.1
Fiji Junior Ce rt i fi ca te Subject
Means (1988)
for
Ka da vu Schools
(i)
Marks for Four C o mp ul so ry S u b j e c t s .......... 334
(ii) Marks for Optional S u b j e c t s ...................334
- 9 -
8. 2.2 Career As pi rat ion s
of St udents
from Ka davu
Schools
FIGURES.
8. 1. 1 Chart Sh o w in g Indices of Sp re a d of School Means and
SES Means from Po pul at ion M e a n ..................... 315
8.2.1
Map of Kadavu S h o wi ng Schools
-
10 -
in C a s e - s t u d y
330
C H A P T E R ONE
1.1
^In
The
INT RODUCTIO N
Issues Under Study.
the a p pr ox i ma te l y
int rod u c ed to Fiji,
the national
universal,
150 years since
ed uca tio n has
agenda.
although
it
budget
The co unt ry
is
not
major
The broad
field- wo rk
is based,
of
achievement.
de bate
in recent
school
are
thesis,
the
been
The
of
varia ble s
political
education,
level,
to
it
intra-school
improve the
the
of
the
which
of
Bank
dete rm in e
of
much
holds
that
importance
While
altered.
than
countries,
social,
the
the
whether
topic
economic
cont ext
At
the
for
school
va ria ble s which can be adj usted
in s e c o n d a ry schools
v a r i ab le s are of major
its
thesis
learning and t e ach in g environment.
is h y p o t h e s i z e d that
in school
on
developing
provide
they are not ea si ly
is
of
affecting
v ar ia bl es
greater
in
varia ble s
high
qu al it y
issue
World
c o m p a r e d to de ve lo pe d countries.
and
20%
focus of this
school
has
decades.
var iables
socio-economic
This
a
in Fiji.
with
s o c i o - e c o n o m i c va ri ables or
school
in
virt ua ll y
and
the
vari ab le s
the
deals
now
some
How ever
polic y
hypo th es is
is
spends
qu a l i t y of se co n d a r y educ at io n
The
importance
leavers pr o c e ed to sec ondary
su pp or t i ng this system.
investigation of
s c h o o l i n g was
compulsory,
an nu al ly
s c h o o l i n g varies greatly.
is an
g ai ne d
Pr im ary s c h o o l i n g
pro po rt io n of primary school
school.
formal
importance
11 -
it
school
in e x p l a i n i n g va riation
per fo rm an ce and var iat io ns
-
in Fiji,
Thus
in
overall
school
effectiveness.
An historical
analys is tests a
the so ci o- e co no m ic
and
r e la te d
political
con te xt s
dem an d for education.
Prior to and
period,
for
the
dem an d
groups
in Fiji.
As
the
political
s oc io -p o li t i ca l
and
late
context,
the
1980s
have
has
had
which
effects on the educ at io n system.
P r evi ou s
re la t e d the h is tor y of educa ti on
in
ana ly se d
e d uca ti on
the
d ev el op men t
soc io - p o l i t ic al
is
the
establishment
colonial
of
It
G r a n t - i n - a i d sy st em
d e m a nd
for
unabated.
The
altered
the
co nc o m i t a n t
r e s e a r ch
has
but
not
has
wi thin
its
Grant-in-aid
educ at io n
in
in
s y st em
Fiji.
1916
by
The
the
initially all ow ed the ra pid ex pa n s io n
is
h y p o t he s i z e d
which
inability
system
ine qu alities
of
the
of the G ra n t - i n - a i d sy st em
schooling.
edu ca t i o n
exa min es
basis
go ve rn m e n t
g o v e r n m e n t ’s
Fiji,
ag en d a
parameters.
A further hy p o t h e si s
which
of
ga in ed
poli ti ca l
levels c o n t i n u e d
uphea val s of the
colonial
gradually
independence,
more educ ati on at higher
the
the
from the va ri ou s ethnic
ec onomic
a lt ere d before and after
that
pro vi de
d ur in g
educa tio n
mo me n t u m with di ff er in g r e spo ns es
hyp ot he si s
today
is
to
the
root
effectively
and
is
in the qu a l i t y and
thr ou g h o u t Fiji.
-
that
12 -
the
it
cause
of
control
cause
pro vi si on
is
of
of
the
the
the
major
education
1,2
Hethodology.
Studies
into school
have come to be
ef fe ct i v en es s
seen
as
qu al it y of education.
in de ve l o p i n g co unt rie s
important
Although
Co le ma n/ Je n c ks thesis of
the
for
most st ud ies do
importance
factors such as s o c i o - ec o n om ic
status,
wid ely
va ria ble s
acc epted
sign if ic a nc e
and others.
research.
that
school
in poor countries,
The pol icy
improving
cite
of
it
the
the
an t ec ed en t
is
becoming
are
of
as s u g g e s t e d by
great
H e y ne ma n
implications are crucial
to
such
It is more rel evant to c on ce nt ra te on va ri ab le s
which are subject to
intervention rather than si tu ati on al
v ar iab les which have
less potential
central
issue
is to dis cover
or educational
where
finance
Colm
and
mul ti -v a r ia te
res earch
to
positively
learning process,
in
si tu at i on s
(1987)
research:
using case
been much debate
are
of
res ear ch of human
into
qu a n t it at iv e
Each
that
two
school
d i st in ct
studies
an aly sis
studies.
on
n ot ed
fall
and
method
us in g
qua li ta ti ve
has
certain
inherent wea kn es se s and there
this
subject
The main cri ti ci sm s of the
pro blems
arriving
at
acitivities,
ge ne ra ll y be held constant,
to this
have
to
statistical
ad va nt ag es and certain
decades.
re sou rce s
is scarce.
Rossmi lle r
of
The
likely
e ff ec ti ve ne ss studies tend
types
adjustment.
which ed uca tio nal
proce sse s are most
affect the teaching and
for
is the co nt rov ers ial
-
in
the
past
q u an ti ta ti ve
un am bi gu ou s
where
has
three
method
results
var ia bl es
let alone estimated.
cannot
Related
issue of c a u s al it y which
13 -
in
is
often assumed.
A major c r i t i c i s m
paid to contextual
or
qua li fy data and the
si tu ational
social
vacuum"
Landsheere, 1982)
we ak en ed
their
e x p la na ti on s
m ai nta ins
( N e u m a n n ;1987:161).
cla ims
that
a pp ro ach
by
that
"quantitative
knowing"
them.
The
o b j e ct iv it y are
kn ow ing
of
to
or
qua li ta ti ve
research"
edu cational
integrated
m e t h od ol og y
a
di ale cti c
to
clear
the
di ch ot om y
res ea rc h
single
qu es ti on s
social
sci enc e
thus:
"We
the potential
to
While both sides
Keeve s and Rist
see
pro vi de
ge ne ra l i z a bl e
res ou rc e demands of the q u a l i ta ti ve
them to small
of
non-representative
qu an ti ta ti ve
-
14 -
within
inquiry
have
findings,
the
studies u s ua ll y
samples.
An
resea rch
and qu al it at i v e studies as c o m p l e m e n ta ry e m pha se s
the res earch program.
which
(N e u m a n n ;1987: 161).
is gai nin g a wide acceptance.
have sum med up this ap pro ach
and
growing
is now widely re c o g ni ze d that no
arise
in
a
be
between
all
of
from empiricists.
be
answer
on
case
rigour*
there appears to
res earch para dig m can
He
lack
not
"It
data.
generalizations
’sc ien tif ic
q u a nt it at iv e
sense
t y pi ca ll y
draw
inevitable criti cis ms
have
Qua li ta ti ve
co nse que nt
ab il it y
lack
their
in
depends
co nse nsu s that there s ho ul d
methodology.
As
(in
common
qu an ti ta ti ve
for
the
After decades of debate,
a
may
sc i e n t i s t s
( L a n d s h e e r e ; 1 9 8 2 :2 7).
and
r e p r e s e nt at iv en es s or
from
social
c r o s s - v a l i d a te
nature
which
Campbell
ignoring
studies have been c r i t i c i z e d
study
var ia ble s
"Education does not take place
to
qu al it at iv e
lack of at ten tio n
lack of d e s c ri pt ion of processes.
Neumann has p o i nt ed out
a
is the
limit
Their role then
is to provide the rich obse rva tio na l
ex pl a n a t i o ns
for
the
more
qu ant it at iv e survey work,
detail
gross
that suggests
ef fe ct s
and to adva nce
in
the
pr op os it io ns
for
s ub se q u e n t research "(in L a n d s h e e r e ;1982:39).
The
research
under tak en
m e t h od ol og y of
the
thesi s
follows
dialectic.
is
real iti es
also
and
used
to
to
a n aly se s and
ex plain
d e scr ib e
♦ p r o c e s s ’, a pheno men on much r e c o g n i z e d
the
Qu an ti ta ti ve
with some stati st ica l
ap proach
spec ifi c social
this
integrated
studies are undertaken
a qualit at iv e
in
but
the
the
school
not
easily
quant i f i a b l e .
1.3
The
The
fieldwork.
field research
August
1988.
for this thesis took place
Because
s ec on da ry schools
of
the
in Fiji,
great
in July and
diversity
it was de ci ded to
nar row
study down to schools that had a common
factor,
the same
di ffe ren t
time
composition,
including
religion,
sch ools
size
and
of
location.
among
while
The
common
in ent ry criteria.
The Gr an t- i n - a i d sys te m
described
Ch ap ter s Three and Four,
of schools
theory,
with
w id el y
di ff er in g
parents are able to
in
characteristics.
choose
are suit abl e because of geogra phi c
es pe ci al ly
detail
has given rise to a m u l ti pl ic it y
sch ool s
their rel igious or ethnic preference,
however,
in
at
ethnic
factor was that of no n- se le ct io n
in Fiji,
the
in urban areas,
-
15 -
or
schools
location.
the
which
In
schools
In
suit
which
practice
select
the pupils*
Sc ho ol s
through e xa mi nat io n
a cq uir e
their
suc cess rates,
r e pu ta ti on
thus schools
prestig e are able to screen their pupil
t h e m se lv es to those of
com pa t i b l e social
areas such
sup er io r
or
s e le ct ion
is
not
e s p e c i a l l y those of poorer
the ne arest school.
Rural
so
represented
a
wide
in rural
are
and a.^
range
of
for the
rural
likely to at t e n d
and are
their pupil
ab il i t i e s
intake.
sh ou l d
individual
p r i n c i p a l ’s
s c h oo ls
discretion.
There are no hard and fast rules r e g a r d i n g se le c t i o n
down
by
the
Ministry
of
re gu la ti on which di sa l lo ws
be
schools.
d e c i d e d upon by
largely a matter
or
Children,
schools are often small
n o n -s el ec ti ve
Selec ti o n cri te ri a
In
prevalent.
families,
limit
ab il it y
backgrounds.
in no position to be s e le ct iv e about
Theoretically,
with high
intake and
sc h o l as ti c
re lig iou s
largely
Education,
apart
d i s c r i m i n a t i o n on
laid
from
a
gr ounds
of
race or religion.
The sc hools
included
geo gr a p h i c areas
in the sample are
in Fiji.
the main
island of Viti
schools:
one urban,
small
schools
Levu
a re a
is
sc hools
we st er n / c e n t ra l
Viti
in
from
the
represented
one p er i- ur ba n
junior s e co nd ar y
Va ll ey of
The Nadi
drawn
and
in
the
Levu;
one
These
11 schools vary w i d e l y
size,
location,
included
three
in
three
rural.
rural
of
Two
Si g a t o k a
secondary
island of
the
study.
in their et hnic composition,
socio-economic
Six of the schools are run by
-
west
by
in the Suva urban area and three on the
Ka da vu are the r e m a i n i n g areas
four
co ntext
local
16 -
and
management.
committees,
one
by
the
M et ho dis t
Archdiocese,
Church,
by
the
one by the Church of
Latter Day Saints,
the government.
used
one
Soman
Jesus
Christ
one by the Musli m League
(The actual
Cath oli c
and
of
the
one
by
names of the schools are
not
in the thesis).
All of the Form Four stu de nt s
in the scho ols vi si te d took
part
in a survey,
responding
to
home
background,
parents*
qu es t i o n s
o c cu pat ion s
and
ho mework problems and their aspirations.
these
stu dents
sat
the
ex am in at io n and their
and by
individual
Fiji
individual
about
education,
In No vember
Junior
results,
all the Form Four st ud ent s
both
questionnaires.
in Fiji
in
aggregate
with
1988 were
in the survey,
only
these
the
Cer ti fi ca te
the
final
a c tu al ly
sat
Fiji
ex am ina tio n and c o ns eq ue nt ly became
statistical
analysis.
from this survey
is used
data,
from
ob ta ine d
teac her s and
The
interviews
with
in some cases parents and
but
Junior
part
information
in co mb ina tio n with
of
included
478 stu de nt s took part
of
the
Some 5%
in the survey.
456
1988
C e r t i fi ca te
subject have been co rr el at ed
information on their original
their
of
de ri ve d
qu al it at iv e
pr in cip als
in
the
various schools,
and from obs er va ti on of the sch ools
and
their processes.
Where
was
possible,
stud ent s
and
c l a s sr oo m
tea ch in g
observed.
The
q u e s ti on na ir e
questions.
emerge
co n s i s t e d
(See A p p e n d i x One).
from the answers
’pigeonholing*
of
given
answers.
-
mai nly
of
o p en -e nd ed
This al lo we d ca te go ri es
and
All
17 -
pr e v e n t e d
to
pr es cr i b e d
q u e s t i on na ir es
were
ad m i n i s t e r e d p e r s o n a l l y by the researcher,
q u e s t i o n i n g pr oc es s
stages with
to
be
wo rked
full e xp la na t i o n s
This s i m u l a t e d the
degree of privacy,
wrote.
This
sensitivity
for
interview si tuation
each
to
allowing
the
a ll owe d
a
convent ion al
rather
than
the
careful
question*
some
extent,
participants
gre ate r
style
qu e s t i o n n a i r e and a l l o w e d pa rt ic ip an ts
of their answers,
in
also a l l o w i n g them to re fl ec t as
ap pr oa c h
than
th rough
given
but had the a dd ed a d v a n t a g e of
enabling
to be
c o nf or m i n g
deg ree
of
in
to
a
they
of
pre co ded
control
external
expect at i o n s .
The data from the su rv e y was proce sse d
SP S S / P C +
element,
package)
but
it is
obs e r v e d para me te rs
which
gives
discussed
a
within
(using ma i n l y
s t r o ng
the
where they occurred.
-
18 -
the
qu a n t it at iv e
qualitatively
C H A P T E R TWO
T H E O R E T I C A L AND C O N C E P T U A L P E R S P E C T I V E S
ED U C A T I O N
R EV IE W
2.1
(^The
Educational
1950s and
formal
DE V E L O P I NG
CO U N T R I E S
Exp an si o n and the Hunan Capital
1960s were a time of ma ssive
1975,
the
secondary
level
(Hardiman
and
in
increase
developing
at
rel ative
H i d g l e y , 1982:183).
and
levels were
a bs olu te
far
p r i m a r y schooling.
du ri ng the
Theory.
p r i ma ry
was
365%,
more
In
1960s and
both
increases
in
inflated expenditure,
total
to
finance
e x p e nd it ur e
( T o d a r o , 1977:257).
also r e c o r d e d that by the mid-1970s,
as
than
tr ip led
in Af rica and Latin America,
exp e n d i t u r e more than doubled.
poor
education,
The
expen siv e
Asia
1056%.
Consequently,
terms.
of
Between
increased by 920% and t e r t i a r y by
s e c o nd ar y and ter ti ar y e du ca ti on
these
the
coun tr ie s
co unt rie s were s p e n d in g vast amounts on
in
A
expa ns io n
in d e v e l o pi ng countries.
ag gr e g a t e
of s ch oo li n g
-
OF THE LITERATURE,
educ ati on sys tem s
1950 and
level
IN
ON
ed uc ational
public
Todaro
budgets
in many Th ird World n a t io ns were a b s o r b i n g between 20 and
35 per cent of total
go v e r nm en t
recur ren t
expenditures.
(1977:257).
Education,
become
through
formal
We stern
style
schooling,
firmly e s t a b l i s h e d as an a l lo ca to r of
in d e v e l o p i n g coun tr ie s
and
fr eq ue nt ly exc ee de d supply.
-
de ma n d
Parents
19 -
for
had
li fe-chances
school
perceived
places
schooling
in an
instrumental
way:
as
an
es cape
dru dg e r y and p o v e r t y of su bs i s t e nc e
for example,
sought
for
o b se rv ed that
its own sake,
o pp o rt u n i t ie s
for
it gave
aca demic
route
agriculture.
in Ghana,
edu ca ti on
but was va lu ed
for
ma inly
employment.
e du cat io n
had
from
little
do
of
the
individuals
differ ent ial
within
s tr uc tu re "(1965:105).
from both rich and poor,
education.
G o v er nm ent s
to
educ ational
eme rgence
of a school
of
in
theory
limited
d e ve lo p i n g
with
which
the
fully
ec on om ic s
di s ci pl in e
de fin ite
growth was claimed.
in people
link
in the
ac c e l e r a t e d ec onomic growth.
in
"economists r ea li ze d
growth d e ma nd ed a new
Investment
increased qu a l it y
The
independent
economi c
1957,
which
1983:8).
eco nomic
and
1929 and
of
gr eatest
1960s was c on cur re nt
con cept
that
the
expa ns ion
1960s when
facts of ec ono mic
a
applied,
about
have
development.
ed uca tio n was born as an
1981:23).
to
that edu ca tio n was the key factor
economic
in the early
the
re ali sti c
was
ch oices
should
(Thomas,
1950s and
su pp or te d the notion
(Mundi,
demands
increase the a v a i l a b i l i t y
e duc at io nal
in the
the
the
o c cu pa tio nal
pre ss ur e
had to make
opportunities.
c ou nt ri es
U.S.A.
for
in s oc iet y d e se rv ed access to the
The drive towards
pr om ot in g
not
a c c o r d ed
this
levels and types of ed uca tio n
support and who
re wards
Political
was
with
c ur ri cu lu ms of the sch ool s but r e fl ec te d their
p erc ept ion
Foster
MAfrican
to
the
De nison
labour
its
He c a l c u l a t e d
the
that
central
edu ca ti on
(1962)
force
of
exp lan ati on"
was
bet ween
in
and
ma in ta in ed
in the
that
U.S.A.
between
e d u c a t i o n was the source of 23 per cent of
- 20 -
the growth of real
immediately
national
before
and
income,
after,
but
the
in
the
pe riods
co n t r i b u t i o n
of
e du cat ion would be only about half as much.
Schultz,
another pio neer of what
Human Capital
premise
Theory,
came
“ec on om i s ts have come upon
co uld
not
stock
e c on om ic
the
individual
of return of di ffe ren t
co unt rie s
inter
ope r a t e d at the
signs
alone:
of
g r o w t h “ (1962:3).
co mp ar in g the total
e sp ec i a l l y
the
in the q u a l i t y of human r e so ur ce s as one
educ ati on
conclusions;
on
to
explore
poor
capital
numerous
at te mp t e d to
and
ba sed
as
po in t i n g
the major sources of
the total of
known
income of the U.S.A.
be e x p l a i n ed by es ti ma te s of real
by
be
made similar claims
that the national
improvements
to
costs and
pr ofits
he
drew
that
from
with
for both
rich
a number
of
pr imary
lowest cost and that rate
high
of
He also c a lc u l a t e d rates
levels of education
alia
(sic)
costs of ed uc at io n
incomes.
and
Sch ultz
pri ma ry
schools
sc hools
of
are
return
in low
is
income
countr i e s .
Becker
(1962)
t r a i n i n g and
saw e xp e n d i t u r e
medical
improve the physical
r a i s i n g their real
Becker,
as
and mental
that
investments
which wo uld
ab il ities
important role
like Schultz,
investments
on-the-job
factors
also
costs of edu ca ti on and rates
that
schooling,
income prospects.
in cr easingly evident
r e so ur ce s pl ay ed an
care
on
in cert ai n
of people,
He saw that
other
in
looked
than
e c on om ic
it
was
physical
growth.
at the o p p o r t u n i t y
of return, based on the
periods would
- 21 -
thus
bring
idea
re turns
in all
r em ai n in g
ana ly si s
periods.
in ed uc ation
(1962:26).
Rate
has since had subst an tia l
Pr op on e n t s of r a t e - o f - r e t u r n analysis see
of the p r o f i t a b i l i t y of
of
individual
of
stu den ts
investment
from the point of view
(private rate of return)
(social
return).
rates
policy
P s a c h a r o p ou l os has ca lc ul a te d
for over 50 coun tr ie s and
implications
from them.
that because the a v e ra ge rate
count ri es
is higher
for
conte nds
of
return
p r i ma ry
is
still
very
shortcomings.
to
their
are
analysis
a s s um ed
education.
r e qu ir ed
to
d e v e l o p i n g countries.
But the
calculate
fundamental
of return analys is are more basic:
and
the
gl a r i n g
to
De t ai le d
These data are often unavailable,
political
should
for
and
a
to
Sal ar ie s and wages are used as a proxy
linked
commodities
c om pa re d
of
co mp r e h e n s i v e data are
return.
example
dev elo pi ng
return
has
some
number
p e o p l e ’s value or c o n t r i b u t i o n
d i re ct ly
drawn
in
of
return
pr i m a r y ed ucation
it
from
rate
for
educ at ion
Althou gh rate of
influential,
or
of
has
He
se c o n d a r y or te r t i a r y education,
be given top priority.
influence.
it as a measure
the point of view of s o c iet y as a whole
for ed uc ation
return
and
rate
of
e s p e c i al ly
in
flaws
e q ua t i n g
omi ss io n
be
of
of
rate
people
with
social
and
factors.
Har bison and Hyers
(1964)
looked upon
investment
in
development,
ne ce s s a r y
for
and eco no mi c development.
human capital
were educa ti on al
ed uc ation
as
political,
ec o n o m i s t s who
human
cultural,
They were critical
the or is ts such as Denison
- 22 -
and
of
resource
social
previous
Sc hu lz
for
a l l e ge dl y gi vin g only
peripheral
an a ly si s of
human
looking
investments
at
resources,
in
c o n s id er at io n
concentrating
education
found
p r e s u m a b l y some causal
in educ at io n
"a
very
high
relationship
(and hence
GNP per c a p i t a " (1964:165).
heavy
investment
ne ce ss ar y to
in
get
a
resource
co u n t r y
sta rt ed
se lf -s u s t a i n i n g eco no mi c growth.
that
should be di re cte d at the
that of
a
technical
correlation
as
The
nature.
and
ex pr es se d
an
on
the
pol ic y
by
is
road
to
implication
in
level,
Harbison
a
initial
d e v e l op me nt
investment
tert iar y
and
e n ro llm ent s
They c l a im ed that
human
from this as sum pti on was
Despite this,
in education)
c o u n t r y ’s level of ec o n o m i c d ev elo pm en t
on
’e c o n o m i c 1,
between
investments
the
so le ly
as
bec ause they co n t r i b u t e to economic growth.
Har bi so n and Myers
to
e d uc at io n
particularly
and
Myers
saw
long-term manpower pl a n n i n g based on target se t t i ng as an
indispensable
development.
part
Manpowe r
pl an n i n g
ideas were very
human
esp ec ia ll y
influential
its
manpowe r
is
economy.
"The
basic
one
of
idea
u n d e rl yi ng
the
crucial
that
a
the
the
in d e v e l o p i n g
Capital
belief
that
skilled
inputs
of
it app ea rs
a
future
fore ca st s
for pl a n ni n g the scale of ed uc a t i o n
since
in
Human
c o u n t r y ’s
s tr uct ure can be pr e d i c t e d and the
appealing,
re sou rce
in Africa.
pla nn in g was an of fshoot of
T he or y with
basis
for
Har bison and Myers wrote prolifically
1960s and their
countries,
of
is
modern
ma np owe r
used
as
a
intui ti vel y
to offer u n am bi gu ou s guida nce
to the p ol ic ym ak er on how to plan ed uc a t i o n a l
(Ps a c h a r o p o u l o s and Uoodhall,
1985:72).
- 23 -
investment"
The we a k n e s s e s
of
man power pla nn in g soon became manifest however*
fixed rel at io n sh ip s bet ween
and ou tp ut s and
failed to take
inputs
q u a li f i c a t i o n s
issues such
su b s t i t u t a b i l i t y
into
e m p h a s i z e d vocational,
of
and
as
s k il le d
they
pr o d u c t i v i t y
Man po we r
s ec o n da ry and
on
manpo wer
productivity,
labour
account.
Ba sed
and
planning
te r ti ar y
educa tio n
at the expense of p r i m a ry ed uca tio n and did not take cost
or
cost-effectiveness
factors
into
account.
The
cr i t ic is ms of ma npower p l a n n i n g are numerous,
sharing
re cu rr en t
est im at es
theme,
that
such
qua nt it at iv e
ex a g g e r a t e d the need for mi ddle and high
and
that
it
policymakers.
1985;
failed
(Blaug,
C o o m b s : 1970;
to
give
1970;
clear
1987)
The
man power
plan nin g were r e a li ze d when
r ap idl y
turned
into
man power
fo recasts have been d e s c r i b e d
inaccurate and
little better
and by P s a c h a r op ou l os
and
levels of skills
gu id el i n e s
Psa cha ro po ul os and
Foster,
by
Woodhall,
of
manp owe r
s ho rta ge s
surpluses.
Man power
as
"hopelessly
guesswork"
Woodhall
to
inadequacies
Blaug
than
a
as
(1983:13)
"inaccurate
and
u n r e 1i a b l e "(1985:86).
Bowman a nd Anderson
(1965,1968)
were no table
the Human Capital T h e o r y to the econ om ie s
countries.
co un t r i e s
Their cr os s- s ec t ion ana ly sis
in the
40 per cent
is n e c e s s a r y
maintained
that
addit io na l
addi ti on al
economic gr owth
cent.
of
developing
the
w o r l d ’s
(though not su ffi cen t alone)
for
per
of
1950s c o n c l u d e d that a literacy rate
a su pp or t i v e base
70 - 8 0
for ap p l y i n g
They
sustained
e c on om ic
literacy
until
concluded,
- 24 -
growth.
brings
literacy
inter
as
They
little
rates
alia
of
,
reach
that
ed u c a t i o n changes
values
s o c i e t y to become
’open*
and
att it ude s
and thus
more
mi gra ti on of human capital,
from other societies.
occur
causes
likely
vig o r o u s de ve l op me n t of human resources.
major eco no mi c ch anges cannot
and
to
a
have
They c l a i m s that
without
impressive
b r in gi ng skills and k n owl ed ge
(1968:272).
An ex p l an at ion of why the basic concept of Human
Capital
Theory held great appeal
is made
for d e ve lo pi ng co unt rie s
by Colclough:
"It s ee me d to be a matter of easy
tr ans lat e the
imp lication s of this work to the d e v e l o p i n g
world where sk ill ed
man po wer
su pp ly .. .t he ass ump ti on
was
bro adl y
universal
with
c r it ic al ly
’sk il led
’s c h oo le d
Wes tern modes of ed uc ation
modes
investment
in
was made that
s y n o n ym ou s
implication,
was
of
would
investment
skill
have
str at eg y
( C o l c l o u g h , 1980:2).
to
if
was
in
influ enc ed by
for example,
1962.
educ ati on
become
part
to
of
succeed"
appeal
There was
provi sio n
for
intense
and
the
go ve rnm ent s
and
ph i l o s o p h y ju st ified their actions.
pr oc l a i m e d the ec ono mic
Bank,
by
ed uc ational
This had great political
_.iternational aid age nc ie s as
pl ann ers were
to
central
pre ssure to exp an d educational
human capital
were
occupy
growth
short
manpower’:
and
a
to
manpower’
creation,
gov er nm en ts of newly em erg en t nations.
social
logic
the
value
initi ate d
"The ju st if ic at io n
well
body
of
of
theory
education.
for this
World
project
investment was
right,
and economic
- 25 -
which
The
its first edu ca ti on
is not only a basic human
basic compo nen t of social
as
but
that
also
development,
a
and
that pr op er ly pl an ne d
econ omi c dividends,
inv estments
especially
in the poorest
(Psacharopoulos and Woodhall,
optimistically
Ed uc at io n by
set
1980,
has occurred,
the
1985:4).
target
but desp ite
the goal
in e d uc at io n pay
was
of
In
of this century.
on
In
co un tries"
1960,
UNE SCO
Universal
Pr im ary
the ma ss ive ex pan sio n that
far
from be i n g a c h i e v e d
a c c o r d i n g to P s a c h a r o p o u l o s and Woodhall
u n li ke ly to be a c hi ev ed
great
and,
(1985:175),
is
in Africa and Asia before the end
1962,
UN ES CO
launched a mass
assault
illiteracy with the pu bl ica tio n of a doc ument ent it le d
’World Campaign
for Univeral
Literacy*.
noted that
for a v a r i et y of reasons,
dr o p p e d
1964,
in
alt hou gh
it
Bl a u g
this
was
(1970:258)
campai gn
later revi ved
was
in
a
m od if i e d form.
The
p e r c e iv ed
link
be tween
educ at ion
dev el op m en t as p ro po u n d e d by Becker,
a 1.
was
of
development. The
mo de rn i z a t i on
industrial
school
econ om ie s
as a result,
gradually
was
wo ul d
levels
improve.
planning
a p p ro ac h as
a
of
living
for the
of
it
is still
w i d e l y ag reed
- 26 -
modern
d e v e lo pm en t
welfare
was
would
thus
to
e m pl oym ent
growth.
the
et
the
that
modern
t e c hn ol og ic al
ed uc a t i o n but paid scant at te ntion
While
and
of ed uc at io n
manifestation
it e m p h a s i z e d
of
e c ono mi c
ena bl in g e c o n o mi c progre ss and
was
Schultz
underpinning
bring
The role
ec on omi c
m o d e r ni za ti on
the assum pti on
pro vide sk illed t e c h n o l o g i s t s
sector,
Denison,
in ke ep ing with the then p re val en t
ideology
and,
and
Ma npower
modernization
and
vocational
to pr imary education.
that
e d uca ti on
has
an
important
causal
role
link
in
pr o m o t i n g
between
development,
e d uc at io n
and
the
direc t
e c on om ic
growth
p r o p o u n d e d by Human Capital Th eo r i s t s
has
largely
denounced.
was
an
This
c i rc ul ar
c a us al it y
a s s u mp ti on of the Human Capital
issue not di r e c t l y addres se d,
am ongst
its
critics,
as
Theory,
Bl aug
he
but
has
implicit
it
been
m a in ta in s
been
was
an
p r om in en t
that
"the
r e l a t i o n s h i p between ed uc a t i o n and e c o no mi c growth may be
quite
diff er en t
in
a n o t h e r "( 1970:66).
one
He ref ut es
time
and
the
as su mp t i o n
ec on o m i e s are on the same growth paths
"the re al ly di sp ut a b l e
capital
than
that
all
claims
that
is not
is one of the sources of growth
it is a more signi fi ca nt
or
and
from
issue about e c on om ic growth
so much whether ed uc a t i o n
but whether
place
other
source than physical
types
of
social
e x p e n d i t u r e "(1970:100).
A c c o r d i n g to Todaro,
disillusionment
ed uc at io n to promote ec o n o m ic
with the abil ity
growth
set
in
as
of
"After
almost t hree decades of r a p id ly ex p a n d i n g e n ro ll me nt s and
hund re ds
of
expenditure,
b i ll io ns
of
of
e du cat io na l
the plight of the av erage cit izen
Afr ic a and Latin Am er ic a seems
po v e r t y
do llars
is chronic and
between rich and
poor
little
pervasive.
widen
with
improved.
E c on om ic
each
proportions,
with the
o bs e r v e d that the
jobs"
ed uc at io n
d e v e l o p i n g coun tri es
(1977:255).
sw e ll in g
Dore
which
large shares of their
year,
s t a g g e ri ng
i n cr ea sin gl y
expl osi on
- 27 -
Abs olute
p a s si ng
and un de re m p l o y m e n t have r e a ch ed
the ranks of those with out
Asia,
dis pa ri ti es
u ne mp l o y m e nt
’educated*
of
(1976)
had
budgets,
cost
had
pr od u c e d
a
political
'qualification
e s c a l a t i o n '.This
caused
pr oblems as a large mass of edu ca te d unemployed
c oul d be a
threat
stability.
to
social,
e c ono mi c
and
political
Dore also q u e s t i o n e d whether the vast majority
of ce r t i f i c a t e d people were edu ca te d
in any
sense
other
than the ab il it y to pass examinations.
L
By the
1970s,
many d e v e l o p i n g co un tries were
and had st ar ted to ev al u at e and
systems.
In
provision,
overworked
the
rush
ca te r i n g
and
to
assess
towards
their
expanding
political
understaffed
independent
and
educational
social
demands,
of
education
m in is tr ie s
ne ither had the time nor resou rce s to at t en d
c o n c e r n i n g qu al it y
in education.
ef fe ct i v e n e s s became
as
increa si ng ly
fi na nci all y and
its potential
of
it was
c o n t r i bu t i on
ed uca tio n
ch an ge d
c o n t r i b u t e d to
important
p o ssi bl y
emph asi s
from
to
how
c oul d make the ms el ve s more efficient.
a vai lab le"
central
and
better
(1972:19).
educa tio n
Similarly,
p r i n c ip l e of edu ca t io na l
returns,
in some sense or other,
r e s o u r c e s d e v o t e d to educ at ion "
analysis
and
systems
Coombs and
Hal lack
- 28 -
"The
maximize
amou nts
of
C o s t- be ne fi t
ana ly si s
rational
making
is to
(1970:126).
"how
resources
as s e r t e d
given
with
of
1970s as
the
Bl aug
international
aim
edu cation
ed uca tio n
c r e d i b i l i t y e s p e c i a l l y with
the
ec onomics
how
p l an ni ng
cost-effectiveness
ful filling
The
from
from
1970s,
cou ntries
not
identified the most p r e s s i n g pr ob lem of the
to get more
matters
in the
c o s ti ng
to development.
development,
to
Issues of ef f i c i e n c y and
it became clear that edu cation was
he av ily
education
gained
organizations,
policy
decisions.
(W o o d h a l 1,1970).
staff sk il le d
National
in
mini st ri es often however
co st -b e n e f i t
analysis.
Political
b u d ge ta ry c o n s i d e r a t i o n s more often pr o v i d e d the
for ed uca tio na l
no ted that
planning.
in the ea rly
that m a c r o p l a n n i n g
m an ife st
the
in
failures of
need
for
new
( M c K i n n o n , 1973).
1970s
there
e d uc at io n
and
D is il lu s i o n m e n t
failure:
pl a n n i n g
to
with ed uc a t io n
in the
meet
in a severe
Freire
co n s c i o u s n e s s
is ann ul le d
’banking*
li berating
irrelevant
ed uca tio n
so lv in g and critical
ob v i a t e d
cr ea t i n g
pragmatic,
an
by
investigation.
tasks,
Freire
their
fre que nt ly
and
ideas
of
formal
became
with new
other
p ro po se d
a
p r ob l e m
the
radical
’de sc hoolers*
influential
rig id it y
with
skills
’a p p r o p r i a t e ’ c ur r i c u l a for rural
- 29 -
co ncept
in
and
systems.
ch arged
aim in g to teach tra ditional
th in k i n g
the
Al though
were
for
education,
e n co ur ag e
the
school
Freire,
co nv en ti on al
Freire
would
a w a r e n e ss
i na pp ro pr iat ene ss of
Ed uca ti on
information.
which
so lu ti on s s u g g e s te d by
were not
much
(1972)
and
t ea ch er - s t u d e n t r e l a t i o n s h i p s which rely on
of
of
indictment of tr ad itional
m ai nt a i n e d that c re at ive power
critical
changing
issues of a p p r o p r i a t e n e s s and re le v a n c e
’d e s c h o o l i n g ’ t h e or ie s such as those
example,
"The
su ggest
1970s sp aw ned
Illich and Berger won wide audiences.
and
re al i z at io n
(1987:100).
di scu ss io n on the
and the
(1987)
pragmatically-oriented
po li cie s that can be ra pi d l y adj us te d
cir cum st an ce s"
a
mac ro ed uc a ti on al
m i c ro -
a
and
impetus
Foster
was
was
lacked
and
d e v e lo pm en t
know le dg e
children.
Bude
(1984)
ca lle d such moves
only marginal changes.
d e v e lo pm en t
of
Nash
rural
The
te chnica l
aim
it,
of
in
as
no ted
has
brought
that
separate
ge ne ra ll y
hap pe ne d
emphasizing
ed uca ti on
uhich
in
failed
Ni ge ria
and
a g r i cu lt ur al
new.
powers had
made great efforts to en cou rag e
such
no n- a ca d e m i c skills
in many colonies, but there had
been
a str on g p ref ere nc e
the
early
days
F o s t e r , 1966;
for
of
rural
educ at io n
schooling.
F o s t e r , 1965;
since
(Clignet
H o p k i n , 1977).
and
Gr if fiths
look upon schools as an escape
the hards hip s of rural
for
however,
formal academ ic
formal
a s se rt ed that pare nts
schools
was,
and
not
Colonial
skills
(1980)
educ ati on
be cause people reject
Tanzania.
'pseudo-reforms*
life thus:
children,
"To
e s ta bl is h
where
the
d el i b e r a t e l y at tempts to k ee p them on
thwart their hopes and am bit ion s
the
for their
from
special
curriculum
land,
is
children
to
and
for their old age.
Exp er ie nc e would seem to show that
in
most areas special
s ch oo ls
be
c om pl e t e l y
u n a cc ept ab le"
for rural
(1968:16).
ac ad emi c education was e n h a n c e d
skills and c o m m u n i c a t i on
po li ty
of
the
as
a b il it y to
society.
ch i ld re n
An
The
it
would
worth
transmitted
pa rt i c i p a t e
academ ic
cult ure and traditions,
a
but gave them a
the
educ at ion
rejection
wider
an
the
in
em p o w e r e d people to be so c i a l l y and e c o n o m i c a l l y
which did not n e c e s s a r i l y entail
of
also
mobile,
of
their
range
of
opt i o n s .
The colonial
the
elite
per cep ti on of educ at ion
ch an ge d
as
count rie s
Edu ca ti o n came to be seen as a right
- 30 -
as an
became
and
activity
for
independent.
the
issue
of
equ ity became
the
i n c re as in gly
International
important*
At a co n f e r e n c e
La bou r Or ga ni z a t i o n
in
1976,
Needs Approach to d e v e lo p m en t was conceived.
the
Basic
Although
pr ot ag o n i s t s differ as to uhat e x a c t l y c o n s t i t u t e s
Needs,
need.
they c o n s i s t e n t l y adv oc at e
e d uc at io n as a
Promi ne nt Basic Ne eds adv oc at es St re e t e n
St eua rt
(1985)
be ing crucial
place p a r am ou nt
ed uca tio n
as
the Basic Needs
such as
improved aw ar e n e ss
re du ce d
fertility as well
ec ono mic growth.
linked
Approach e m p h a s i z e s
of health
as
pr imary
(1981)
and
Th eo r y but
While the Human
ca us all y
growth,
Basic
The Basic Needs
likened to the Human Capital
its d if f er en c e s are significant.
The or y saw
its
importance on educa tio n as
in the de ve l o p m e n t process.
App roa ch has been
of
to
ec onomic
ex te r n a l i t i es
n u t r i t i on
and
improving the potential
for
(U 1 H a q , 1980;
and
Capital
Burki,1980;
Streeten, 1980;
I s e n m a n ,1980).
Despite the rampant q u a n ti t a ti ve
e du cat ion systems
sh o w e d
rates and many ch ildren
"Dropout and rep eti ti on
st ud en ts
from a low
more preva len t
wa st age
appear to be
s oc io - e c o n o m i c
in rural
since
and
than
most
Atte nt io n was turne d to the
the q u a l i t y of schooling,
areas,
(P s a c h a r o p o u l o s
as a means
e q u i t y and
efficiency.
"What
ed ucation al
reform came now
and
issue of
of
enthusiasm
at all.
common
background
in urban
1950,
re pe tition
were not a t t e n d i n g school
females than among males"
1985:209).
high
exp an si on
and
and
among
are
among
Woodhall,
improving
i m pro vi ng
s u rv iv ed
both
for
increa si ng ly to be d e v ot ed to
qu a l it at iv e reforms ra th er than
( B l a u g , 1983:8).
- 31 -
quantitative
expansion"
The rationale
methodology
for
improving q u al it y was
uas
much
less
clear.
s ys t e m a t i c research a va ila bl e
uhat
factors
d e t er m i n e d
me as u r e d by achievement.
as the
I.E.A.
c ou n t r i e s than o ut -o f-s ch oo l
uhere stu dies
a l r ea dy
as
s it uat io n
become
a
topic
of
to
studies such
in dicated
important
in a general
in d e v e l o p i n g
This
ind ust ri al iz ed
in qu al it y and eq u al it y
as
conventionally
f a c t o r s . (1)
in
the
little
1970s
Some c r o s s - n a t io na l
1960s
but
was
in the ea rl y
factors uere more
con ve r s e of the
There
qu a l i ty
studies of the
way that school
clear,
of
aca de mic
uas
the
cou nt ri es
ed uca tio n
and
had
pol it ica l
interest.
1.2
Western
Research
on
Quality
and
Eq ua l i t y
in
Education.
In Western countries
g r o ui ng
interest
education.
in the
1960s and
in rese arc h
The
belief
that
in the
1970s there
uas
field of s o ci ol og y of
educ at io n
uas
the
eq ua l i z e r of m a n ki nd uas be in g c h al le ng ed as
areas
as the r e la t i o n s h ip s be tueen
and
a c h i e v e m e n t uere explored.
exp an s i o n
of
li fe -chances
of
(Blaug: 1983:7).
of
uo ul d
effectively
in i n d u s t ria li zed so ci et ie s gave
di s t r i b u t i o n
ca us es
home b a c k g r o u n d
great
such
school
"The earlier o p t i m i s m that the
educ at io n
neu p e s s i m i s m about the
po ss i b i l i t i e s
incomes
by
of
equ al iz e
uay
to
altering
ed uc a t i o n a l
inequalities,
br i ef ly revieu.
- 32 -
as
this
se ction
a
the
means"
There uas houever no c o n s e n s u s as to
these
a
the
uill
The
Influence of Envi ron men ta l
Soc iol ogi ca l
thought pr eva le nt
envi ro nm en ta l
factors external
de t e r m i n a n t s of achievement.
U.S.A.
in
major
study
commissioned
in
to the
1960s
p e r c e i v ed
school
Studies
as
st ro ng
especially
in
by
the
U. S.A
Civil
by
to
school
of
provide"
the
’q u a li ty
of
of
students.
differed
substantially
overwhelming
actual
the
influence to
independent
bear
of
c o n t e x t ;...For
his
on
a
through the schools must
sch oo ls
that
is
the
that
which
"Schools
c h i l d ’s
of
br i n g
little
general
of
- 33 -
strong
the
between
Coleman
achievement
and
the
the
e d uc at ion al
imply a
independent
led
and
Outputs
but
differences
the
were
tests,
schools,
that
to
sc ho ols
assessed.
in
sc hools
these
achievement
ba c k g r o u n d
equality
used
their
of
inputs uas
was
co nc lu s i o n
mea su re d
principals,
and c o m p a r e d
school q u a li ty was minimal
to
"It
education*
between
impression
drew
perpetrated
that
’Outputs*
importance of
1964,
re sea rch
system:
m e a s u r e d using various types of
the r e l at iv e
of
a l .,
boards t r a d i t i o n a l l y emp lo y
(Coleman, 1969:255),
background
little
et
uere
The
schools
s u p e r i n t e n de n t s and school
comparing
Act
inequalities which
the
characteristics
Co l e m an
Sights
and not el im in a t e d by education.
’inputs*
the
performance.
the
att en t i o n to social
team
the
sought to show that schools th em s e l v e s had
influence on students*
A
Factors.
is
social
o p po r t u n i t y
ef fect
c h i l d ’s
that
of
the
immediate
social
not
environment,
pre se nt
in
and that st r on g
Amer ic a n
independent effect
s c h o o l s " (Coleman et
Alth ou gh the m et h o d o l o g y of the Coleman
s u b s e q u e n t l y criticized,
the c o n ve nt ion al
has come to be
factors which
Edu ca ti on al
st udy
wis do m and t h i n k i ng on e d u ca ti on and
it
regarded
as
Ma
seminal
st udy
un de r t oo k a st udy of
Their
the Col eman
study
g en oty pe on an
status
the
they
had
effect
depended
par tly
on
(1972:254).
The
more
pa rt ly
cultural
independent
Jencks
of
study
performance.
that a s c h o o l ’s output de p e nd s
thr ough
at
influence
inherent
attainment.
IQ
The
on
s o c i o - e c o n o m ic
and
ps yc hol ogi cal
of
s o c i o - e c on om ic
found
qu al i t at iv e
importance
The st udy
e du cat io nal
in
ma int ain s
input:
It sug gests
o p po rt u n i t i e s
wo u l d do
little,
as
in society.
implications of the Col eman and Jen ck s
far-reaching.
and
that
than
largely on a single
’c om p e n s a t o r y o p p or tu ni ti es *
inequa lit ies are
The
equalizing
U.S.A
family
the c h a r a ct er i st ic s of the en t e r i n g children.
that a t t em pt s
in
overwhelmingly
d i f f er en ce s between scho ol s to be of minor
d e t e r m i n i n g edu cational
Je nc ks
largely with those of
found
much
Report,
inequality
i n d i v i d u a l ’s educational
influence
and
as
ch ar a c t e r i s t i c s that were
level"
the
a c h i e v e m e n t 11 (Harvard
fi ndings c o n c u r r e d
b a c k g ro un d
f a m i l y ’s
of
R e v i e w , 1969:3).
with the aim of r e a s s e s s i n g
"family
been
of
influence educa ti ona l
al» (1972)
schooling.
has
).
its findings c h a l l e n g e d much
S t i m u l a t e d by the findings of the Co leman
et
al
is
Educa tio n co ul d no
- 34 -
stu dies
longer be seen
as
were
’the
great
e q u a l i z e r 1,
e qu a l i t y
basic
if
as
in edu cational
inequalities
in
s t i m u l a t e d much re sea rch
Jencks
op po rt u n i t i e s
failed
1ife-chances.
The
in the
Husen.
1974,
found
Al though Husen
increased
to
Jencks
(For
p r om ot ed through the
a
strong
bet wee n physical
p sy cho log ica l
view that e q u a l i t y
school
system.
as pe cts of
the
asp ects of home
home
and
barrier s
have
whe reas ps yc hol ogi cal
the
powerful
education,
the
influence
of
and
pre-sc hoo l
further education.
at
’process*
not.
to
be
While
socio-economic
factors
for
look
c om pa re d to
t ak in g
at
a
social
previ ous
se e i n g
on
which co uld
opportunity,
than
ou tp uts as static and unchanging.
as sig ni fi ca nt
accepting
such
as
op en in g
up
in both home and school:
rather
and
re moved
Husen also em ph as i z e d the need to
vari abl es
be
environments.
re mo vi ng se lec tio n and
st u d y i n g what goes on,
o p ti mi st ic
school,
Husen s u g g e s t ed various st r a t e g i es
education,
not
important because
potential
br ing about eq ua l i t y of educat ion al
he did not
differentiated
school
bar riers do
Husen
c or re la ti on
co uld
He
Husen cl ai med that this di sti nct ion was
physical
study
e x a mm pl e
be tween s o c i o -e co n om ic st atus and achievement,
to ta ll y accept Jencks*
affect
1970s and pr omi nen t among
it was the work of Torsten
1975).
contended,
look
act ua ll y
inputs
and
H u se n* s views were seen
fresh
and
ba c k g r o u n d
res ea rc he rs
such
sl i gh tl y
and
as
more
educ at io n
Jencks
and
Coleman.
Influential
Report
be tween
(1967)
gover nme nt
reports,
in Great Britain,
social
class
and
such
also
found
initiative,
- 35 -
as
the
Plowden
as so ci a t i o n s
support
and
e nc o ur a g e m e n t given by par ents to c h i l d r e n ' s school
The Report co nfi rm e d that a more
f av our ab le att it ude
likely to be a s so c ia te d with higher
hig her the s o c i o - e o n o mi c group,
open
days,
meetings,
con certs
and
social
class:
pa re n t - t e a c h e r
es ti ma ti on
of
heads
and
uere g e tt i n g
on"
for Education,
pe rce nta ge
MThe
assoc ia tio n
and the more often they t a l k e d uith
Advi sor y Council
uas
the more parents atten ded
class tea chers about how their ch ildren
(Central
work.
1967:35).
co n t r i b u t i o n
of
In its
parental
attitudes,
home ci rc um s t a n c e s and state of the school
v ar iat ion
in
Report
ed uca tio n
we igh ted
Parental
C ir cu m s t a n c e s 20%,
(sic)
35%.
c o m p a r a t i v e l y small
and c o mp le xi ty
schools,
the
Attitudes
St at e of School
(1967:33).
is sig nif ic ant as
between
While
influence,
17%
the
the
Plouden
28%,
and
to
Home
U n e x p l a in ed
s c h oo ls
had
'unexplained*
it indicates the de g re e of
a
ca t e g o r y
un ce rt ai nt y
in this area.
The Gene tic D e t e r m i n i s t s .
The
co nte nt ion
that
intelligence
d e t e r m i n e d has been p r op ou nd ed by
in
clear
opposi tio n
co nt ri b u t i o n of these
p ro f ou n d
debate.
In
long
1958 for example,
h e r e d i t a r y or
d i f f er en ce s
innate"
(1958:5).
innate en dow men t of
several
gen et ic al ly
p s y c h o l og is ts
'environmentalists'.
determinists
ru nn in g
has
The
had
a
'nature/nurture'
Burt had c h a l l e n g e d the then
'hypothesis of general
"individual
chi ld's
the
ge ne tic
influence on the
p re val ent
that
to
is
ability*
in
He
int elligence
claimed
intelligence
- 36 -
and he prop ose d
sets
that
an
are
"the
upper
limit to the best he can attain"
that
88%
of
variation
in
hereditary
factors and only
T y p i fy i n g
the
He claimed that
arb it ra ry
genetic
figures,
factors.
Vernon,
one
sh aped
by
ch i l d - r e a r i n g
d i c h ot om y
p r o p os in g
between
He
genetic
"We need to think
sy stem rather than the
them
among di ff erent
’less civilized*,
to
ratio
isolate
it has
been
’backward*
shaped
intelligence
and
the
clear
cut
of
an
factors,
interacting
a nt it he si s
between
Vernon did extensive
groups,
or
by
values
in terms
cultural
purely
insist that
environmental
(1969:14).
such
adult
rej ec ted
and
set
must
conve nt io na l
her e d i t y and en vi ronment"
research
never
e s pe c i a l l y
patterns.
to
factors.
88:12
Vernon co nt e n d e d that
culture,
due
psychologist
the
"..one
intelligence d o e s n ’t exist until
is
a
impossible
can
Vernon ar gued
e n v i r o n m e n t "( 1969:13).
is
factors c o mp ar ed to hereditary
it is
as
mai ntaining
12% to environmental
d i sa gr ee d with
Burt had placed on genetic
factors.
intelligence
controversy,
co nt em p o r a r y with Burt,
(1958:11),
or as he termed
’primitive*
peoples,
and he found definite d i f f er en ce s
in intelligence between
di ff er en t
norm
groups co m p a r ed to his
of
’the
Puritan
ethic of the western
middle c l a s s e s ’(s i c ). Although not a
ge netic determinist,
the
implications of V e r n o n ’s studies
were basi ca ll y of a similar si gnificance:
that
different
types of people think di ff e r e n t ly and the poor,
and
’p r i m i t i v e ’ are of
low
intelligence.
Not able among the genetic de te rm i n i s t s of the
Jensen,
who had been
de prived
initially
inspired by
- 37 -
1970s
Burt.
was
Jensen
c l a i m e d that 80% of dif fe r e nc es
in IQ are due to
f ac tor s and the r em a i n i n g 20% are due to the
of g e n e t i c a l l y
factors
J e n s e n ' s re se ar c h became
hi gh ly
a s s e r t e d that most of the
fifteen point d i f f e r e n c e
A me ri can
det ermined.
more
whites
and
the
interaction
inherited
be tw ee n
with
genetic
c o nt ro ver si al
blacks
Jensen c la i m e d that genetic
important than en vir on m e n t a l
was
develop
of
lower
of
factors
high
has
for bl ac k s
ste reotyping.
and
(F l y n n ,1980).
He
e x t e n s i v e use of
supporting
has
also
pa rents
J e n s e n ' s work
inter pr ete d as
and
criticized
IQ tests as a measure
of
his
intelligence,
biassed.
has str on gl y de fe n d e d his thesis and has a t t e m p t e d
to answer his critics,
of
racial
for
as they are often p er c e i v e d as being c u l t u r a l l y
Je nse n
and
status
by
s eg re ga ti on
been
IQ
black chi ldren
socio-economic
been wid ely c r i t i c i z e d and he has been
b e i n g a racist
in
he
genetically
IQs than white children ra i se d
low so c i o - e c o n o m i c status.
when
factors were much
w hi te s and his e x p e r i me n ts ma i nt ai ne d that
r a i s e d by black parents
environment.
innate
racial
but
in the hi gh ly se ns i t i v e domain
differences,
his
findings
remain
c on tro ver si al .
In the context
research
in
the
findings were often used or m i s u s e d
po li ti ca l
t he si s
of Am er ica n so ci ety
causes.
related
One of
to
the
the
imp lications
issue
p e r f o r m a n c e of de p r i v e d childr en
of
wh et he r
could
be
1960s,
to
of
such
support
Jens en' s
the
school
improv ed
p r o v i d i n g a favou ra bl e or c o mp en s a t o r y environment.
was of great social
that
time
and po litical
in the U.S.A.,
r e lev an ce
mill ion s of do ll ars
- 38 -
This
be ca use
were
by
at
being
spent
on
c om p e n s a t o r y
Headstart.
projec ts
such
Op er ation
The as s u m p t io n of Ope ration He ads tar t uas that
if poor black and H is pa nic
childr en
years of high qu al it y pre -school
'catch-up*
c l a i mi n g
that
if any ef fect on
false a s s u m p t i on s
uere
Jensen
IQ scores because
di re ct and overt
he
implications
they
uo uld
this
had
it uas based on
his
for
feu
ed uca tio n
Jens en' s
pr es en te d
a
challenged
co mp en s a t o r y
( J e n s e n , 1972:69).
uas m a g n i f ie d bec ause
given
education,
to their uhite peers.
assumption,
little
as
influence
research
educa ti on al
uith
policy,
rathe r than as abst ra ct aca de mi c theory.
Like Jensen,
Eysenck also
p r o vi de d
st r on g
supp or t the 4:1 ratio betueen genetic
influences.
the time
Jensen,
Ey senck and
c o n d u c te d
many
fo cu s s i n g on the d i f f e r e n c e s
in d i f f e r i n g environments.
e n v ir on me nt al
factors.
and
other
studies
identical
invariably
compared
The genetic d e t e r m i n i s t s uere very
the e n v i r o n m e n t a l i s t s - so c i o l o g i s t s
e n v i ro nm en t
and
uho
po l i c y as uell
as
"those
th ose
more
al te r n a t i v e
hy p o t h e s i s uhich
long"
to
the
concerned
interested
exclusively
has d o m i n a t e d our t h o ug ht s
( E y s e n c k , 1971:151).
- 39 -
a
issue,
q u e s t i o n s had better c o ns id er the ge netic
an
ge netic
critical
sau
uith
in
up
found
of
causal
intelligence
they ca ll ed for an open di sc us s i o n of the
it pr ov ed con tr ov er si al :
to
of
tuins,
in IQ after being brought
Such studies
to
e n v ir on me nt al
psychologists
of
influence to be ueak
r e l a t i o n s h i p betueen
evid enc e
even
and
if
public
ac ademic
h y po th es is
as
e n v ir on me nt al
for
far
too
Although controversial,
the the or y of genetic de ter min ism
and other re la ted ps yc hol ogi cal
Vernon,
have been
arg ument
that
differently,
gave
very
by
the
situations,
legitimized
education,
people
grou nds
the
uere
into educat ion al
policy,
1944
the
Education
manual
research on human beings,
of
there
theory
’p r i m i t i v e 1
su st ai ne d
in a modern,
In
agricultural
that
and c la ss
vieupoints,
Act.
such
and
It
The n a t ur e/ nu rt ur e co nt r o v e r s y uill
to spaun very pol ar iz ed
of
assu mp ti on
cultural
less able to think
e st ab li sh me nt
f o r e -r un ne rs
intelligent.
’sc ie nt if ic evidence*
people
think
the
em pha sis on
less
of
the
such as the tri par ti te system
Br itish
because of
jus tified
of
people
for
the
It
types
and when tr an s l a t e d
types of schools,
established
colonial
influential.
dif fe r en t
suffic ien t
dif ferent
res earch such as that
uith
ste re ot yp es
of
rational
fashion.
inevitably
co ntinue
as,
is no final
uith
so
much
ansuer.
The Str uct ur al is t Perspective.
The
res earch
of
soc io -e co no mi c
individual
Jencks
and Coleman
factors
school
uere
achievement.
re v ea le d
key
These
de t e r m i n a n t s
findings
tot all y reje cte d by the structuralists,
evidenc e to shou that
as a uhole are
in
the
re pro duc e
but uere used
school
and
of
uere
inequalities of c a pi ta li st
r e f le ct ed
maintain that sch ools
that
as
society
system.
legitimize
not
They
modern
class structure.
French soc io lo gi st Bo ur d i e u
(1979)(2)
- 40 -
a d a m an tl y
claimed
that
formal e du cat io n
cultural
not the
inequalities
(sic).
liberating force
cl a i m s to be,
"both
sy stems
rather
pr ovides
inequalities
heritage"
an
and
social
a
appa re nt
gives
(1979:32).
and
perpetuate
He ass er ts that ed ucation
for
it is
mai nt ai n
mobility
c o ns er v a t i v e
force
j u s ti fi ca ti on
for
r ec og ni ti on
to
B o u r d i e u ’s thesis is
families
defin e
values
to war ds edu cation and ac co unt
for unequal
those whose values are not those of the
mak i n g class.
class
Bo u r d i e u cl ai ms that
parents
have
fewer
in te rnalized attitudes,
which
’cultural
attitudes
a c hi eve men t
dominan t
children
options
of
bec ause
because of the
social
that
capital’
Such
which
cultural
ce rt ain
’ethos*.
it
the
indirectly tr ansmit to their children
and
that
is
for
policy
working
of
their
selec tiv e
system
implicitly di sc r i m in a t es against them
and
because
of the pedago gy of se co nd a r y and te r t i a r y ed uca tio n which
co nforms to the
Alt hough
not
ideal of the dominant cultural
st r o n g l y
based
B o u r d i e u ’s work proposes
model which were
other social
later
developed
both
research,
the
by
conflict
himself
and
scientists.
(1976)
Marxist
e s c h e w e d the
(such as that of Dewey and
the tw entieth century.
ed ucation
the st ud ie s of
Jencks
ed uc a t i o n
which
dom in an t
mirrors
larger society.
and
Co leman
- 41 -
Bowles
theory
proclaimed
in the U.S.A.
Bo w les and Gi nt is
sy st e m
co n t r a d i c t i o n s of the
perspective,
liberal
Mann)
eq u a l i z i n g power of schooling,
the
empirical
h yp ot he se s within
W r i t i n g from an e x p l i c i t l y
and Gi ntis
on
heritage.
contended
the
the
in
that
increasing
They
c l a im ed
that
which
sh ow ed
that
schools made
their
little di ffe r e nc e to achievement,
argument
m ai n t a i n i n g
been a st r o n g
force
b a c k g r o u n d uas more
mobility.
for
that
education
econ omi c
Important
social
J e n s e n ’s
co m p e n s a t o r y ed uc ation
for support,
failure of educational
ref or ms
had
equality
in
They also drew upon
su pp or te d
as
and
never
family
e c o no mi c
c o nd e m n a t i o n
m a i n t a i n i n g that
pr ov ed
that
the
incremental
changes uithin the sy st em co ul d not as sist the quest
equa li ty until
the whole ec onomic and
of so ciety had been reformed.
however
on
the
edu cational
capacities,
issue
of
influence
sayin g
be tueen
cl a im in g
that
and
(1976:11).
tra ns f o r m a t io n of econ omi c
changes - as
in isolation
Carnoy
(1974)
to
life.
educational
stu di ed
and de ve l o p i n g countries.
an
little
Bowles
and
e d uc at io n
and
foster
students,
the
In all
a
to
unjust
and
br ing
ch an ge
about
cannot
be
or e c o n o m i c changes.
ed uc at io n
in both
ed uc at io n
inequitable
- 42 -
change
revolutionary
from
a
in du st r i a l i z ed
systems,
sch oo li ng uas o r g a ni ze d to d e v e l o p and
inherently
and
o c c u pa ti on al
This w ou ld
from other social
has
in
have
n e o - M a r x i a n / d e p e n d e n c y p e r s pe ct ive
claimed,
had
Their p r o po se d so l u t i o n
the e d uc at io n system w ou ld be
seen
in
cog ni ti ve
"Schools
pr omote
allocate them to distinct posi ti on s
educational
IQ
inequality thr ou gh the o s te n s i b l y m e ri to c r a t i c
manner by which they re war d
hierarchy"
that
education.)
Gintis saw a direct r e l a t i o n s h i p
the capit al is t economy,
st r u c t u r e s
of
whether genetic or en vi ronmen tal,
or no th in g to do uith acces s to
legitimate
social
for
(They d i s a g r e e d with Jensen
the
achievement,
of
he
ma intain
or g an iz at io n
of
pr odu cti on
k no wle dge
and
itself
per pe tu a t es
(1974:3).
myth,
political
is c o l o n i z e d
the
who are better
and
sc ho ol in g
asserted
"colonized
st ru ct ur e
favour ch il dre n
fed,
He
economic,
Car noy holds
levels.
mo b i l i t y
and
is
off
the
argues
and
In
can
th ere for e
of
of
that
and
pos t-war
de v e lo pi n g c o unt ri es
the
change.
that
Bowles
integral part of the
is
ca pi t al is t
social
and
a
social,
does not however
e xp li c i t l y
adv oc at e
solution,
a
of
n on -h ier arc hi cal
aware nes s
of
society.
At the
inequities,
reform,
so that there
benefit
di fferent groups of
the
formal
ec onomic
by c o n t r o l l i n g
Ca rnoy
of
and
political
from
an
and
it.
He
re vo lu t io n
as
a
’dec olo ni za ti on *
in
a
least,
C a r n oy pleads
especially
is an u n d e r s t a n d i n g of
people.
- 43 -
the
than
and
function
be s e pa ra te d
process
in
Gintis,
ec onomic hi era rch y and cannot
rather
dependency.
rather
lives of the masses,
sc h o o l i n g
coloni es
He arg ues that
powerful
Like
and
s t r e s s es individual
injustices of the e c o nom ic system.
groups to control
former
philosophy
for succ ess and failure,
s ch oo li n g has he lped small
countries,
cultural
school
the
im pe rialism
independence,
a
homes
system
developing
in the context
political
that
res po n s i b i l i ty
an
society"
leads to d e p e n d e n c y and al ie na t i o n both on
co lo n i a l i s m and even after
po stu lat es
knowledge
of
from bet ter
stru ct ure
punishments.
sc h o o l i n g was sp rea d
societal
that
v e r b al l y more a r t i c u l a t e and who
personal and national
U.S.A.
and
hi er ar ch ic al
und er st an d the a u t h o r i t y
retain
Carnoy
That ed uca tio n pr omotes social
as schools
re wards
pouer.
in
for
education
how
changes
British
st udies
in the
a major de te r m i n an t
(1976)
and
1960s focussed on social
of
Burgess
edu ca tional
(1986)
cite
res ea rc h
(such those of Halsey,
cl e a r l y
indicate
e du ca ti on al
br o ad ly
success.
as
Much
d if fe r e n c e s
in
encouragement,
em ph asi s
has
cr it i c i z e d this app roach
section s
of
co nt em p o r a r y
society"
pe rs pe ct iv e which sees
as
a
whole
and
ca rry
is
( 1986:93).
are
internalized psy cho log ic al
s tr uc tu ra li st
Bla ck st on e
appr oac h
was
in
Bri tai n
pheno men on
which
the
them
the
in
all
other
st ru ctu ral ist
in
in
society
educational
esc hew s
taken
"upon
and
inequalities
the
as
(after Lewis).
A
Mor ti mo re
on
found
prim ary
school,
"that there
and,
betw een so ci o- ec on om ic dis adv an ta ge and
(1985:12).
- 44 -
and
ov e r w he lm in gl y
a str on g and persis ten t re la ti o n s h i p be tw een social
in
and
e d uca ti on
sim ilar results between diffe ren t studies:
and att ai nm en t
static
de pr iva tio n
by
in their rev iew of research
di sa dv a n t a g e
has
similar
’cul ture of p o v e r t y ’ appr oac h which sees
an
Bur gess
a
This
parental
with
re fl ec te d
inequalities and disadvantage.
on
and
Bu rgess
take
inherent
which
cultural
pra ct ic es
concentrated
pro vision
so ci ol o g is t s
seen
concentrated
B e r n s t e i n ’s.
ch il d as the unit of an al ysi s and
educat ion al
are
e s p e c i al ly
which
which
and
and
child-rearing
as
of
class
ineq ua lit y
been
attitudes,
dif fe re nt
pieces
between
d i s a d v an ta ge
as
Banks
Finch and Douglas)
The sources of
patterns such
notion that
achievement.
n u me ro us
co rr e l at io n
material
disadvantage.
language
the
class
low
in
is
class
paricular
attainment"
The
Importance of
Internal
The domi nan t op inion that
School
Factors.
sc hools
t h e m s e lv es
little to affect ac hi ev e m en t uas c h a l l e n g e d
by
various
influential
Coleman
pieces
of
internal
and
research
in the
wh ich
studies
in the U.S.A.
studies
(by Heyns,
rep orts
Brookover,
(1981)
1970s
systems.
stimulated
D ou gh er ty
do
h i g h l ig ht ed
factors within school
Jencks*
could
a
number
r e vi ew ed
The
of
four such
R o s e n b a um and Persell)
and
found that while all of t h e m took d i f f e r i n g perspectives,
they each conclude
for di ffe ren t re as ons that schools
affect educational
effect on social
o ut co me s
and
inequality.
can
have
imply that there
to reduce
st udy
sec o n d a r y schools
of Coleman,
is scope within e d u c at io nal
c ar r i ed
in the
out
in
12
but
reforms
Jencks and the Plouden Re po rt
ed uc ational
attainment.
rese ar ch a s se rt ed that
to
the
role
(Rutter
sc hools
c h i l d r e n ’s
Rutter et a l . d i s r e g a r d e d
of
et
do
in their words,
physical
sugge sti on
is
that
the
the
in their
school
all
in
This
a
si gn ificant
and
behaviour.
en vi ro nm en t
of
a
lies
c h a r a ct er is ti cs of the schools^ in the formal
rules they have and
had
of
c l i m a t e and social
’ethos*
impact
which
a l . ,1979).
performance
the
London
v ie wp oi nt s
the
make
sc hools and c o n c e n t r a t e d on the social
organization,
Inner
1970s c h a l l e n g e d the
pl ac ed a low we ig h t i n g on
"The
inequality,
inequalities.
A longitudinal
dif fe r e n c e
positive
The au th ors of these reports
do not cl aim that sch ools can el im in at e
they
a
do
and
school.
in
the
informal
internal or g a n i z a t i o n rather
- 45 -
than any t h in g d i r e ct l y to do uith
finances or
buildings"
(1979:9).
disregarded
cu rr ic u lu m
The Rutter s tu dy
also
an d pe d a g o g y and focuss ed on
school
which
included
punishment,
management,
attendance
rates.
success,
delinquency.
Al though
rese ar ch
there
link s u g g e s t e d
is a
teacher-student
ou tcome
there
is
a
betueen
relationship
ethos:
uere
misbehaviour
and
ca ve at
to
betueen
"We
of
believe
the
pro ce ss es
In any case,
and
these
schools
causal
c h i l d r e n ’s
there
pr oc es s
been
there
school
are
’nebulous*
do ub ts
effects
pl au sible
found
and
counter-hypothesis
nu merous
school
which ba si c a l l y reject
r e s ul ts as a basis
for
their p r ac ti ce s
or
po l i c y
im proving quality.
- 46 -
or
the
is
low"
(1982)
of
the
’the
research
administrators
with
to
effects.
Doe
criticisms
Rutter e t h o s ’ (sic)
te achers
the
’Fifteen
v a l id it y of the s tu dy
summarized
concept
about
in
as
and a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
for the ex pl a n a t i o n of
the external
questioned,
S t at is ti cs Ed uc a t i o n G r o u p , 1982:21).
likewise
ch ange
12
school
va l i d i t y has
va ri a b l e s do provide a
has
that
the
process
T h o u s a n d H o u r s ’, and that the physical
(Radical
and
(1979:181).
implied external
school
interaction
is g e n e r a l i z a b l e : "We have s u g g e s t e d that
causal
m a gn it ud e
and
implication that the
school
the
used
has the m e t h od ol og y and the use of the
of
in
di sc i p l i n e
measures
attendance,
is a st ro ng
c h i l d r e n ’s progress"
This
’process*
alia
findings are co n f i n e d only
concerned,
p r og re ss
inter
The
exa m i n a t i o n
issues of
intent
to
of
Despite criticisms,
lies
the si gn if i c a n ce of the Butter
in its ch al l en ge to prev io us research
very
little
weight
educational
the
attainment.
implications
potential
on
role
The
of
which
the
res earch
for policy-makers,
as
sch ools have to affect
study
placed
school
in
had
many
it u n d e r l i n e d the
c h i l d r e n ’s
the
pe rf orm an ce
and behaviour.
A recent British study by Mor ti mor e and M o rti mo re
shows that wo rk ing class
less well
in school
chi ldren
than their
education
and
rel ati ng to
On the
social
as
health.
is clo sely
working class
own,
on
with
poor
found to
be
families,
in school
levels:
tend
to
si gn i f ic an t
performance.
frequent co mb ina tio n
of
larger
The
poorer
many
of
achievement.
e s pe ci al ly
v a ria bl e
the system,
of
ed uc ational
from mi dd le -c la ss b ac kg ro un ds have - in
(1986:19).
its
The
could
M o r t i m or es
point
do
’break
is that,
success,
general
In their study of school
- 47 -
on
factors
"What must be em p h a s i z e d
’chances*
a
single
important.
these
The
in
were
of
out that alt hough some w o r ki ng class c hi ld re n
advant age s"
school.
si gni fic ant
families
could be
levels of disadvantage.
terms of the
factors
to
incidence
s ig ni fi ca nt
but co mbi ned with poverty,
through*
The
between
have
educat ion al
where
families was not a
exacer bat e
two
they found health a
families
peers.
including ov er cr o w d i n g and poor housing,
linked
Family size was
parent
level,
low-income
Poverty,
ha nd ica p
class
achieve
relationship
individuals and factors r e l a t i n g
individual
factor,
consistently
m i d dl e- cl as s
Mo rtimores attempt to ex pl ain this
(1986)
in
pupils
-
many
factors,
the Mort im or es
found many of the d i f f e r e n c e s
more subtle,
such as t e a c h e r s 1 a t t it u de s and expectations.
One of
more obvious d i f f e r e n c e s they found uas that the
children at ten d the
least
well
provided
equit abl e must
lie within
the
sys te m
backg rou nds cannot be changed.
a
number
of
exami nat ion
the
str uctural
important
ba ck gro und
in the U.S.A.
and potential
groups
of
through
for
^he
children.
factors
there
system1
adapt
is a need
to
for
differing
p e rs pe ct iv es
implies a rejection of the static s o me wh at
de te rm i n i s t i c
studies of
policy point of
view,
synth esi s
very
of
sociological
This
that
evidently
and Britain,
to
lessen
aw ar en es s
are
the
factors.
The M o r t i m o r e s 1 study refle cts a g r o wi ng
home
home
sug gest
system and the removal of se le c t i o n to
impact of family b a ck gr ou nd and class
while
as
they
ma i n l y
They
sys tem more
itself,
To this end,
changes,
po orest
schools.
cl aim that moves towards ma k in g the e d u c a ti on
the
the
1960s
school
important as they are su bje ct
and
1970s.
va ri ab le s
to
are
From
a
extremely
intervention,
wh ereas
ant ecedent varia ble s are not.
Lord Swann,
as C h a irm an of the Com mi tt ee
the Education of Child ren
(1985),
found
from
in his ex ten si ve
so cio -e co no mi c status,
Ethnic
e n qu ir y
of
Inquiry
M i no r i t y
that
into
Gr oups
while
pre ju d i c e and d i s c r i m i n a t i o n
low
uere
signif ica nt causes of u n d e r a c h i e v e m e n t by ethnic m i n o r i ty
children,
changes
nece ss ar y so that
in all
their
within
sch ools
pupils"
the
e du ca ti on al
could
(1985:9).
- 48 -
"bring
sy st em
out
the
uere
best
The Swann Report sug ge st s
that there
is much that the
edu cational
indirectly to allev iat e prej ud ic e
the exten t of social
minorities.
res ear ch
many
c o mp le xi ti es of the
C le arl y there
could
and e c onomic d e pr i v a t i o n
(1985:9).
from
which
sys te m
The
Report,
disciplines,
which
can
decrease
of
ethnic
investigated
h i g h l i gh ts
issue of u n d e r a c h i e v e m e n t
- 49 -
the
in schools.
is no simple cause to u n de ra c h i e v e m e n t
no simple solution.
do
and
2.3
The Qu al ity of Ed uca ti on
in D e v e l o p i n g Countries,
B e e b y ’s Pio ne er in g Work.
In
1966,
C. E. Be eb y pu b l i s h e d his
E du cat ion
in De ve l o p i n g Countries*
reg a r d e d as a seminal
quality.
Beeby
instrument
b el i e v e d
work
innovations
re ady
the
cu r r i c u l u m
co uld
never
increasing the
’Stage
of
of
it has cone to
be
be
tea ch er
as
of
and
Formalism*
teac he rs e m p h a s i z i n g
the
and
successfully
imple me nt ed
and
quality
as he put
it
Stage*
very
the
tea ch er
theory
of
*a
rough
and
systems.
His
characterized
formal
and
of
a
teaching;
il l- edu ca ted
*3Rs*
d i s c i p l i n e and memori za ti on ;
key
education
c o n s t ru ct ed
with
the
ed uc at io na l
*Dame School
matter
ed uc at io na l
and
levels
Be eb y
on
for a n a l y s i n g educational
st ages were that of
narr ow subject
Quality
changes
for pri ma ry education,
framework*
’The
in the de ba te
emphasized
e d uc at io n and training.
stages
and
in d e t e r m i n i n g the qu ality
that
wit hout
work
but
re l y i n g
’Stage
of
by
the
tr a i n ed
on
tight
Transition*
saw tea ch er s better t r a in ed and s l igh tl y more r e la xe d and
permissive,
te a ch er s
and
the
ulti ma te
w e l l - e d u c a te d
e n c o u r a g e d to think.
and
Beeby
’Stage
of
t r ai ne d
Meaning*
with
acknowledged
c o n d i t i o n s and the health of children may
but r e ga rd ed them as s e c on da ry c om pa re d to
teachers.
Beeby
has
maintained
d u r i n g the past 20 years and has
that
quantitative
educa ti on al
- 50 -
his
chil dre n
that
be
c h a ng es
material
important,
the
th eo ry
continued
had
role
of
to
of
stage s
adv oc at e
de p e n d
on
teachers*
(1980,1982,1986).
B e e b y ’s book was based on the su bj ect ive
of
an
educa ti ona l
experience.
It makes
evi de nc e and
there were
a dm in is tr at or
no
with
at tempt
to
feu ch a l l e ng e s
to
a
In
sla ti ng
Gu th rie
also
a
pivotal
He
cr it ic i ze s
conc ede s
role of the teacher
in
to
(1980:430).
ag re e i n g that his work
central
idea
Beeby
pupils,
c l a s sr oo m
rep lie d
gradual
de ve lop me nt of po wers
m et hods
of teaching"
pays
to
d is pr ove
re spect
to
of
but
often
is
quite
Be eby
stages
it.
Beeby
the
a
in
the
aims
wrote
and
that
he
’h y p o t h e s i s ’,
Guthrie,
for
growth
si mp ly
new
by
"the
involves
handl e
(1980:440).
his model
in viting others to
is
Gut hrie
explained
te rms of quan tit y and types of school,
rejoinder,
to
"...the
lacked sci en ti fi c rigour but
sy st em cannot be
p r e f e r r e d to call
for
parents
that
I wan ted to get across was that
of an edu cational
of
Western
Beeby
o ve rl o o k e d and B e e b y ’s re co gn iti on of that role
legitimate"
that
change such as a
how eve r
the
rigour.
typical
and eco no mic climate,
community.
B e e b y ’s
e s p e c i a l l y as his
ignoring factors rele van t to educational
c o u n t r y ’s political
however,
on
sta ges
stage of e du ca tio n was that of
system.
1980
attac k
Ros tou and ac cu sed him of Western bias,
and the
of
empirical
lack of acade mic
likened B e e b y ’s linear theory of
t ea ch in g
years
provide
Beeby.
the or y of stages and his general
final
many
ideas
is e nt i r e l y n o n - m a t h e m a t i c a l . For many years
Gera rd Gu thrie d e l i v e r e d
He
intuitive
the
in
a
final
co n t i n u i ng
r e l e v a n c e of much of his work on q u a l i t y of educ at io n
in
d e v e l o p i n g countries,
of
but
insists
- 51 -
that
the
concept
stages
"involves an o v er - ri gi d co nc ept ual
he notes that there
is now
ana lytical
approach
to social
mid
(1980:446).
1960s"
Des pite
and
structured
and
science re s ea rc h since
the
"a much
use
of
stages,
fre quently cited by wr iters
quality.
a
in the
work
field
of
ed uc at io n
co nt ri b ut io n
to
sc ie nt is ts
analysing
up
in
their
com pu te r
fact
that
has
understanding
of
reality:
a c h i ev em ent
still
"Beeby
in d e v e l o p i n g c o un tr ie s bec au se he
an as tute ob server of social
is p r im ar il y
too
many
social
s t ud ie s
have
become
print -o uts "
(1985:40).
B e e b y ’s intention of st im ul at in g t h i n k i n g
in
of educational
fulfilled.
empirical
q ua li ty seems to have been
studies have
fol lowed
the
educational
evidence:
our
and
is
At twood pays credit to Beeby for the
great
wra pp ed
we ak nesses,
B e e b y ’s
is not a b so rb ed with empirical
made
nore
its a ll ege d met hod olo gi cal
questionable
he
struc tur e"
Beeby,
the
but
sphere
his
Many
basic
hy p o t h e s i s has not been disproved.
The Hove towards Q u a l i t it at iv e
Interest
qua lit y
in
de v e l o p i n g c o un tr ie s was r e v i t a l iz ed
in
this time,
were
their
the
a rea
of
many d e v e l o p i n g coun tr ie s
ra pi dl y
political
school
in
Improvements.
e x p an de d
independence,
systems.
The often
d if f e r e n t types of schools
systems,
were
keen
glar ing
in
to
the
issues
in
1970s.
By
consolidating
in
cl i m a t e s
r e a s s e ss
in eq ua l it ie s
colonial
longer p ol it i ca ll y a cc ep tab le and
- 52 -
and
ed uc at io n
ti mes
of
of
their
between
were
eq u i t y
no
and
access took on neu priority.
E du cat io nal
were
improving
faced with the task
edu cation to reduce
of
inequalities,
but
administrators
the
qu al it y
there
was
knowledge of what de t e r m i n e d quality.
It
whether
r e se ar ch
it
de pendent
was,
on
as
much
ant ece de nt
s oc io- eco nom ic background;
were
important.
lacking
is
Western
factors
the
in
1974,
additional
how
to
res tr uc tu re
"The
of
qua nti ta ti ve
towards
qu al ita tiv e
change"
research to find which
can
are manipulable
so
now
(1974:61).
that
need
used
The
ob je cti vel y
examinations.
in terms
ass es se d
As
of
-
school
high
pass
a c hi ev em en ts
usu ally
device
are
perfor man ce as a crite rio n
qual ity
(1976)
for
of
for example,
be
pub lic
have
become
for
e m pl oy me nt
of
is
can
used
to
e x a m in at io n
not
wi th out
has q u e s t i o n e d
whe ther
the qua li fi ed are act ua ll y educated.
- 53 -
use
te nd ed
in
popularly
The
Dore
which
qu al if ic a t i o n s
rates
has
re su lt s
assess the qu al ity of a school.
critics.
is
which
acc oun t
in s c h o o l i n g
increasingly used as a sc re en in g
and training,
"There
to
(1974:167).
elus ive concept of qu al ity
to be mea su re d
for
to
felt need to know which ones,
dif ferences between schools"
in
di re c t e d
The
action,
or
the
r e le as ed
be
indicators should be
in terms of policy
but
r e s ou rc es
assess qu al it ati ve outc ome s was noted by Husen:
evi dently a stro ngl y
thing
re s o u r c e s
sys te m
change
and
th em s e l v e s
energies and resou rce s that have al re ady been
support
claimed,
crucial
ex is t i n g
the
clear
family
sca rce
und er st an di ng of how to mobilize
better,
of
little
not
or whe ther sc ho ols
Jolly wrote
not
was
of
He cla im s
that
the
e x a m in at i o n sys te m trains people to be
than
innovators and that the
creativity,
ho nes ty and
Host rese ar ch re vi ew e d
q ua lit ie s
cu ri ou si ty
are
public
for a s s e s s i n g v ar ia ti on s
Sector Policy Paper on Edu cation
(1980)
influence of
on
st ud ent s
is greater
In fact,
more than social
a
World
Bank
number of cross-na tio nal
1979,
1983,
1984,
overwhelming
ev idence
qu a l i t y between
but also widening"
achievements
found that
were
in 29 countries,
in all
more
(1982:3).
than
me a s u r i n g achievements.
the
country,
impro ve me nt s
the
on
result
be
"The
in
ra is ed
"the
gap
income
When
so met ime s
the
va ria tio n
has
c o n d u c t ed
1983)
in
the
is
large
ed uc ational
and Lo xl ey
school
(1983)
reso ur ce s
det er mi na nt s
impact
In
found
educational
comparing
pre-school
the
of
pr actical
int erv entions and
- 54 -
ma king
a
1976,
and
countries
Heyneman
by
of
the
irt
poorer
qua li ty
terms,
indicates that s i g n i f i c a n t gains
from r e l a t iv el y si mple
a c h i e ve m e n t can
Loxley
achievements.
its
pe rf or ma nc e
They also found that
g r e at er
H e y n e m a n ’s research
and
(such as Heyn ema n
low-income countries,
important
a
(1980:32).
studies
low and high
as
quality.
v a r i ab le s
sociologist,
that
used
s t a t e d that
ba ck gro und does,
Hey nem an and
(3)
however
res ea rc h
the
school
in the ac hie ve men t of children"
Heyneman,
neglected.
in d e v el o p i n g c o un tr ie s than
d ev el op ed countries.
explain,
imagination,
in school
in
va ria ble s
rather
examinations
The World Bank has been prom in ent
school
of
in this chapter has
either s t a n d ar di z ed tests or
ya rds tic k
e m pl oy ee s
can
learning
improvements
in
school quality.
His studies t he ref or e sou ght to find uhat
in pro vements and
this
interventions cou ld
’edu cational
school
gap*.
re sou rce s and
His general
be
made
conclusion
inputs are of
m aj or
important
close
was
that
importance
d e t e r m i n i n g q ua li ty and he r eg ar de d exter nal
as so ci o- ec o n o m i c b a c kg r o u n d of
to
s t ud en ts
factors such
as
in d e v e l o p i n g c ou nt ri es c o m p a r e d
in
much
to
less
developed
countries.
He yne ma n* s research has been com pa re d to that
in respect of their claims that school
dif fe re nc e to pupil
performance.
bet ween Heyneman and Sutter
largely
limits
tan gib le
items,
his
however,
unlike social
changed.
A UNESCO report stated:
(1978:7).
by
The
background,
those
same
because as soc iat ion
to
the
they are
able
more
to
"To a large ext ent
out side
report
between
the
family
caut ion s
in
factors
relationship,
resu lts vary from one situ ati on
- 55 -
i
inputs
be
these
in a c h i l d ’s de ve lo pm en t am en a b l e to
o v e r - g e n e r a l i z i n g from res earch
c a u s e- an d- ef fe ct
school
He y ne ma n
importance to po li c y makers
because,
intervention
of
that
in schools.
factors are of crucial
are the only factors
a
A s i g n if ic an t di ve rg e n c e
def in i t io n
’ethos*
Sut ter
factors do make
whereas Sutter co nc e n t r a t e s on
nebu lou s concept of
School
is,
of
and
howe ver
this
is
circle"
area:
not
"Firstly
proof
secondly
to another."
about
of
a
bec ause
Tea che rs as the Critical
Lewin
(1985)
holds
much
the
same
as
the
lynch-pin
ho ld in g the
teacher
qua lit y and
innovation.
effects of physical
Variable.
He
"The qu al it y of school
the qu al ity of staff,
to
explain
p erf orm anc e
physical
improve
exper ien ce
between
Beeby and others,
is
somewhat
schools)
teachers who are
and pedagogy"
tra ini ng
in
rural
suff ici ent
em phasis on
aid sho uld
to
which
sim ila r
support
sceptical
of
the
curriculum
that
change
some
1970s
schools
of
Heyneman,
q u a l it at iv e
in fact
in
levels
of
ac tu a l l y
because
least
"they
qu a l i f i e d
br ing
into
at
the
be
ne ce ss ar y
qu al it ati ve
ex pe nse
develo pme nt
systems,
esp eci al ly
but
from financial
cuts.
- 56 -
teacher
of
co s t l y
is
improvements.
infrastructure*
the
found
of
s u gge st s
a d v i so ry
si nce
frequ ent ly seen as recu rre nt costs and are the
suffer
lead er sh ip
like
L e w i n ’s rese arc h
may
’profes sio nal
go
fashion.
least able to cope with with new con te nt
(1985:123).
plant
that
d i f f e re nc es
ge ne ra ll y experience the
is often ne gl ec te d
physical
teacher
in
posi tiv e
linear
Lewin,
He contends
cha nges
d is ad va nt ag ed children
(rural
the
it wo ul d be di ff ic ul t
with
(1985:130).
to edu cation systems.
cu rr ic ul um
educa ti on al
but co nte nds
re co gn i ze d
schools
in
is h e a vi ly de pen den t on
change as a method of bri ng in g rapid
the
Beeby,
their motivation and the
widely
provision"
in
in a
If it were not so,
the
as
a c k no wl ed ge s
inputs to a point,
results do not ne ce s s a r i l y
they experience.
view
these
first
not
His
that
and
are
to
A challenge to co nv e n ti on a l
in education
comes
from
wisdom on q u al i t a t i v e changes
Hurst.
He
c r it i c i z e s
appr oac hes to q u a l i t a t i ve changes which are
bu rea ucr ats
with
minimal
"..in edu cation the
reform
to
suc cessful
is to cons ide r as central
her wil lingness
str uctures
such
key
co ns ul t a t i o n
to
change.
common
f o rm ul at ed by
with
teachers:
an d
beneficial
the teac her and
While
most
his
or
a d m in is tr at iv e
in ed uca tio n are gea red to the ma ni pu l a t i o n of
items as resources,
are ma nif est ly
incapable
improve the mselves"
impoverished
traditional
buil di ngs
of
and efficient.
human
they
beings
to
Hurst em ph a s i z e s that
in
environments,
methods of rote
curriculum
ge tt in g
(1981:185).
school
and
teach ers
find
that
learning are more approp ria te
He maint ain s
however
that
te ach ers
will ing and often anx ious to change their pe da g o g y
is shown to yield better results
if
are
it
than pr e vi ou s practices.
Although Hurst sees the teacher as the key to q ua lit at iv e
reform,
he places r es po n s i b i l i t y
with the de sig ner s and
improving
provide
the
implementers.
qu al it y
of
a d m i n i st ra t or s
implementing
practically,
resources"
s uc ce ss fu l
"A
ed uca tio n
with
innovation
is,
first
step
in
is
to
that
indicates
i n te ll ec tu al ly
exerc ise
from
H u r s t ’s work pro vi de s
into the mec ha ni cs of qu al it at iv e change,
whether the mere pr ovi sio n of a
change
t h e re fo re
t r ai ni ng
a very dif fe re nt
(1981:193).
for
new
a l lo ca ti ng
an
insight
as he quest ion s
curriculum
bu ildings or ha rdw are will be ben eficial
and
wit hou t
or
new
careful
plann ing.
In a cros s-n ati ona l
study which aimed to find out
- 57 -
if more
and
better
teacher
achievement,
found
t r ai ni ng
Avalos
and
contradictory
would
Ha ddad
improve
(1981),
evidence.
The
student
Avalos
st udy
found
tr ained te achers ge ne ra ll y had better t e a c h i n g
and at tit ud es
a dv an ce d
than
u n t ra in ed
ed ucation
te ac her s
r eq ui r e d
better
(1980)
that
prac ti ce s
and
that
t r ai ne d
more
teachers.
Ev idence was unclear on the effect of d i f f e r e n c e s
between
gradua te and no n- gr ad u at e teachers and d i ff er en t
lengths
of t e a c h e r - t r a i n i n g courses.
number of years or
level
critical
factor
te a c h i n g
p er fo rm an ce
variables.
-
Avalos
of
tr ain ing
rather
c ou ld
be
seen
produce
better
studies.
performance:
"..There
studies that
seek
to
and student
and
students"
(1981:58).
polic y
si tuation
be
itself,
in
findings are
critical
re l at io n
(as
links
in
the
Avalo s
and
m i c r o - s t u di es
of
the
that
too
to
such
student
classic
more
to
needs
be
(socio-economic,
upon
t e ach er s
and
sug ge st
that
Haddad
observing
techniques.
- 58 -
between
from
P ro duc ti on
could be more useful
surveys and ex per im ent al
of
Ed u c a t i o n
contextual
effects
in
results.
cor re lat ion s,
r e s u l t s ... much
cultural)
o r ie nt ed
determining
They mai nt ai n
identify
in vestigated r e g a r d in g
political
and
is not much more to be ga i n e d
t e a c h e r - r e l a t e d v ari abl es
Studies)
co mm it m e n t
classroom
is pl aced on ob je ctive
as the age and sex of tea ch ers
the
that c o u l d be a l t e r e d
i n t e r e s t ,they appear t he ms el ve s to
much em phasis
be
not
sh ou l d c on cen tr at e
Although a number of Avalos and Had da d's
nature of cross- nat io nal
the
as
They pr o p os e d that research
might
that
may
enthusiasm,
on what teacher r e l at ed factors,
training,
suggested
than
the
teac hin g
traditional
Av al os and
Haddad's
findings are re ma r ka bl y similar to
those
wrote
of
in
1966
cr os s- nat ion al
Saha
(1983)
without
the
aid
r e v ie we d 230 school
assess
var iables on student achievement.
the cu mu lative e v id enc e
e x p e ri en c ed
ach ieveme nt"
teacher
findings
tea che rs
cr ede nti al s
so ph i s t i c a te d
polic y
ach ie ve me nt
studies
the
of
eff ec t
He found
general,
produce
higher
academic
Saha contends that re search
is
important
decisions.
systems
r ep ro du cti ons
of
because
Saha
has
it
in
dev el op in g
colonial
edu cation and
thus
between
the
a n al ys ed
systems
looks
which
external
"The t e a c h e r ’s unique role
of this kn owl edg e cannot be ov erestimated,
comp ete nt the teacher,
ac hie vement"
the greater the
(1983:86).
maintain
concur with the rese arc h
home bac kgr ou nd
life,
which places
factors - since school
the teacher
is the critical
He
sees
a
are
pe rs pec tiv es
in the
and
mas te ry
the
his
low
more
student
findings
effect
is alien
va r ia bl e
of
Te achers
impact on
Saha con tends that
at
as
or ie n t at io n
’o u t s i d e r s ’, imparting no n- tra di ti on al
be
his
co unt rie s
local cult ure and traditions.
and knowledge.
into
can
de pe nd en cy on western cult ure and value systems.
d is co nt in ui ti es
in
teacher
"In
from a st ru ct u r a l i s t pe rs p e ct iv e which
educ ati on
uho
indicates that better tra in ed and
(1983:76).
aff e c t e d by
a
Beeby
survey.
de ve l o p i n g co un t ri es to
more
of
to
on
home
in det er mi ni ng
achievement.
The
role
of
synonymously)
the
head
as dis tinct
teacher
from
- 59 -
or
that
pri ncipal
of
the
(used
cl ass roo m
teac he r
of
is often o ve rl o o k e d
education*
adm in istrator,
be c l o se ly
schools,
Chang,
a
involved with super vi sio n
alt hough he ad mits that
involved
’supervision*
in
1977).
man a g e m e n t skills,
they
to
ideally
e v a l u a ti on
in
an d
s h o u ld
are
be
continue
the
be
their
covered.
tr ai ne d
innovative
in
practice.
limit
syllabuses
prin ci pal s
able
should
it is rare
initiative and
are
educational
and
adm in is tr at io n
that
qu ality
Head t e a c h e r s tend to
to e ns u r i n g that
C h a n g proposes
so that
Ma la y s i a n
ma int ai n s that p r in cip als
(Commonwealth F ou nd ati on
he av il y
in the de ba t e on the
in
approaches,
pr of essional
de ve lo pm en t of teachers.
Some rse t
(4) m ai nt ain s
sc hools are vital
that
of a good principal
rare.
from
pupils
So mer set
fluctuations
school
su cc ess of rural
urban schools.
principals.
urban
is
former are
co mm un it i es which tend
whe reas
to
sch ool s
co mm un it ie s better versed
of high
of fi cal s
influence on
standards.
in
areas
and
his
school
inspiring
Ugandan
is e x t r e m e l y
are
and
volatil e
in perfor man ce often co i n c i d e d with
sch ools
The
quality
is ge ne ra te d
in rural
Ed uca tio n
found
of
the importance
is cap able of mo ti va t i n g
Kenyan studies that school
c ha nge s of
of
has almost total
and teachers.
and that
He claims that
Mi ni st r y
dy nam ics
and this
is es pe ci al ly critical
The principal
or ga ni za ti on and
internal
to their success,
largely by the principal.
where visits
the
He
m a i n t ai ns
that
haphazard
the
much
more
than
found
in p r e d o m i n a n t l y poor
be
un cr itical
of
teachers,
often
cater
for
wealthier
in education
Som erset
proposes
- 60 -
and more de ma nd in g
that successful
pr in ci pa ls sh oul d be
used
tr ain ing for principals,
as
r e sou rc es
in
in-service
in order to improve the
qu ality
of this vital cadre.
Tex tbooks as the Critical
Variable.
Heyneman has been a pro mi ne nt advocate of the benefits of
increased tex tbook use as a means of r a i s i n g
the schools of
research uas
developing
in Uga nd a
schools on pupil
countries.
where
he
qu ality
H e y n e m a n ’s
found
a ch ie vem ent a powerful
the
in
e ar ly
impact
influence.
of
On the
basis of research which me a su re d so c i o - e c o n o m i c status of
pupils,
teacher
language ability,
health,
a s t an da rd test,
in the co mm un i t y
Jamison
and
repo rte d
that
facilities,
"school
and
Heyn em an
f a cil it ies
that
school
found
the
in
industrial
influence
of
societies"
availability,
physical
Heyneman
in
are
Uganda
status
They
to
be
va ri a b le s were te xt-book
the q u a lit y of teachers*
Eng lis h and school
facilities.
found
in
rural
Malawi
that
physical c on di ti on s and facilities of
health
strong ly
(1980:208).
s o c i o - e c o n om ic
negative and the three st rongest
and
facil iti es
s ta t i s ti ca ll y more able to predict a c h i e v e m e n t
than they are
pupil
perce nta ge of chi ld re n at school
school
influence achievement,
tex tbook ability,
and
nutr it io n
against their success.
ch a n g i n g the c u r r i c u l u m
signif ic an t
factor.
of
pupils,
He yneman
to
"Changing
s c h oo ls
militated
does
one
the
- 61 -
the
more
not
very
poor
and
poor
stro ngl y
bel ieve
’relevant*
co nt ent
of
that
is
what
a
is
learned
is the
development
learned,
least of the problems
in Malawi.
and by hou many"
sci ence and r e a d i ng
in
The real
other
LDCs
differences,
difference
pr ob le m
(1980:ii).
levels of Malawi
and
but
facing human capital
found
"The
no
hou
is
compared
s t ud en ts with
and
is that
much
Heyn ema n
overall
major
in a c h i ev em en t
is
those
s i g n i f i c a nt
most
b e t we en
consistent
s t ud en ts
who
a t t e n d school
in an e n v i r o n m e n t c h a r a c t e r i z e d by s c a r c i t y
of resources"
(1980:ii).
Heyneman place s great weight
the a v a i l a b i l i t y of textbooks,
low p r io ri ty as
are taken
which he feels often
large p e r c en ta ges of e d uc ati ona l
up by t e a c h e r ’s salaries.
cr o s s - na ti on al
consistent:
higher ac hi e v e m e n t
"One
is
av a i l a b i l i t y of tex tb oo ks and
of
his
conclusion
as s o c i a t e d
other
take
b u dg et s
On the basis
studies he resolved:
with
printed
on
is
the
m at er ia ls "
(1983:20) .
A cro ss -n at io na l
study
(which
included
to ex amine the as so c i a t i o n
between
and
was
a c a de mi c
achievement
Farrell and S e p u l v e d a - S t u a r d o
that when
to write
which
the
I.E.A.Study)
tex tb oo k
conducted
(1981).
possession
by
Heyneman,
The
as su mp t i o n
is
few or no stu de nt s have a text,
the teac her
has
laborious notes on the board
is time and en ergy consuming.
have ac cess to texts,
t e a c h i n g practices.
He yneman
but,
et
like many
"The
the
upon
of
them,
If st udents at
least
te xt b o o k s
al.
found
po ss ession
re sults were not conclusive.
eff ec ts
di ct at e
t e ac he rs can use a wider
c o r r e l a t i o n between te xtbook
in most studies,
or
- 62 -
and
range
a
we
ac a d e m i c
p o si ti ve
achievement
cross-national
little
of
studies,
know
about
achievement
su gg es ts that they are a co n s i st en tl y
but that the degree of their effect
(1981:241).
tea cher
tr a in in g
this st udy em ph as i ze s the need to
variables’
of
learning
te xt bo o ks do us u a l l y
critical.
te ach er
et al.
for example,
sub sti tu t e
overall
for
consi st ent "
co ncl usi on
te xtb ook s as an
is
important
Support
While
capacity,
texts
te xt b o ok s
uhe re as
in the cl a s s r o o m
an
ad junct
aids.
The
ge ne ra ll y
investment,
to
is
are
little
or
in
a
researchers’
in
favour
as
books
re la t i v e l y simple to pur ch as e and di s t r ib ut e
be
’process
the
that
impact
how ever
the
home.
of
panacea,
ed uca tional
at
in learning
suggest
learning
eff ectiveness,
and
makes
they can be
other
and
school
is known about their true
whether,
not
look
lead to gains
use that a
Heyneman
at
often re ga rde d as a single
fact
is
Like H a d d a d ’s class- siz e st udy and Avalos and
H a d d a d ’s study on
the actual
important variable,
and
of
are
sho uld
in pr o m o t i n g equity.
for the con te nt io n
t e xt bo ok s will
that
increased a v a i l a b i l i t y of
improve educat ion al
co unt rie s should not
ho we ve r
"increased
textbook
per formance"
equation. Hawes
be
q u al it y
in
de v e l o p i n g
oversimplified
a v a i la bi li ty
for example,
equals
warns
to
an
better
"of
the
pre o c c u p a t io n with c h a n g i n g content and m a t e r i a ls without
due reg ard to the pr ob lem of d e vis in g ad e qu at e met ho do lg y
for t ea ch in g them
Hawes
by
the
laments the number
t ex tbo oks used
average
te acher"
of poorly wri tten
(1982:41).
and
in LDCs which have been un able to
des ig ne d
improve
the qu al it y of ed uca tio n and which have thus been a great
waste
of
resources.
Kajubi
- 63 -
(1982),
an
African
educationist,
has
e xp r e s s e d
concern
about
textbooks
c o n t a i n i n g Western bias,
s t e r e ot yp es and ethnocentricity.
He found that
independent
even
in
Af rican
t e x t b o o k s are often r e wr it te n with new names
and
local stu di es of flora and fauna,
e m p h a s i s remains on r e c a l l i n g facts.
Kajubi
of well
but e m p h a s i z e s the n ee d
sensitively
which co ul d be used
in
African
and
but the
great weight on the potential
for
countries,
places
o v e r r i di ng
still
written
places
textbooks,
wr itten
e n v i r o n m en ts
books
and
which
enc o u r a g e di sc us s i o n and research.
Wo rl d
Bank
main ta in that
school
e c o n o m i s ts
Leigh
(1975,1980)
incre as in g the a v ai la bi li ty of
’traditional
i n p u t s ’ such as
Si mmons
t e xt bo ok s
improve c o gn it iv e output.
to
and
will
"A school
not
sy st e m might be
increase student r e a d i n g a b i li ty by a
points by
n ec es sa ri ly
few
able
perc en ta ge
increasing the amount of time spent on books by
100 percent.
Unless the b e n ef it s
or p r o d u c t i v i t y
that
so c ie ty were greater
the physical
accrued
in terms of more
to
the
worker
income
and
the
in value than the cost of the books,
e f f i c i e n c y wo u l d
value of the change wo ul d be
go
up
but
negative”
the
economic
<1980:88).
This
com p a r i s o n of c o g n i t i v e out pu ts with ec o n o m i c value could
be seen as somewhat spurious.
Two resear ch
s t u di es
from
Fiji
S i m mo ns and L e i g h ’s contention,
eco n o m i c
R i ck et ts
aims:
criteria.
(1982)
E lle y
engaged
to assess the
and
appear
which
to
co nt radict
is based purely
Hangubhai
(1981)
on
and
in s e pa ra te p r oj ec ts with similar
impact of story book av ai la b i l i t y and
- 64 -
tea c h e r s re ading stories on the English
school
pupils
in Fiji.
levels of pr im ar y
In both projects,
s e l e c t e d schools
uere pr o v i de d with nu mer ous story books and
the
e n c o u r a g e d to read aloud to the c h il dr en each
was
a
de pa r t u r e
childrens*
pro je ct
from
English
and
monitored.
a
was
reading
aloud
at t a i n m e n t
in
substantially.
English
This
Pacific.
co uld
wo uld
fact
deters many te achers
them;
it is
it is
it
factors
from tryin g
’p l a y ’ rather
pe rc ep t i o n of school
as
use of enj oy ab le ac t i vi t ie s being
Other Education
The
educational
such
and
in
the
simple
present,
seems
’teaching*
(1982:35).
m i l i t a t es
of
rise
a
at
than
’w o r k ’"
’serious*
to
Story re a d i n g
rather
than
story
level
t e a c hi ng
is
to
English
simple
which,
it.
’en te rtaining*
the
quick,
English
the
compared
expected
a
that
t ec hn iq ue may be one of the
too easy,
be
improving
The
be
also
reg ular
programmes,
the
to
"If
include
The
was
exposed
concluded
to
En glish
inexpensive way of
South
E i ck et ts
This
af ter
pr o g r e s s
s i gn if i c a n t l y
p e r s u a d ed
in
and
children
improved
group.
t e ac he rs co uld be
the
day.
practice.
before
g r o u p ’s
In both cases,
control
tea ch in g
te st e d
control
o r a l l y read stories
the
normal
teacher
agai nst
The
the
incorporated.
Po licy Variables.
ef fects
c r o s s - n a t i o n a l l y by Ha dd ad
pro mote more e f fe ct iv e
of
class
(1978).
learning
That
were
s t u di ed
sma ll er
cl asses
is a c o m m o n l y
in We stern countries,
but results
were not conclusive.
H a d d a d ’s
- 65 -
size
from many
a n al ys is
held
LDC
view
studies
concluded
that
class
size
was
achievement,
not
a
major
but that the
teaching/learning
cl a s s r o o m
determinant
"noncognitive
pro ce ss
and
e n v ir on me nt " (1978:8)
indicator
of
student
domai n
of
the
ed uc a t i o n a l / s o c i a l
was
a
The
key
c l a s s r o o m quality.
of
more
critical
va riable
of
te acher qu a l i t y
is seen as te ac h i n g m e t h o d o l o g y plus
the
att i t u d e
v o li ti on of
be
and
c o n c l u d e d that an
lead to a dec re as e
of pupils.
learning"
these
increase
(1978:12).
findings,
level of
a dec re as e
improvement
"It
in
in class
the
be
achie ve me nt
size
social
more
ne ce s s a r i l y
ac a d e m i c
does
environment
Ha dd a d su ggests that
it may
cannot
in class size will
in the
Likewise,
gu ar an te e an
teachers.
in the
efficient
not
of
light of
to
sli gh tl y
increase class size and sp en d the sa vings on more
inputs
such as text bo ok s or te ac he r training.
One c r o ss -n at io na l
s u r v e y which sh owed a high
consistency
in its re su lt s
promo ti on
and
degree
of
was a study of the ef fects
of
repetition
p r ac ti ce s.( Had dad , 1979).
Alt ho ug h wastage th rough dr opout
rese ar ch
U.S.A.
is
from
Ha ddad
in du st r ia li ze d
found
that
c o n c e r n e d with re pe ti t i o n
the
available.
The
in LDCs,
es p ec ia ll y
ed uc at io na l
princ ip les
for
all
co untries
include re s e a r c h
review
of
from LDCs
s t u di es
c o n c l u s i v e l y that r e p e t i t i o n of grades h e l d no
in r a i si ng ac hi e v e m e n t
str o n g
eviden ce
be ne ficial
learning
than
to
levels
s ho w
difficulties.
and
that
promotion,
even
R ep et it io n
- 66 -
much
countries,
are similar
and his study did e n d e a v o u r to
where
is co mmon
that
was
advantage
th ere
retention
for
showed
was
no
was
more
ch i l d r e n
with
found
have
to
d a m a g i n g social
and psy cho lo gic al
is also wasteful
educationally
effects on
and
limits the c ap a c i t y of the system,
internal
efficiency,
educa tio nal
costs.
is how to
improve the
He
level of
was
Had da d put
forward some radical
ne ce s si t y
part
for
of
He
of
as
ou t-o f- sc ho o l
factors.
he
Of
increases
issue
thus
used
as
that
a v o i d i ng
some
school
more
a c h i ev em en t
both school
place d
areas
achievement.
for
well
of
issue,
c o mm o n l y
propo sal s
m a in ta in ed
alth oug h
n e ga ti ve ly
in co gn it iv e
is d e t e r m i n e d by many factors,
and out-of-school,
of
real
ed uc ati on al
rep eti ti on
pr ag ma ti c methods.
de gr ee
low achievers,
c r it er i a for te st in g only
one
it
the
the
critical
only
school
that
obscure
which are
the
dropout,
Hadda d s u g g e s t ed
p r e v e n t i n g failure.
promo tio nal
lowers the
It
as
o p p o r tu ni ti es and
wh et her or not to pro mote may
which
economically
co nt r i bu te s to
af fe cts equ it y of edu cat ion al
pupils.
more
in
rel ated
weigh t
factors,
on
Haddad
su gg es t ed that more a p p r op ri at e teacher t r a i n i n g wo uld be
a logical
investment,
to sen sitize teac her s
needs of chil dre n and to train
St ud ies which reveal
nega ti ve
class size and r ep et i t i o n
examination.
not defined.
teaching,
For
for
then an
increase
likely not affect
learning.
co u n t e r - i n t u i t i v e and
Similarly,
the
st ud y
the
on
teaching.
1978,1979)
example,
instance,
If the p e d a g o g y
d i f f er in g
findings such as
(Haddad
On cl ass size
remai n unanswered.
in remedial
to
the aim of
didactic,
in
class
rep etition
on
close
qu est ion s
teaching
is
lecture-style
size
findings
implications
- 67 -
need
many
is
Such
those
wo uld
are
are
rai ses
most
however
boundless.
num er ous
issues*
such as*
whether empirical
sc ien ces can be vi ewe d as
o b jec ti ve
H a d d a d ’s re pet iti on study used
previ ous
study,
stu dies
thus
rather
the
questionable.
findings
in the social
ex p e r im en ta l
s e c o n d a ry
evid enc e
than
a
purposively
of
the
ev i d e n c e
quality
Like the study on class size,
findings
on
rep et it io n
intuition:
for example,
ch ild ren
with
run counter
to
p o t e n t i a l l y d am ag in g as
rep it it io n and the cl as s- s i ze
itself
some
repetition.
the Wo rld
Bank whose ex pli ci t motive was
degree of
internal
the
for
be
Both
by
ass ess the
The re su lt s
by
as
the
in st igated
to
ef f i c i e n c y in schools.
aff ec te d
is
of
co ul d
studies were
the stu dies were u n d o u b t e d l y
or i e n t e d
pr om ot io n
dif fic ul ti es
e nf or ce d
from
pr of ess io na l
whe ther autom ati c
learning
data.
their
of
preset
parameters.
A longitudinal
study of the
Ch ile an stu dents
from
occupational
1970 until
S c hi ef el be in and Farrell
(1984)
the
a t ta in me nt
of
1980s ca rr ie d out by
aimed to open the
’black
b o x ’ of the ed uca tio n sy st e m to find out what e d u c a ti on al
inputs affect performance.
Their study
and c o m mu ni t y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
unique effect on o c c upa ti ona l
that
ed uc ational
powerful
quality
had
co in ci d e
e x a m i n a t i o n s passed.
variables
as
"by
was
with
the
st udents
of
schooling
e d u c at io na l
"general
level
of
intell ig en ce
willingness
to
and/or
the
su bt ler
- 68 -
did
or
q u a li ty
level
perceived
and
most
This
knowledge,
learn,
lowest
the
attainment.
years
family
(1984:142)
consistently
They e x p l a i n e d
affecting
far
attainment"
p r ed ic to r of oc cu pa ti on al
not n e c e s s a r i l y
found that
traits
of
and
of
personality,
(1984:151).
c ha ra ct e r
and
'presentation
Sc hi ef e l b e i n and Farrell
of
admitted
that
were unable to say d e f i n i t e l y why e du ca ti on al
such an
important
impact on students*
adam an t that there
measured
is more to educ ati on
ac hi e v e m e n t
indicators
elusive
vari ab le s that
co ncept
of
in
p a r t i a l l y e x p l a i n e d by Sc hi ef e l b e i n
prove rb ia l
*black box*
A s u b s t an ti al
the
Moegiadi,
as
examination
performance,
e d u c a t i on
and
r e v e a l e d a large
ed uc a t i o n
M an gi da an
and
o b j e c t i v e s of the st udy
but they are
objectively
*grey*
home
were
achievement.
un d er ta ke n
by
was
El ley
(1979).
Am o n g
location
of
the
associated
with
S ha rp v a r i a t i o n s
found between
some
pro vi nc e of Jakarta,
50%
Moegiadi
higher
et al
in p e r f o r m a n c e
than
areas.
of
more
pa rt l y with school
factors.
8.8%
of
their
total
levels
of
levels
Their
sc o r e d
for
m u l t i p le
- 69 -
most
a
areas.
factors and
regr es sio n
which
“Most of this
mean
differences
factors
achievement,
c o m p a r e d to d e v e l o p e d countries.
were
Indonesia,
socio-economic
ana l y s i s r e v e a l e d that home ba c k g r o u n d
for
and
isolated
found that the re asons
lay pa r t l y with
and
The sc hools of the
for example,
that
regions
ba dl y
v a r io us
the d i f f e r e n t pr ov inces of
the
in school
in a c h i e v e me nt
no t a b l y between urban and rural
capital
area.
in
id entification of p ar t i cu la r c o n d i t i o n s
which
Their
achievement
which p e r f o r m e d e s p e c i a l l y well or e s p e c i a l l y
the
only
system
were
the
is
Farrell.
and d e t a i l e d eval ua ti on of
Indonesian
q u a l i t y had
While m a i n t a i n i n g that
d e te rm in e
quality
they
than
such
p e r f o r m a n c e or years of schooling.
it is school
lives,
s e l f 111
a c co un te d
is
low
influence
is a c c ou nt ed
pupils*
books
for
fathers,
in
the
by
the
and by
indices such
homes,
their
e co no m i c status of their
e n v i ro nm en t
school
methods,
which
variance.
*Classroom
c a u t i o u s l y as
p ro ba bl y
a
for
climate*
Nan u n m ea s u r e d
feature
inter-personal
of
o nl y
the
on
e v a l ua ti on s of the
interaction,
of
t ea ch in g
a rea to measure,
which
study
but cl ea rl y this
especially
study prop ose s
a
the potential
ut il it y
of
a
study
su bj ec t iv e
classroom
are omitted.
is that
it is the
largely
is
a
for
di ff ic ul t
in a large sc ale survey.
number
of
imp lications based on their evaluation.
e du ca tio nal
of
and
a c cou nt s
such
po licy makers.
- 70 -
pr ac tical
Th ese
sy st em a ti c
and
(1979:334).
that
te ach ing
from the Moegiadi
a ch ie ve me nt variations,
Moegiadi
of
teaching,
personality
which are c l e a r l y so important,
implication
quality
proc ess
is
s o mew ha t
good
sh o r t co mi ng s
que stionnaires,
*classroom
described
teachers
The
a ch ie ve me nt
r e l a t i o n sh i p s with his pupils"
solely
The total
6.2%.
of
of
large
teaching
lighting.
effect
They a dm it te d that one of the
ba sed
is
the
home
of
and
46.6%
of
Influential
ef f e c ts
factors uas however
accounted
and
When
most
facilities
the
number
identified a rather vague area t e r m ed as
climate*
The
the
frequent hom ewo rk and better
influence of school
of
r e li gi on
favourable
classroom
the
(1979:334).
factors uere removed,
better
sta tus
as
family
homesH
va ri ab le s uere the
classes,
s tud y
occupa ti on al
The
pol icy
illustrate
stu di es
for
The Home Ba c k g r o un d Va riable
Alt ho ug h there has been a general
dec ad e
that
developing
school
factors
countries,
co ns en su s
are
si nce
very
they
in
the
important
in
sub je ct
to
are
intervention,
several
re se ar ch er s
have
found
so ci o- e c o n o m i c
factors
have
links
to
achievement.
Niles*
(1985)
and Weeks
Bray,
Clarke
Co ok s e y
(1976)
(1981)
on
social
(1985)
and
study
S te ph en s
in
Pa pua
(1986),
Bhagwati
that
aca demic
in Sri Lanka;
rese arc h
on Africa;
India,
A t t w o o d ’s
New
Guinea;
Da tt a (1984)
(1973)
and
and
Seshadri
all sup por t the co nt en t i o n that em e r g i n g
classes
op p o r t u n i t i e s
(1981)
st ro ng
past
are
in
creating
education.
a
sy s t e m
This
body
of
unequal
of
res ea rc h
st r o n g l y sug gests that ch i l dr en of the urban and afflu ent
have
greater ch ances at su c c e e d i n g
chi ld re n of rural
dw e l l e rs
and
s ug ges ts that s t r a t i f i c a t io n
in school
the
along
is being r e i n fo r c ed over time,
compared
poor. It
further
so ci o - e c o n o m i c
perpetuating
to
lines
in equalities
from one g ene rat io n to another.
This
does
not
necessarily
re fu te
He yne man et al-
who have
critical
in d e t e r m i n i n g
factor
p oi n t i n g to t h e i g r o w i n g
countries,
it
school q u a li ty
focussed
on
in order to
d i s a d v a n t a g e s of the poor,
the
the
st ance
school
achievement.
inequalities
emp ha si ze s
the
need
in
the
e s p e c i a l l y the rural
more a r ti cu la te and af fl ue n t ur ba n i te s will
their ch ildren at te n d w e l l - r e s o u r c e d schools,
a
by
developing
c o nc en tr at e
counterbalance
- 71 -
as
Pather,
many
to
of
on
multiple
poor.
ensure
The
that
wh er ea s the
poor most often have ne ither a choice of sc ho ol s nor
political
2.4
em po w e r m e nt
C r o s s - na ti on al
Many stu di es
in
to re dress
inequalities.
studies.
the
fi eld
of
e d uc ati ona l
d e v e l o p i n g c o un tri es are co n d u c t e d
basis.
These
Saha
al. (1981)
on
a
q u a li ty
Ava los
(1983),
and
Had dad
which have been
such stu dies offer the
cr o s s - n a t io na l
Ha dd ad
(1978)
re vi ewe d
pro vi so
(1981),
and
in Cha pte r
that
trends
which
a pp ly
Avalos
Heyn ema n
generally
et_
2.3.
their
Host
so ur ces
rese ar ch are not al wa ys st r i c t l y comparable,
to reveal
in
include a number of st ud ies a l r ea dy re fe r r e d
to such as those by
(1980),
any
of
but they aim
to
developing
One of the e a rl ie st sy s t em a t i c cr os s- nat ion al
stu die s was
co un tr i e s .
conducted
in
the
International
E du ca ti on al
1960s
As so c i a ti o n
Assessment.
ar rive at g e n e r a li za b le
relationship
ec o n o m i c and
by
between
pl a n n e r s
and
the
Eva lu at io n
of
of
input
from the
factors
st udy
in
the
to
the
social,
domains and outpu t as m e a s u r e d
co v er in g
both
( H u s e n :1975:8).
indicators
e d u ca t i on
po li cy
the
by
findings
international
ou t c o m e s of school
for
1970s
was
tests
a f f e c t i v e behaviours.
ea rly
The aim of their st udies
instructional
international
establish
and
which
makers.
Their
co gn it iv e
and
Such r e se ar ch co ul d
of
the
co ul d
q u al it at iv e
be
used
s i x - s u b j e ct
by
study
c o v e r e d 21 countries,
of which only four were developing:
Chile,
and
India,
Iran
Thailand.
- 72 -
Nu m er ou s
findings
emerged
from
this
lengthy
o v e r w h e l m i n g evi de nc e that
background
var ia nc e
te nde d
in
variables.
def in it e
to
in
di vide
c o u nt r i e s and
than
1975:22).
between
in the
d e v e l op ed
c on s i s t e n t l y
a c h ie v em en t
(Peaker,
study,
found to
be
The
much
developing
The
t e ac h i n g
in
the
O.E.C.D.
countries.
particular
The
s u b j ec ts
found
to
have
in
va ried
parental
ba c k g r o u n d
countries.
whereas parental
c o nv ers e
teac he rs
developing
was
the
was
found
s t an da rd
enormously
In
to
be
of
within
less
factors as d e t e r m i n i n g va ri a b l e s
of
schools
more
importance
was
true
countries,
rel ati ve ly
was
background
while
is that
vis-a-vis
in school
and
uniform.
co n c l u s i o n that has been drawn out of this,
is thus of
was
the ave ra ge st a n d a r d of s c ho ol s
countries:
ba c k g r o u n d
more
st ud y r e v e a l e d a
less d e v e l o p ed
lower
less varied,
very varied.
I.E.A.
for
for
whereas the s t and ar d of a c hi e v e m e n t
d e v e l o p e d countries,
found to be
home
and
in d e v e l o p e d coun tr ie s was
little variation,
c o u nt ri es
school
a v e ra ge s t a n d a r d of a c h i e v e m e n t
and age groups
the
a c c ou nt
e d uc at io n
four
inclu din g
A
home
school
achievement
in
d e v e l o p i n g countries.
One of the major
im pl ications of the
recognition
the
of
differences
be tween
de v e l o p e d and d e v e l o p i n g co un t r i e s
that ed uc ational
and
res e a r c h
in
and
st udy was the
ed uca tio n
the
in
r e a l iz at io n
s t u di es and th eories c o u l d not ea s il y be
tr a n s p o s e d to d e v e l o p i n g countries.
often ci ted
I.E.A.
has
certainly
its wake.
- 73 -
The
I.E.A.
stimulated
s tu dy
much
is
other
The
I.E.A.
c on ti nue s
to
un de rtake
both
c om pa ra ti v e stu die s and cou nt ry- lev el
purp ose of
to
"...mainly
for
se rv ing
(1987:134).
mo ved
away
a ch ie ve me n t and
cro ss -n at io na l
Noah claims
as
from
that
A
is,
in rel ation to ave rage p e rf or ma nc e
sy stems.."
have
studies.
its curr ent c om p ar at iv e stud ies
Harnqvist,
factors
c r os s- na ti ona l
a c co rd in g
e x pl a n a t o r y
in the
studies
d i f f er en ce s
"...have come to r e cog ni ze that
co mp a r a t i v e study will
d e m o n s t r a t i n g the ways
school
I.E.A.
d e sc ri bi ng
major
often
a
in
valid
pr o c e e d
by
in which diff er en t c o m b i n at io ns
factors are as s o c i a t e d
with
br oadly
si mi la r
of
outcomes"
(1987:143).
Postlethwaite,
d ef en ds
one
of
the
c ro ss - nat io nal
resu lts are of
studies
also to bilateral
exercise*,
but must
A l e x an de r
and
sho uld
I.E.A.
study,
which
-
an
to
the
co un tr ie s
but
only
em ph as iz es
an
’ac ademic
va rious
res ea rch
r e g a r d i n g the general
to
formulate
a l ge br ai c
an
formula
inputs produce the best outputs.
it is too
limited and
Alex an de r
di rec t i on of
s o c i o - ec o n om ic
status
- 74 -
inaccurate
and Si mmons
inferences can be o f f er ed
found
the
me re ly
used
Function*
use as a policy guide,
T hey
be
(1975)
the
While a d m i tt i ng that
general
that
(1 98 7:1 56 ).He
not
I.E.A.,
be utilitarian.
Prod uc ti on
de si g n e d to reveal
the
not
in the p ar tic ul ar
Si mm on s
including
of
c l a i mi ng
help
aid age ncies"
that such research
’E d uc at io n
by
"great practical
m i ni st ri e s of ed uc at i o n
stud ies
sta lwarts
to
the
claim
po li cy
reso urc e
to
be
to
that
maker
allocation.
an
important
va ri ab le
e s p e c ia ll y
grades,
but
level.
(They
status
is
at
prim ary
and
ac kn ow le dg e
less
however
sig ni fi ca nt
and S c h ie fe lb ei n and Farrell
and Simmons place
in
an effect on
acade mic
great deal
of
inc ons is te nc y
countries.
The effect of class size
was a variabl e which showed
pe rf or ma nc e
included
a v a i l a b i l i t y at pr im ary
students.
They
ch ar ac te r i s t i c s
central
issue"
training,
on
(1980:90),
in the
This
for
consistency
re la t e d
motivation,
that
"The
student
but
to
t e x tb oo k
implies
that
the
is crucial
objectively
and Simmons concl ude
in an almost
is
length
qualifications
that
learning pro cess
influence
p e rf o r m a n c e
found
e as il y be de fi ne d or
that
a
var ious
a c h i e ve me nt
little
c er ti fi ca ti on an d ac ademic
not significant.
found
or
level and amount of hom ework done
ad m i t t t e d
te ach er
many
weak
from
p o si ti ve ly
teacher
for
They
research
on
inputs
inputs do have
either
(1975:51).
in
I.E.A.
Ale xa nd er
al tho ugh
it is
insignificant"
the
on s c h o o l i n g
achievement,
Va ria ble s
c o un tr ie s
studies).
“Sc h o o l i n g
st a t i s t i c a l l y
cross-na tio nal ly.
so ci o- ec o n o m i c
as shown by
(1984)
factors:
s e c o n da ry
de v e l o p i n g
s c h oo l- re la ted varia ble s tested,
teac her
that
less weight overall
than on so ci o- ec on om ic
by
s e c o n da ry
its importance di min ish es at upper
c o m p a r e d to d e v e lo pe d countries,
example,
lower
role
but
of
it
quantified.
pr om ote s
a
of
are
the
cannot
Ale xa nd er
contradictory
it is exp osure to scho ols which
of
fashion
learning,
not the qu al it y of scho ols themselves.
There
is
a
ma th ema tic al
certain
models
such
amount
as
of
the
- 75 -
skepticism
Ed uca tio n
about
Pr od uct ion
Function.
Anderson
models which
calls
in the
its functional
of
utility"
*micro-educational
that
neat
image
for d i s a g g r e g a t e d d at a
lead to
wrote
"attempt to force a
r i g i d i f y ed uc ation
reducing
for ex ample
congruence
the
model,
(1974:
and
ma th ema ti cal
177).
re search
t h er eb y
Ande rso n
which
localized
basis and warns of the da nger of big de ci s i on s
leading to
c ro ss- nat ion al
resea rch
in that
happen and
hap pe ns
es p e c i a l l y
Pro duction
its use
Avalos
it
fails
cl a s s r o o m
to
is
and
actions that contributes,
(1980:51).
using the E du ca tio n
were used to gain aca demic
their
(1980c)
limitations
and
so ci o- ec o n o m i c
e sp ec i a l l y
their
first
Function
is
Simmons
to
grade
Latin
of
which
critical
Al exa nde r
because
take
of
into
de ve l o p i n g
st ron gly sup ports the
of
utility.
and
pre-school
to
t e a ch er
pieces
their
acc ount
influences,
societies.
importance
a c h i ev em en t
findings of the Simmons and
"It
in
or practical
inputs as de te rm i n a n t s of
re fu tes the
by say in g
other
pe cul iar
Hey ne ma n* s own rese arc h
of school
failure
actually
many
Func tio n studies
and
those
the
th ings
in
Pr od uction
the
cr itical
chi ldren
merit and she
cr i t i c i z e d
Edu ca ti on Produ cti on
two
is
many
used
is
to a
her
that
what
it
in
why
to
re viewed
lack of policy ori en ta ti on
Heynema n
paid
for example,
Avalo s
She
explain
what
rep et i t i o n rate of one of e ve ry
research
found
in Latin America,
Funct io n as a tool.
"little at te n t i o n
in the
America"
(1980)
study of teacher e ff ec ti ve ne ss
studies,
Ed uca tio n
of
mistakes.
on
w ou ld
a
n o n - r e ve rs ib le
decisions*
wo uld
A le xa nd er
and
he
study
is simply not true that the d e t e r m i n a n t s of
- 76 -
school
ac hi eve me nt
are
ba si ca ll y
d e v e l o p i n g and d ev e l o p e d
co un tries"
re jo i n d e r to this critique,
Si mmons
that
show
recent
LDC
st ud ies
influence of school
school
the
same
(1980c:406).
In
a
(1980:408)
maintains
st e a d i l y
de cli nin g
a
inputs vi s- a-vis home
(1986)
found
in
"school ch ar ac t e r i s t i c s
a
b a ck gr ou nd
cro ss -n at io na l
on
family
but he went on further to
look at how
and political
e n v i ro n m en ts
ba ck ground"
d i f fe r en ce s
sectors
quality.
between
Fuller
all
low and middle
quality.
LDCs,
to
wealth
Fuller
su ff ic ie nt
plays
r es ou rce s
However,
political
edu ca ti on
also help shape
is one
of
will
a
large
and
and
role
social
the
of
in
pol itical
context,
but
of
quality.
co m mi tm en t
one may ques ti on their
- 77 -
in
p r ovi di ng
school
as
He
poorest
level
to
(1986:504).
r e s e a r c h e rs
pr ocess
less
increases
levels of quality"
mi no r i t y
ob s e r v a t i o n s are valid,
much
n a t i o n ’s
improving
a t t e mp te d to see the ed uc ati on al
social
"a
quality
countries.
in
pre vents
that
a
for
poorer
is er o d i ng
ex p an d
co ncl u de s
ce rt ai n ly
in
school
of
with
in
within
in
levels
income countries,
quality
quality.
national
d i f f e re nc es
vari at io n
contrasting
cont en ds that school
pr essure
in
in allo ca ti on p r i o r i ti es
spent per ca pi ta on ed uc a t io n
as
(1986:493)
a f f e ct ed edu cational
influence
found
as
economic
in n a t i o n - s t at e size,
e d u c a t i o n sector size and
edu ca t i o n
that
national
He pr oposes the hy p o t h e s i s that d if fe re nc es
wealth,
study
influence student ac hi e v e m e nt
least as s tr on gly as does
wider
both
achievement.
Fuller
Ful le r
in
who
part
while
has
of
a
his
practical
ut i l i t y and their a b i li t y to be tr a n s la te d
into policy.
Fagerlind
cr oss -na tio nal
studies,
and
Saha
(1983)
e s p e c i a l l y the
ex am in e the u n d e r l y in g
research.
They
I.E.A.
been
studies,
que st io n
whether
for
in
developing
gr a n te d
e x a m i n e d " ( 1983:169).
fai li ng
Western
"desired e duc at io na l
taken
for
ideological a s s u m p t i o n s
sc h o o l i n g are a pp ro pr i a te
obs erve that
cr i t i c i z ed
of
to
their
models
of
countries
and
ou tputs
have
largely
rather
than
critically
and
Saha
qu ote
Fagerlind
an
a l t e r n a t i v e ne o- M ar x is t exp l an at io n which sees the act of
m e a s u r i n g a c h i ev em en t
across so cieties as an
rei n f o r c e Western ca p i t a l is t and
the d e v e l o p i n g world.
that
"differences
This
industrial
view po in t
in ac hi e v e m e n t on
are not,in themselves,
used
rep re s e n t an attempt to co ntinue
dominance
of
Western
le s s - d ev el op ed
intervention
Theisen,
for
the
and
in ed uc a t i o n a l
policy.
cross-national
wi thin
performance,
Local
and
that
(1983)
found
de ci s i o n s
presumed
co gn i t i v e
over
to
d e l i ve re d
that
may
the
justify
a
strong
a c h i ev em ent
studies
st udies
of
- 78 -
for
most
fo rm u l a t i n g
nation al
for v a r y i n g
affect
e s p e c i a l l y structural
regional
tests
but the ex t e n t to
further,
st udies do not account
c o un tr ie s
stance
po li cy
stu di es as bases
They
the
s o ci et ie s
cri t i q u e on the use of c r o s s - na ti on al
ed uc a t i o n a l
on
p o 1 i c y "(1983: 170).
Ac ho la and Boakari
and a g g r e g a t e d national
hegemony
W e s t er n- st yl e
c a pi ta li st
countries,
to
takes
very meaningful,
which these d i f f e r e n c e s are
a t t em pt
factors
st an d a r d s
and cultural
resources,
and
of
factors.
em pl oy m e n t
opportunities*
s o c i o - e c o n o m i c status of r e si de nt s and the
general
learning en vi r o nm en t all pr ovide
school
information which sh ou l d set the context
studies.
They be lieve that policy
d i r e c t e d at the
Regional
local
ac hi eve me nt
in terventions sh ou ld be
in order to
res ou rc e bases may define
achievement,
improve
inequities
quality.
in academic
as we al t hi er areas are more able to
better r es ou rc es
that
level
for
important
ethnic
for te ac he rs and
inequalities
educati on al
be nefits
variations:
"The
and
oft en
more
students.
The y
s ub seq ue nt
c o in ci de d
pr os per ou s
support
found
ac ce ss
with
ethnic
geogr aph ic
groups
are
u s u al ly better able to turn their relative a f fl ue nc e
ed u c a ti on al
Boakari
(1983:54).
Theisen,
and age
variation.
On
school
foc ussed upon by researchers,
they found
is hard to define and
more
to
important
not
look
at
p os se s s i o n s or re so ur ce s but at
is
u s e d . (1983:59).
the
how
The
to
it
net
the
actual
local
studies.
stud ies
p l an ne rs
Their
em ph a si s
which will
is
have
indeed
direct
en riches
on
an t i d o t e
those
util ity
Their
who
to
make
c r o s s - na ti on al
disaggregated
pragmatic.
- 79 -
and
studies.
based
on
thus
important
assess,
the au th o r it at i v e s ee m i n g s ta tem en ts of
recommendations
is
pr ocess
The work of Theisen et al. provides a useful
universal
the
or
to
s e t t i n g of
that
eq ui p m en t
variable,
the contextual
so
of
is another
di fficult
and
am ount
e n v i r o n m e n t of c l a s s r o o m and school
which a lt ho ugh
into
issues
resources,
effect on p er fo rm an ce
mon ey
Ach ola
also urge that more att ention be paid
of gender
often
ad vantage"
to
to
localized
educational
emp ha si s
on
contextual
factors
ignored area
is also
in ed uca tio nal
ea rl y cr o ss -n at ion al
has commented:
comparisons,
from
a
least
int ernational
relevant
evaluation.
Blaug,
and
we
learn
in this area,
co mpa ri so ns "
from
often
wr it ing on
c om p a r i s o n s of Human Capital
"In short,
at
very
Theory,
international
that we do not
learn
(1970:100).
Footnotes.
(1) The
I.E.A.
studies are e x pl ai ne d
in
more
detail
in
Ch apt er 2.4.
(2) Pub li s h e d
first
(3) This debate
(4) From
London
in
1966 in French.
is e nl a r g e d upon
lectures
by
in Chapter Five.
H . C .A.Somerset
Institute of Education,
March
- 80 -
at
1987.
University
of
CH AP TE R T HR EE
P R E - I N D E P E N D E N C E EDU CA TI ON
SO C I O - EC O N O M I C
Fiji
is an
island nation
c o m p r i s i n g some 300
The
between
between
The
IN ITS
AND P O L I T I C A L CONTEXT.
in the sout h- ues t Pac if ic Ocean,
islands,
of which 97
are
inhabited.
islands are sp rea d over 65 0 , 0 0 0 square k i l o m e tr es
ocean,
Map,
IN FIJI
of
15 and 22 d e grees south of the equ at or and
177 deg rees West and
175 East of Greenwich.
(See
A p pe nd ix Two).
islands
r e s u lt in g
islands,
of
Fiji
are
mo st ly
in a ru gged terrain.
Viti
Only
Levu and Va nua Levu,
de lta s
formed,
fringe.
F i j i ’s location
pr o v i d i n g
c h a r a c t e r i z e d by
hum id it y and
vo lcanic
and
the
her
a
uni for m
rainfall.
larger
heavy rainfall
areas have more di sti nct
important
coastal
tropical
Rainfall
from the pr ev ai li ng south east
major
climate
temperatures,
facing sides of the
islands receive
two
flat
pat te rns
th rou gh ou t the c o u n tr y due to the m o un tai nou s
w i nd wa rd ea ste rly
origin,
have s i g n i f i c a n t river
re a s o n a b l y
gives
high
high
a
on
in
differ
relief.
m o un ta in s
t h ro ugh out
tradewinds.
high
on
the
the year
The
wet and dry seasons,
The
leeward
which
are
for the p r od uc ti on of sugar cane.
The ec on omy of
Fiji
is
pr im ar il y
agra ria n
and
sugar
re mai ns
its backbone,
ac c o u n t i n g for some 75% of exports.
Tourism
is the sec ond
largest
industry with
va ry in g con tri bu ti on to national
oil,
fish,
are other
timber,
income.
an
Gold,
a nn ua ll y
co conut
g i n g e r , m a n u f a c t u r e d pro du ct s and cocoa
foreign ex ch ang e
earners.
- 81 -
Typical
of d e ve l o p i n g
countries,
F i j i ’s
d e p en d i n g
largely on
In the Wo r l d Bank
Fiji
is termed
e x p ort s
all
league t able of
’mi ddle
’Basic Needs*
very
vulnerable,
fluctua tio ns of wo rld market prices.
income of U . S . $ 1 , 7 0 0
the
are
income*
in
1988.
d e v e l o pi ng
with an av erage per cap ita
More r e v e a l i n g p e r ha ps
indicators which show an adult
rate of 79% and an av erage
life e x pe ct an cy of
(World De vel opm ent Report,
1988).
3. 1
The
Fre-col oni al
indigenous
Mel an es ia ns
settlement,
rather of
14
ent iti es
with
literacy
65
years.
of
Fiji
are
Polynesians.
Prior
was not p o l i t ic al ly
chi ef do ms
which
differing
an
ad mi x t u r e
to
united,
were
dialects.
co ns is t i n g
separate
political
Evid en ce
sug ge st s
that there were many common cultural
traits
set the
islands apart as a distinct cultural
area.
Fijian
society
is
based
on
firmly
inherited through the
A s c r i b ed
nature of Fijian s o c i e t y has
importance.
Ch ie fl y titles
n o r m a l l y through the male
of great status,
with
line.
always
are
line.
num er ou s
roles
are
hi er ar ch ic al
of
para mo un t
and
inherited
Each c h i e f d o m has a chief
su b- ch i e f s
has de sc r i b e d this as a very
- 82 -
been
as c ri be d
a l l e g i a n c e of smaller units within
(1948)
The
clan
e m p h a s i z e d by
occupa ti ona l
paternal
which
integrated
r e l a t i o n s h i p s with str on g gr oup solidarity,
relations.
of
Eu ropean
however
kinship
are
Fiji.
people
and
Fiji
countries,
the
holding
chiefdom.
ef fi c i e n t
the
Geddes
political
system for
re la ti v e l y
small
sy st em was a powerful
chief
was
sy st em of social
usually
believed
re p r e s e n t a t i ve of the
pr estige
affiliated
confederacies,
overall
The
into
warfare was rife,
as
tow ar ds
there
living
this
were
draw
being"
loosely
po li tical
no
tr ad itional
in p re -c on ta ct times.
Inter-tribal
with political
was
“the
co uld
traditional
but
c h i ef ly
the
14 chie fd om s of Fiji
,
chief of Fiji
be
and hence
a r ou se d
thre e
vanua
The
control
to
lineage god,
from the respect
( G e d d e s ; 1948: 167).
populations*
su pr e m a c y
the
u l ti ma te
goal.
The o v e r r i d i n g feature of Fijian so ciety was
communal
nature.
k i n sh ip pattern,
This was re in fo r c e d by a
which gave each person
C h i l d r e a r i n g was not the preserve of
but was shared by a number of
grandparents*
colonial
generation.
administrators
many
early
children,
of
the
missionaries
and
and those to whom he
pr actice of respect
ulti ma te
Respect
importance
is an
family
ideal
be ha viour
k n o wi ng
life.
A c hi ld
his
many
relationships
relationships.
one*s
ties
perceptions
with
joking
avoi da nce
and
place
were
The
of
in the highly or d e r e d Fijian society.
important
has d e s c r i b ed as the
informal
had
close
as their
learnt ea rly the nature of r e l at io ns hi ps
those to whom he had
par en ts
often
lack of
were co l o u r e d by c o n ce pt s of English
kin:
relatives.
biological
lamented the
between mothers and their
classificatory
relatives,
Many
its s t r o n g l y
part of
"most
am o n g
respect and deference,
vakaturaga
important
Fijians.
The
co mp li a n c e and
- 83 -
which Ra vu vu
concept
con ce pt
humility,
depicting
emb od ie s
loyalty
and honesty.
All people sh ou ld dis pl ay these qu al it ie s
relatio n to others.
though they
were
They
sh ou ld
re sp ond
to
people
with
au th o r i t y
others
and
in
as
respect"
( 1987:18).
Age- se ts were very
they
formed
process.
a
important,
s i g ni f ic an t
esp eci al ly
part
Sex roles were st r ic tl y
from early ages
the
ob ser ved
males,
and
soc ia li za ti on
and
ch ildren
learnt simple tasks taught by par en ts and
other relatives,
their sub-clan.
s pe c i a l i z i n g
in the tr ad itional
Initiation ce re monies
a Fijian b o y ’s life,
the entry
of
for
were a land-mark
si gn a l l i n g the end of c h i l d h o o d
into manhood.
The cu lm in at io n of the
pr ocess was ci rc um c i s i o n at puberty.
girls was el aborate
tasks of
The
and the we ar in g of a short
skirt,
instead
of
and
initiation
eq u i v al en t
t a t t o o i n g on the thighs and
in
for
butt oc ks
childhood
nudity.
Traditional
social
the communal
and eco no mi c re la tions were
lifestyle,
c o n s t a n t l y occurring.
re q u i r e d
in
mechanisms,
these
and
and exchanges
Special
these
were
and ce r e m o n i e s
language
e l ab or at e
ba sed
and
learnt
on
were
and be ha v i o u r were
c o m pl ex
cultural
through
con stant
attendance.
The ec onomy was
fishing,
ab un da nc e
with
ba sed
on
tr ad itional
subsi st en ce
exch an ge s
in certain commodities.
env i r o n m e n t of Fiji
be produced,
is benign,
al l o w i n g time
- 84 -
between
Because
abundant
for
agriculture
the
areas
and
of
physical
food could ea si ly
ceremonial
and
cultural
act ivities.
Tr adi tional
doctrine,
rel igion was
and
r ei nf o r c e d
it
up he l d
social
literate prior
based
many
control.
to Euro pea n
or
rites,
cultural
Fijian
in
in myths,
rather
than
values
and
was
not
soc ie ty
contact.
gene ol o g i es were pa s s e d down
songs and dances,
on
Oral
the
hi sto rie s
forms
of
and
chants,
legends and story telling.
White Se ttlers and Missionaries.
F i j i ’s exist enc e was
n ote d by the outside
late sev enteenth
and
ei ght e e nt h
ex plo rer s
as
Tasman,
sea rches
such
for
se ttl em ent
centu rie s
Bligh
’te rra
aus tr al is
not
si gn i f i ca nt
was
ni net een th century.
and
b e ac h c o m be rs
A c c or d in g
pr e- co lo ni al
to
Scarr,
days were a mixed
from wid ely di f f e r i n g social
" F i j i ’s European settler s
mo vi n g
from Britain
( S c a r r ; 1984:40).
were
in
by
the
Eur opean
in
their
i n c o g n i t a ’. European
however
until
the
set tlers
were
and san da lw oo d traders.
Plan ter s att em pt e d to cu lt i v at e cotton,
tea and ul t i ma te l y sugar cane
in
Cook
The ear liest rec or de d
s h i p wr e c k ed sailors,
group.
wo rld
coffee,
various
parts
rubber,
of
the
se ttl ers
in
the
white
lot,
pr e d o m i n a n t l y British
and
eco no mi c
followers
th rough Au st ra li a
and
Many sought to make their
backgrounds.
of
a
frontier
New
Zealand"
fortune,
but
few were successful.
( It
is c o m mo nl y thought
first missionaries,
that English M e th odi sts
a rr i v i n g on the
- 85 -
island of
were
La keba
the
in
1835.
Garrett's
(1982)
research reveals that tuo Tah it ia n
Ch ri st ia ns and a Fijian co nv e r te d
in Tonga,
been on Lakeba and
On eata
ne ig hb o u r i n g
had
for
al re ady
some
years and although they had not won many converts,
appa ren t
that
missionaries.
they
pa ve d
They also
the
way
established
Fij ians and other Pa cific
Islanders,
an
force
important e va ng el i z i n g
that
the
islander
for
in
the
five
it
the
is
white
p r ece de nt
for
nota bly Tongans,
Fiji.
mi ss ion ari es
Gar re tt
as
no ted
carr ied
great
r e s p o n s i b i 1 ities and did much of the p i o n e e r i n g
work
in
bri n g i n g C h r i s t i a n i t y to Fiji.
The
impact
minimal
alien
of
the
m i s si on ar ie s
as the basic tenet s of
to
reports,
those
it
infanticide,
of
was
a
Christianity.
violent
'King'
was
indigenous
so ciety
of Fiji
initially
culture
Ac co r d i n g
widow s t r a n g u l a t i o n and
Br i t i s h - a p p o i n t e d
1854,
white
with
were
to
early
cannibalism,
slavery.
When
the
a c ce pt ed C h r i s t i a n i t y
the rest of the co u n t ry soon
followed
and
in
tribal
warfare gr ad u a ll y abated.
[
Formal
educ at io n
mis s i o n a r i e s
Fijian
a
1835.
language
translated.
and
in
By
so
Fiji
began
The m i ss io nar ies
that
the
with
Meth od is t
q u ic kl y
learnt the
script ure s
1838 a Fijian grammar had
pr int ing
m i s si on ar ie s
in
press
di li ge n t l y
had
been
sent
co mpi led
di ct io na ri es and began t r a n s la ti ng the
r e l at ed material
been
to
be
c o mpl et ed
Fiji.
The
vo c ab ul ar ie s
and
Bible
into the various d i al ec ts
- 86 -
co ul d
and
of Fiji
other
Alt hough Fijians uere
Christianity,
the early mi ssion schools
filled with pupils
there
were
converts.
564
pupils
in
of
system,
"The
but
also
and did,
m i s s i on ar i es
ass ist an t s with
them
and
qu ic kl y es ta b li sh e d a
c ould go and teach
very el em en t a r y
the
District
gave
a
em p ha si s
on
in
for
had
br ought
they
became
whereby
mission
ari th me ti c
an
of
the
the
eventual
several
Tongan
teachers.
literate
schools
and
They
Fijians
This system
p r ov id in g
of t e a c h i ng of re a d i ng and
There were o pp or tu ni ti es
a
religious,
one
in other mission stations.
level
vernacular,
result
no
(C 1a m m e r ,1976:56).
sch eme
en ab le d a rapid sp rea d of
but
basis
c r e at ed
1839,
indirectly
was
Wesleyans*
to
were
By
automatically
flo ur is hi n g of their re ligi on"
English
1836)
how ever
laid not only the
co nd i ti o n s which could,
The
(from
matter
literacy
in con se qu en c e
educational
co nvert
schools,
were
reading
kn owl edg e of Christianity.
literacy
mission
sch ools
since all
ac qui sit ion
to
learning to read and write.
The mi ssion
pr ose lytizing:
the
initially relu ct ant
scriptural
wri ti ng
knowledge.
for pr om is in g stud ent s to go
Institution
to
be
t r ai ne d
a
further
to
as
pastor-teachers.
E v a n g e l i s i n g and e du ca tio n
Rev er en d J.W ate rh ou se
S o c ie ty he ad qu ar te rs
were thus
wrote to
in
1856:
have read through several
the
i n ex tri cab ly
We sleyan
all
these
have been su ppl ied to th em .. .O ur
great
a
perishing
1 i t e r a t u r e ...The
people
Mi s s i on ar y
"Thousands of our
times
are
- 87 -
linked.
co nverts
books
which
want at present
for
lack
is
of
knowledge"
co nstant
(Methodist
pleas
Mission
Archives).
for more staff and more
from mission he a d q u a rt er s
in the
M e th od is t Missions,
a
with
with
very
limited
p r i nt ed
first 50
per sistent
mi s s i o n a r i e s were co nv er t i n g and
res ou rc es
There
in
material
years
theme
teaching
terms
of
the
that
the
huge
of
were
numbers
mo ney
or
mater i a l s .
De spite the turb ul en t state of Fiji
co nstant
schools
inter-tribal
was so
warfare,
rapid
that
"having to rely on native
cou ld
read"
Society,
Superintendent,
schools.
By
He rep or te d
to
e arl y
mo bi li ty as there were
except
small
pupils
It can be
and village
(see Table
tr ans iti on
s oc ia li za ti on
from
to
the
to
then
Mission
56,000
and 45
’inspectors*
’native
in terms of as p ir in g to social
few ope nings
a r gu ed
that
with
3.2.1),
only
employment,
for c a te ch is ts and
sch ools
between 15
was
educ ati on
’f o r m a l ’
for
because
there
the
Mission
in
s c ho ol in g
a
of
education.
The
fairly
rep orts
tell
who tou red the schools
- 88 -
in
of
were
and
40
slight
traditional
majority
te achers were Fijians or Tong ans who were t e ac hi ng
vernacular.
they
Mis sio na ry
mission
almost no chances
based,
as
of
1858)
response
for the rel at iv el y
teachers.
Wesleyan
’native agents*
cannot eas ily be e x p l a i n e d
mission
soon
107,000 converts with
1,400
with
c o m p l a in ed
as
Calvert,
m i s s i o n a r i e s ’. (Correspondence,
The o v e rw he lm in g
exp an si on of
cat echists
1869,
cl ai med
the
the time,
m i ss io nar ies
(Co rrespondence
1858).
at
of
in the
missio nar y
their ci rcu its and
found children ch an ti n g
rhyt hms
as
lessons
tr aditional
Cor respondence).
tradit ion al
This
chants.
implies a
socialization.
powerful
st ro ng
to
after
as
a
itself
was
an
literacy
a tt end
source
scribes
if they were
letters
illiterate.
It
is
minimal,
as only four years of sc ho o l i n g
offered.
Chi efl y
the
at tend
school.
question,
often
themselves,
mis si on ar ie s
Ch ie fl y
thus school
would
were
though
was
generally
important
M i ss io na ri es had to
chiefs
and such
to
re quest
were
before
p at ro na ge
gifts
decrees
was
majority
were
a
e m p l oy ed
ap parent
local
f req uen tly aided by the giv ing of
return
Bible
influence appears to have been
and patro nag e of
of
culture
Chief s
literacy a t tai ne d by the
in the early days of mis sion schools.
it,
ho wever
the
and
level of
they could estab lis h
became
Fijian
stories.
that the
have the agr eement
with
of fsh oot
was
school.
of
r e po rt ed ly fond of wr it ing
M i ss io na ry
continuity
values hig hly the t el lin g of stories and
sought
same
rather than d i s p l a c i n g
The a c q ui s it io n of
mot ivation
the
(Methodist
it would appear that s c ho ol in g
that graft.
to
Me th od is m
gra ft ed on to Fijian culture,
and
in unison,
chiefs.
that
not
soon became a normal
was
In
chil dr en
sub ject
to
part of Fijian
childhood.
/
(Roman
Catho lic mi ss io n a r i e s
1844.
The
were also active
te ac hin g order
established
schools,
and
a tt ac he d to
five miss ion
of
by
Marist
1868
stations.
quite di ffe ren t
from the Methodists.
had
di s p e r s e d
a
widely
system
- 89 -
in Fiji
Mi s s i on ar ie s
there
were
Their
st r a t e g y
While
o f f e ri ng
from
schools
was
the Met hod is ts
very
basic
education,
the
Harists
s ch ools with a more
Marist
schools
established
were
the direct
unlike
the Methodists*
the
and
English,
me d i u m
situ at io n which c on t i n u e d
first British
Although he had
b e g i n n i n g of
political
was
sent
little authority,
in cotton prices
increase
in
in the settler
g r o w i n g desire am ongst
the
Ze a la nd and
had
was
no
Fiji
from
few,
a
to
desire
and
local
that due to
1874,
1858.
gather
about
there
was
Fiji
Pritchard,
pr oblems
to
in
of Fijian chiefs.
Britain,
in
1858.
1860s had brought
Empire.
ha vi ng
in
1855 to
planters that
o f f e r e d Fiji
Britain
select
mai nt ai ns
po pu lation
behalf of the chiefs of Fiji,
rejected.
the
Catholic
interference
(1985)
the
become part of the British
British Consul,
than
his p r e se nc e ma rk ed the
increasing Eur op ea n
R o ut le dg e
to
power g r a d u a l l y p a ssed out of the hands
an
extensive
of instruction.
the m a n i pu la ti on of power by Europeans
The boom
of
for many years.
consul
affairs.
The
influence
rather
sch ools q u i ck ly became the preserve of a
The
cen tr al iz ed
under
use of Fijian teachers,
was
feu
intensive and ac ademic education.
Eur opean missionaries,
vernacular,
a
a
should
the
first
ostensibly
on
The
offer
was
in
ne a r b y
New
more
far-flung
co Ion i e s .
Due to
the
increasing
indigenous
British
Fiji,
and
co nsuls
gov er n m e n t to
Cakobau,
internal
political
se ttler
The
both
with
p o p u l a t io ns
the
resident
requested
the
British
repeatedly
intercede.
pro bl em s
British ba ck e d
*King*
had a t t e m p t e d to es ta b l i s h a go ve rn m en t
- 90 -
of
in
1871 but
its au tho rit y was not re co gn i ze d by all
or settlers.
It
was
an
overt
se ttlers to e s ta bl is h th eir
tradi ti on al
29 July
status to gain
rule:
by
rule,
us ing
own
legitimacy.
1871 a ck n o w l e d g e d this:
the Eu ro peans will
attempt
the
"In
c i v i l i s a t i o n must come to the front,
figure be a native,
president,
wh ether
it is only a puppet,
pu ll ed by a white man"
downfall
in the
of the C a k o b a u
three years,
(quoted
and
respec ts
e d uc at io n
and
if the pr om inent
form of a
king
or
the strings of which
in
S c a r r ; 1984:57).
government^
of
which
lasted
a
are
The
for
was c a u s e d p r im ar il y by d i s u n i ty within both
of cotton prices.
The refusal
go ve rn me nt re n d e r e d
influential
Br itish colon y
in
in
requests
individuals,
1874.
as
to pay taxes
it bankrupt
After the un su ccessful
independence
white
C a k o b a u ’s
other
of
Fijian and Eu ropean c o m m u n i t i es as well
various
some
The Fiji Times
all
power
Fijians
and
the
collapse
imposed by the
impotent.
for British a n n e xa ti on by
Fiji e v en tu a l l y became a
It r e ta in ed that status until
1970.
- 91 -
her
3.2
Early Colonial
Rule
N o n - in t er ve n ti on
By the time Fiji
numer ous social
from
1874 to
1916*
the
Period of
in Education.
was ce d e d to the British crown
in
1874,
and ec on omi c changes had al re ad y occu rre d
in Fijian society.
C a n n i b a l i s m had all but en ded and
ma jo ri ty
p o p u la t i on
of
the
Christianity.
Inter-tribal
te nd ed to be occasi ona l
had
been
converted
to
reduced
and
warfare was much
skirmishes,
the
rather than the
drawn out battles of pre vi ou s times.
The Fijian
was written
the
(in the Bauan dialect -
long
language
choice
of
the
Me tho dis t M i s s i o n a r i e s ) and most of the adult
pop ulation
was
rea son ab ly
at
least
no m i n a l l y
we l l - e s t a b l i s h e d net wor k
es ta b l i s h e d
control
th rou g ho ut
of Met hodist
The British colonial
of
tribal
pr imary
schools
had
the
colony,
mostly
under
g o ve rnm ent e s t a b l i s h e d a
implemented
This was pe rc ei ve d as
which
on
the aut ho ri ty of chiefs.
Fijian)
addit ion al
p ol ic y of
social,
in
some
"the
of
and village
"The native
a d m i n i st ra ti on
(or,
became
for many co mmoners"
indirect rule has had
ec on omi c and political
(Ghai,
lasting
- 92 -
her
lines"
tier
level,
as
under
it was known
an
important
for the
chiefs,
1987:10).
eff ects
de ve l o pm en t of the
peopl e and thus on the nation as a whole.
of
de vel opm ent
indigenous
source of power and pat ronage
and em plo yme nt
the
po li c y
in practice cr ea te d a sec ond
of a d m in is tr at io n at pro vincial
later,
been
missionaries.
a d m i n i s t r a t io n
( M a y h e w ; 1938:50)
A
of
’indirect r u l e 1 as had been
Afri can colonies.
literate.
on
The
the
Fijian
After the co llapse of the world cotton
the American Civil
crop.
War,
became
Labour was pro vi de d by Fijians
Islanders brought to
(1978:308)
slavery".
Fiji
noted that
the manner of
the
sugar cane
re cr ui tm en t
planter s
faced
as
an
Fijians
policy
often
purpose.
of
to
and
Macgregor
to
labour
a
life
indigenous
peoples
em plo yme nt
of
the g o v e r n m e n t ’s
to
labour
India,
as had been done
Mauritius.
in
1879.
ar ri ve d
The
first
Fiji,
in
Indian
Over the next
in
was
of
the
import
Caribbean,
indentured
37
years,
whom
just
Fijians,
one
and
arrived
60,000
over
from
Afr ic a
labourers
some
of
Ke in fo rc ed
which pro hi bi te d the com mercial
resp ons e
from
illegal and
villages.
’protecting*
and
little
severe
return
in their
Pacific
emp lo ym en t
d i ff er ed
immediate
chose
dominant
other
such pra ctices became
’aff luent s u b s i s t e n c e ’ (1)
by colonial
the
following
the
and
"The condi tio ns of
After cess ion
sho rtage
for
market
Indians
third
were
su b s e q u e n t l y repatriated.
For the
first 30 years of
colonial
rule,
the
go ver nme nt did no th in g to either en cou rag e or
ed uca tio n of the
p r ov id ed
(from
local
population.
for Europ ean ch il dre n
1879)
and
Suva
(from
in ve sti gat ing the decre ase
1896 ac kn ow l e d g e d
e du cat ion
in
that
the
nat ive
entire
is su st ai ne d and dis ch ar ge d
wit hout any
ass is ta nc e
en tit le the Go ver nme nt
from
to
public
A
the
funds
interfere with them"
- 93 -
however
of
Levuka
Commission
pop ula ti on
s ys te m
by
discou rag e
were
towns
1883).
of the
"The
Scho ols
colonial
of
in
native
Missions,
that
would
(Colony of
F i j i * 1896?110).
C om mi s s i o n
This
fact
did
from be ing critical
e s p e c i a l l y on the gro un ds of
found
inherent
e n co ur ag e
in Fijian
not
lax
d is cip li ne
It
the s et tl em en t of Fijians
t e a c h i n g of English
for
schools
its
in towns
in order
to
and
pr om ot e
the
to
’ci v il is in g
e f f e c t s ’.
due to the ef fo rt s of the missions,
This
implemented.
there
were
in most Fijian vil la ge s off er in g up to four years
of e d uc at io n and school
at te nda nc e
part of Fijian childhood.
literacy rate
acces s to and a t t en da nce
C o mp ar ed to
in
terms
in
By
Indians.
The
sig n i f i c a n t
Indian r e l i gi ou s groups such
were
involvement
as
it
also
of
operating
Indian
ma rk e d
for e du ca ti on
momentum.
some
m i ss io ns
was
high
literacy,
1898 by the
1916,
as
Arya
sc hools
for
beginning
which
resen tm ent
as s i s t an ce
to
was
to w ar d
Indian edu ca ti on
1916 and there was a p r e v a i l i n g colonial
w ou ld be s e l f - d e f e a t i n g to educate
- 94 -
the
the
was
of
to
a
gain
Chris tia n
because of their te n de nc y to proselytize.
was no gover nm en t
who
organizations
the
s e l f - g e n e r a t e d de ma n d
There
a
at schools.
Me th o d i s t Mission and the Marist Brothers.
Mu slims
normal
schools,
of
in
and
a
Indians
Indians were st arted
An gl ic an s and
for
become
limited p a r ti ci pa tio n
Fijians were si g n i f i c a n t l y ahead
first schools
had
There was co ns eq u e n t l y
in the vernacular.
at that time had very
Samaj
they
to
By
The
(sic),
proposed
was never
sc hools
the
which
was
proposal
1900,
stop
of native e du cat io n
culture.
improve the e f f i c i e n c y of
ho wever
There
prior to
att it ude that
Indians
as
they
it
had
been taken to Fiji
Ea rl y
to be an u n s k i l l e d work
in the tw en tieth century.
force.
Provincial
schools
e s t a b l i s h e d to offer higher pr imary e du cat io n
boys who sh owe d potential.
only
Most pr imary
five grades and the Provincial
which was by examination,
By the
1930s there were
instituted by Fijian
alt hou gh the
support,
Until
esp ec ia ll y
second
such
e n t ra nc e
schools.
adm ini st ra ti on
in p r o v id in g
These
e s t a b l i s h i n g Provincial
a third tier to cater
of
Fijians
offer
headteachers.
school
sch ool s
schooling.
schools,
in
1955
were
Soon
an
after
there em er ge d a need for
for pr om is in g boys to
more years of education,
to
were
later
European
the Provincial
tier
by
did
into one central
(Katu Ka da vu le vu school)
important
schools,
offered
offe re d a further three grades.
six
their am al ga ma ti on
Fijian
s c h oo ls
initiative and finance d
colonial
to
were
e qu iv al en t
to the
have
a
few
lower forms of
s e c o nd ar y education.
The Queen Vic to ri a School
in the Fijian ed uca tio n
that
like the Provincial
was
founded
in
hie ra r c hy and
it
schools,
largely financed by Fijians.
it
1906 as the apex
is
was
initiated
and
It ca te red pa r t i c u l a r l y
for
the sons of chiefs and thus en jo yed great
chiefs
prestige.
insisted that their sons
be
taught
which gave access to e m pl oy me nt
in
the
al bei t at the
lower echelons,
in the political
became
involved
responsibility
arena.
and also
When
in education,
s i gn ifi can t
the
it
to
for Queen V ic to ri a School.
- 95 -
in
English,
Civil
Service,
pa rt ici pat ion
colonial
a s su me d
The
government
much
of
The concept
the
of
a school
pr ov id in g an English
traditional
of
elite
indirect
traditional
fitted
rule
as
language
it
could
supply
Although
in practical
subjects,
school
1951.
until
ed uc ation
There
of
links be tween
with a h ea vy
was
em p h a s i s
it o f fe re d a p o s t - p r i m a r y course
it did not become a full s e c o n d a r y
Nevertheless,
was
no
its role as f l ag s h i p
substantial,
coh er en t
especially
edu ca ti on
po li cy
ad hoc de ci s i o n s were made by the
Leg i s l a t i v e Council.
colonial
Neither was there
po licy on education.
reported,
in
in
the
a
d u r i ng
this
G o ve rn or
and
clear
Rather there was,
"a few as su m p t i o n s and a stat em en t
pri nc iples"
was the
cadre
period.
was
period:
a
pol icy
Queen V i c t o r i a School
however b as ic all y a p r i m ar y school
colonial
a
leaders who wo uld form va luable
on agriculture.
to
in well with the colonial
the g ov er nm en t and the people.
Fijian
ed uc a t i o n
(1938:33).
"great
One of
these
importance att ac he d to
no n- offical
as M a y h e w
of
general
general
principles
pr ivate
agencies;
overall
education
ent er p r i s e
and
this
is
fundamental
feature of English policy at all times and
a
in
all p l a c e s ^ ( M a y h e w ; 1938:44).
3.3
The Be gi n n i n g of Go ve rn m e n t
Colonial
e n qu ir ie s
ed ucation
was
Intervention:
characterized
and c o m m i s s i o n s often
initiated
d i s s a t i s f i e d at the state of education.
and
recommendations
ignored,
several
of
such
si gn i f i c a n t
- 96 -
by
1916-1948.
a
by
series
of
go ve r n o r s
While the re sults
enq ui ri es
were
or di na n c e s
largely
resulted
indirect ly from them*
role
in colonial
P er so na li ti es
education.
between D ir ec tor s
of
played
There were
Education,
an
important
frequent
Go ve rn or s
Go ver nor s and members of the Leg is la ti ve
and
in the C o l on i es
in London
and
surface mails ta k in g several
The G r an t- in -a id scheme was e s t a b li sh ed
E du cat ion Ordinance*
It
pr o v i d e d
support to schools which met
system was prevalent
al l o w e d
ex pa nsion
s up er vi si on
and
there
were
from
Fiji
months each way.
under
the
gov ern me nt
1916
financial
p r es cr ib ed
standards.
The
in Br itish colon ies
at the time
and
to
cost
take
to
place
with
government.
gov er ni n g the all oc at io n of
strict and
Major
Committee
long tim e-lags while rep or ts were sent to and
and London,
Acting
Council*
po lic y dec is i on s were r e fe rr ed to the A dv is or y
for Ed uca ti on
clashes
grants
initially only a few
a
The
were
Fijian
mi ni mum
of
reg ula tio ns
however
village
quite
schools
co uld meet the r eq ui re d standard.
Sal ary grants were paid
to ce r t i f i c a t e d
training
English
and
teac he rs
there
were
whose
vaguely
g r a n t s ’ which were paid ann ua ll y
fashion.
The
d e f in ed
s t r e s s i n g the
a
that
Building
sub si di ze d on a pound for pound basis which
e st a b l i s h m e n t
of
1929,
new
schools
out of
the
rather
grants
were
f a vou re d
the
than
exi st in g
By
schools,
only 32 r e c e i v e d G r a n t s - i n - a i d of an av erage
£31 per annum.
approximately
of
colonial
schools.
£116 per school
in
ar bi t r ar y
co nd i t i o n
importance
aut ho ri ti e s placed on agriculture.
been
’e f fi ci en cy
in a so mewhat
inclusion of ga rd e n i n g was
r e c e i v i n g grants,
had
700
Fijian
of
and a few rec ei ve d an ef f i c i e n c y bonus of
(Legislative Council
- 97 -
Paper N o . 113,
1929).
Under the G r a n t - i n - a i d scheme many
es ta b l i s h e d schools,
Indian
involvement
lasting
impact
the
for
go ve rn me n t
the
its re s t r u c t u r i n g
ba sed on small
po p ul at io n
in
1926
industry
position
in so d o in g sec ure d
the
backb one
in Fiji
of
more secure,
life,
the
of
of
15
leases
on
a
str on g
cane
sugar
economy.
With
their
looked for means of
to
be
the
for upw ard mobility.
the
1920s as they had s u ff er ed heavy
introduced diseases.
were re ga rde d as a dying
Gill ion
losses of
(1977:10)
race
life
o b se rv ed that
colonial
go ver nme nt of the day reg ar de d
Fij ians
best,
irrelevant to the progress
Fiji"
in the m a in st re am of eco nomic
Fijian popula tio n
gr ad ua ll y su rp as se d
as Table 3.3.1
industry
size
app ea re d
indigenous Fij ians
part
brought
as
Indians
The
as
of
precipitated
th ems elv es
a dv a n c i n g th ems elv es and educa tio n
obvi ous route
and
from a pla nt at io n sys tem to an
in the c o u n t r y ’s eco nomic
had become
It
voluntary
again
and
Indians ea ge rly acc ep te d the offer
position
a
feu.
family farms with an average
farms and
had
Fiji.
the
of
in the sugar
in
that of
indenture sys tem
labour sho rtages
such
majority
sy st e m
has
system:
s c h o o l i n g for a select
The end of the
acres.
This scheme
ed uca tio n
a l l ow ed the crea ti on of a dual
sc hools
organisations
m a r ki ng the beg in ni ng of su bs tan tia l
in education.
on
Indian
did
not
die
of
- 98 -
as
life was minimal.
out
in numbers by the
indicates.
as
however,
Indian
but
in
from
the
"at
their
The
was
pop ul at io n
Table 3,34 1
P opu lat io n of Fiji:
1921 -
1921
1946
1936
1946
Race
Number
Eu rop ean s
3,878
2.5%
4,028
2.0%
4 , 594
1.8%
P a r t - E u r o p n s 2,781
1.8%
4,574
2.4%
6, 142
2.4%
Ch inese
910
0.6%
1,751
0.9 %
2, 105
0.8%
Fi j ians
84,475
5 3 .7%
97,651
49.2%
117,488
45.3%
Indians
6 0 ,634
38. 5%
85 ,002
42.8%
120,063
46. 2%
Ot h er s*
4,588
2. 9%
5 , 373
2.7 %
9 , 246
3.5%
157,266
100.0%
198,379
100.0% 2 5 9 , 6 3 8
100.0%
Total
%
* Mo stly Pacific
Islanders.
Source:
1977:199.
Gillion,
The Colonial
%
Number
Number
%
Political Agenda.
The early decades of the twe nt ie th c e n tu ry saw the
of Fijian
Council
and
Indian
involvement
- the body of nom in ee s
in
the
supreme.
there were six ele ct ed Eu ropean
members
Fijian members and
nominated
was added.
In
1916 one
seats,
n o m i n a t e d Fijians.
use
Ali
the
six
no ted that
ballot
box
increased
awareness,
taught
to
make
t he m
a c c u s t o m e d them to the
the
hurly
fruits
their app et it e
of
democracy
for political
- 99 -
their
political
bu rly
of
chance
contributed
it
limited,
Indian
Indians
"The
advancement;
ta st ed
1905,
and two n o m i n a t e d
e l e ct ed
political
having
In
member
1929 the s t ru ct ur e was a l t e r e d to have
el e c t e d Eu ropean
Indians to
L e g i sl at iv e
that a d v is ed the Governor,
whose au th o r i t y n o n e t h e l e s s re m a i n e d
in
start
six
and
six
given
to
to
their
political
judgements;
elections,
and
albeit
very
growth
and
power
increased*
Fi jians were de p r i v e d of th ese
(1980:139).
it
to
Indians took to the poli tic al
air
their
gr iev an ce s
c o ns id e r e d to be their
adoption.
and
fair rights
op p o r tu ni ti es "
ar en a and
demand
in
used
what
th ei r
they
country
of
Indians had u n d o u bt ed ly s u f f e r e d many h a rd sh ip s
du r i n g the
indenture
c o u n t r y ’s
re l a t i v e
pe r i o d
wealth
and
had
they
been
felt
that
earned
the
at
their
national
level
expense.
Wh ereas Fijian po litical
was
a c t i v i ty at the
limited to a few ch iefs who wanted
status quo,
Indians were hun gr y
importance of the
Indians
to
pres er ve
for change.
in the sugar
The
e c ono mi c
in dustry gave
streng th and e v e n t u a l l y many of their demands,
those on education,
Indians and the
were met.
British
confrontational.
This
Fijian po litics which
In the Legis la ti ve
example,
were
poor
contrasted
Council
session of
Indian education,
te nded
the
to
be
tra dit ion al
October
1932
for
100 q u e s t i o n s on e ve ry
often
comparing
it
They asked,
to
the
inter alia
,
Indians c ou ld a t t e n d the e x c l u s i v e l y European and
Pa rt - E u r o p e a n
Suva
pr e - u n i v e r s i t y
qu al if ications.
n e g at iv e response.
"Indian
ed uc at i o n a l l y "
Gr ammar
In the
on the Ma yhew Report,
claiming
i n cl ud in g
between
the
them
re v o l v e d around consensus.
financed Euro pe an sector.
whet he r
and
to
Indian mem be rs as ke d over
as pect of
better
Race r e l a t i o n s
the
School
ac qu ir e
a
curt
1937 L e g i s l a t i v e Council
de bate
Indian
c h i ldr en
They
to
members
are
received
spoke
a lm os t
(Hansard Re port C083/223/8).
-
100 -
at
length
ne gl ec te d
This
aroused
the
ire
of
Euro pea n
ed uca tio n had
members
in fact
me mbe rs
increased
rep ea te d their
with an agr icu ltu ral
O nl y
r e q u es te d that the sy st e m
practic e
a
re-introduced.
Indians,
The
few
e vi de ntl y had
lengthy debates
for
se nd ing
and
was
little
in English,
had
ha vin g
indirect
pla tf or m to express their
The
that
did
of
the
ab s e n c e s
rule
there
s p ec if i c a l l y
which must have
relevance.
the L e g i s l at iv e Council
was
feelings of
in
be
Fijians.
issues
go ve rnment
greater
been
Le gi sl at iv e
for
largely on
the Native Administration,
Fijian
Eu rop ean s and
the
saw frequent
of
br ie fly
ignored.
appeal
system
spoke
abandoned,
of
was a separate
however,
which
largely
Under the system of
as
member
se l e c t e d
then
Fijian members.
p e r ce iv ed
European
introduction
Fijian
institution
not affect them directly,
Fijians,
the
Amidst the an im o s it y between
political
Indian
Katu George T u i s a w a u
years
Fijian educ at io n
alien
Council
one
for s e c o n d ar y schooling,
for
on
substantially*
bias and de l ay in g
lengthy debate:
boys abr oad
spending
int ention of m a i n t a i n i n g ed uca tio n
of se co nd ar y education.
du r i n g this
as
used
For
as
injustice
for
been
Indians
a
public
and
to
make demands.
The Emerg enc e of a T r i p a rt i t e Education System.
In the early
mo un t i n g
1920s,
because
r e c r u i t i n g teachers
with the New
co nc ern over European
of
the
expense
from England.
Ze al an d
Dep ar tm en t
-
101 -
and
e d u c a t i on
was
difficulty
of
An a r r a n g e m e n t was made
of
E d u ca ti on
wher eby
their te achers co ul d work
c o n d i t i o n s as
’Scheme of
en a b l e d
in Fiji
in Neu Zealand.
Co op eration*,
a
E u ro pe an
with
syllabus,
text-books,
The colonial
a
lasted
known
as
the
1970s
and
isolated
orientation:
e xa m i n a t i o n s and teachers.
consistently
ag ri cu l t ur a l
(1977)
no ted
and
that
insisted
al though
the
De p a r tm en t
little
teachers,
it was not their p e rc ep ti on of
The general
little at tempt
Anthropologists
Quain
support
st a nd ar d
to relate
(1948)
from
of
in
especially
pa re nts
the
th eo ry
to
(1945)
vil lage
the
colonial
ki n d l y paternalistic,
has not been
tempered
Ge ddes noted that
the
it
attitude
is
to
u n f o rt un at e
re al istic
n ot ed
the
schools
and
is the p ro du ct io n
an additional
a banana"
How
of an other dalo
qu ar te r of an
(1945:31).
agriculture
of escap e
community.
in schools,
inch
Indians
bias
that
needs"
in
(1948:68).
the
important,
laid on
education
relatively,
root to the
acre,
or
in the c i r c u mf er en ce
of
especially
-
of
102 -
been
ed uc ation
were
against
as they saw sc h o o l i n g as a
from the d r u d g er y
Quain
always
"Perhaps too much stress may be
importance of an a g r ic ul tu ra l
of an ag ri cu lt ur al
has
was
practice.
q u e s t i o n e d the pra ct ic e of e m p h a s i z i n g agriculture.
"Though
or
pu rpose
ag ri cu lt ur e
and Geddes
low q u a li ty of Fijian ed uc at io n
wrote
a
component.
there was
of schooling.
on
work
for Fijians,
as
of
manual
co n s t a n t l y e x h o r t e d the ben ef it s of gardening,
with
as
an
Zealand
sane
g o v e r n m e n t ’s approa ch to wa rd s the nature
substa nt ia l
low,
the
the
exist
Neu
e d u c a t i o n of n o n -E u r o p e a n s
Hopkin
until
to
totally
exactly
This system,
system
enclave,
on
farming.
Edu cation
means
was
ob v i o u s l y per ce iv e d as
co llar oc cu pa ti ons
and social
linked
in the modern sector
the
the
Meth od is t
it had begun
1840s:
sc hools
of
v i l la ge
The Church p r o v i d e d
institute and stan da rd s
the
1920s,
the
t r a i n i n g school
was also a time
in the
for
with
its
own
1830s
locally
te acher
established
and an agricu lt ur al
maintained
in the
of te a c h i n g sl owly
Methodists
b o a r d i n g schools
and
ec on omy
per io d was
Ch urch
ba s i ca ll y the same p ol ic y
teachers.
the
white
literary education.
1920s,
that
uith
of
de mand t h r o u gh o u t the colonial
a Western type
Until
inextri cab ly
and
t r a in ed
tr a i n i n g
improved.
a
technical
well
as
for girls s e e ki ng further education.
It
for r a t i o n a l i z i n g
interests
number of Mission
of
econ omy
sch oo ls
school,
the
and
diminished,
as
vi llage
schools,
efficiency,
as
Table
the
3.3.2
indicates.
Table 3 .3.2
Number of
Meth od is t
Mission
Schools
Students.
Year
No.
No.
of Sc hools
of S t ud en ts
1855
151
6,628
1909
1,041
17,695
1925
684
16,473
1934
24
2,000
1984
26
n.a.
(approx)
n . a.- not available)
So urces : H o p k i n : 1977;
Annual
Report
In
Mann: 1935;
for the Year
1984.
-
103 -
Mi n is tr y
of
Educat
Host pr i ma ry
schools
co m m i t t e e s by
1931,
on
fewer,
been
hande d
the
over
e n a b l i n g the Mission
more s pe ci a l i z e d areas
scho ol s have
from
had
since
received
government,
of
to
have
infl ue nc ed and c o n t r o l l e d by
the
local
co nc e n tr at e
education.
substantial
and
to
Mission
Grants-in-aid
been
increa si ng ly
centralized
educ at io n
numbers
M e th od is t
system.
The
relatively
sudden
d ro p
sc hools had fa r - r e a c h i n g
of
F i j i ’s
in
implications
ed uc ation
system.
in the
Over
pr e d o m i n a n t l y village p r i ma ry schools,
to
local
committees.
The
wo u l d have been ba rely
certainly
unsk il le d
financing,
staf fi ng
with
a
general
Dep a r t m e n t of
members
literate
in
lack
of
led
a
in p r o v i d i n g a d eq ua te guidance
and
in
people"
educ at io n
period.
d e v e lo pm en t
no s a t i s f a c t o r y
lack
was
Fijians
thr ough provincial
Indians’
in
of
Fijian
lack
the
left
of
sphere
such
a
permanently
the
Fijian
(1977:352).
Financing
colonial
educa ti on al
of
central
G o v e r n m e n t ’s
when the Me th o d i s t withdrawal
the
almost
compounded
the
in the whole pattern of Fijian schooling,
crippled
co mm it t e e s
hiatus
initiative
over
pro bl em s
from
to
"The
The
Hopkin
gap
ha nd ed
these
education.
of education,
maintains
schools,
schools,
support
Education,
600
th em se l v e s
e q u i p p i ng
of
de ve l o p m e n t
were
management.
and
of
rates,
sy stem
of
a
co nstant
paid
problem
substantial
in
contributions
Eur op ea ns paid town rates,
was
d e v is ed
contribution
-
104 -
to
for
the
Indians.
but
The
government-provided
edu ca ti on was often held ag ainst
that
them,
de spite
the
Indian members of the Legisl ati ve Council
w il li ngn ess to pay an e du ca ti on rate or
levy.
fact
e x pr es se d
Indians did
ho wev er co ntr ibu te s u b s t a n t i a l l y to G r a n t - i n - a i d schools,
a
fact
which
d if fi cu l t i e s
was their
was
often
overlooked.
in c o l l e c t i n g any form of rate
lack of
social
Mus lim s o r i g in a ti ng
unity.
Most
from various
numbe r of free mi gra nts came
sys te m
from
indentured
disintegrated
in
dom icile
f ra gme nta tio n and d up li ca ti on
The
fact
own in g
that
land
Indians
in Fiji
were
gave
the
Some 8% was
which could be
Indians*
leased.
feelings of
The
in
bought
des ign at ed
The r e m a i n i n g
their
from
drive
in
1874,
p e rp et ui ty
or
sold,
free hol d
10% was d e em ed crown
as
but
land,
large pla nt at io ns
by
land,
land sit uation e x a c e r b a t e d the
insec uri ty as they
co ul d easily be ev ic te d
of
p r e ve nt ed
Bri tain
placed
be
cau sed
it.
impetus to
much of which had been taken over as
white settlers.
also
India
in their res ponse to
to Great
land was
in
new
e st ab li sh me nt
vir tu al ly
further
land which co uld never
leased.
Fiji
for access to
After cess ion
ap p r o x i m a t e l y 82% of
could be
in
Indians were how ever uni ted
for education.
Fijian
in
and
their
their
educa tio n and their dem ands
small
Indians.
as well
schools.
with
1920s a
pa ro c h i a l i s m based on their origins
new
or
India,
environment,
as
Indians
from Gujerat as traders
they re ma ine d s o ci al ly se par at e
the caste
the
Hindus
of
In the
of
from
were
parts
min or it ie s of Sikhs and Christians.
Al though
One
from their
-
105 -
leased
felt
land.
that
they
The rel at iv e ly
ed uca tio n
disadvantaged
c o m p a re d
to
Fi ji ans
pr eo c c c u p i e d a d m i n i s t r a t o r s
Educa tio n of Fijians and
1927 the pe rce nta ge of
school
Indians
was pro po se d
furore of
for the
a
in Fiji
topic
A M e mo ra nd um on
r e ve al ed that
Paper N o . 92
the
local
in
which
in
att en di ng
80% for Fijians and
improvement of
by
Indians
po pu lat ion
in the L eg is la ti ve Council
op po sit ion
of
1920s.
schoo l-a ge
(Legislative Council
a progr amm e
was
in the
was 91% for Europeans,
Indians.
1929,
si tu ation
of
17% for
1928).
In
Indian education
and was met by
Europe an
a
members.
Pe rs on al it ie s were pr om in en t as the then Ac ti ng Governor,
Seymour,
was ope nl y ad v o c a t i n g
to the Colonial
pol icy
for
grievance,
Office
the
i.e.
in
for the proposal.
November
g o ve rn me nt
to
Eur opeans"
London
only
five
is
a
Fiji
in
the
e n s ue d
and
two
schools
sch ools
for
Le gi s l a t i v e
re si gna tio n of all the
Indian
lengthy
and
bad
local
( C 0 8 3 / 1 8 3 / 3 ) . A heated co rr es po nd en ce
and
debates
"It
pe rpe tra te
the pr ovi si on of
7 0 , 0 0 0 people while we provide
1929,
He wrote
for
4,000
between
ac ri m o n i o u s
Council
re s u l t e d
members
and
a
in
the
p r om in en t
Eur opean member.
Although
the Se cr et ar y of State
Lor d Passfield)
ag re e d
prov isi on
Fij ians
for
ad mi ni st ra ti on
local
in pri nciple
and
C o lo ni es
to equal
education
Colonial
to upset
prominent
from the Colonial
in res ponse to the furore,
(then
the
A c k n o w l e d g i n g the importance
Mayhew wrote
done at once
the
Indians,
cl ea rl y did not want
Europeans.
politics,
for
of
Office
local
in
"How much can and ought to
is a financial
-
and
106 -
political
qu es tio n
1929
be
on
which
I
do
(C 0 8 3 / 183/3).
were
not
feel
myself
S e y m o u r ’s p r o t es ta ti on s on
latterly seen as an
Governor,
Sir
Indian education
and he
Murch iso n
Fletcher,
5 . 6 3 % of
c o m p a r e d to only 3 . 4 7 %
was
dis ag re ed
se nt im e nt s and he
Indians were well off c om pa re d
in India - in Fiji,
advise"
a permanent G o ve rn or arrived.
t o t al ly with S e y m o u r ’s liberal
out that Fiji
to
’impetuous outburst*
c o u n s e l l e d not to act until
The next
comp et ent
pointed
to
Indians
Indians were school
students
in India.
( C 0 8 3 / 1 9 7 / 13).
was a d a m a n t l y against a ca de mi c education
for
Fletcher
Indians - he
insisted on the use of the verna cu la r and a simple course
of vocational
and manual
training.
te a c h i n g of English to both
He wa nt ed to delay the
Indians
and
Fijians.
approach was st r o n g l y e n d o r s e d by the Eu ropean
the Legis la ti ve Council.
Fletcher
This
me mbers of
was ov er tl y anti-I ndi an
and he was aware of
Indian re si st a n c e to agricu lt ur al
technical
which made him even
ed ucation
to enforce
more
The di fferent races
set -the groups
further
dealt with ed uc ation
Language,
apart.
sc hools
for other races
were
exclusive,
acceptable.
and
religion
government
categories,
if
schools
it may be o b l i g e d to
if none were available.
descent could be a dm i t t e d
socially
that
alt ho ug h
ch ildren
if it was
felt that
V ar iou s
-
reports
107 -
lines.
off ici al ly
the
racial
fearing
for one race only,
cu lture
Although
in s e par at e
its policy obscure,
schools
racial
lived s e p a r a t e l y and were
d i s c o u r a g e d from mixing.
d e cl ar ed
de te rm i n e d
it.
Inevitably educ at io n was d e v e l o p i n g along
kept
and
and
it
were
provide
European
of
they
mixed
were
c om mis si on s
sugg es te d that rac ia ll y
e ff ici ent but such
sug ge st io ns
Euro pea ns and Fijians.
any proposal
their
that
schools.
became
integrated sc hools uo ul d be
anathema
Eur op ea ns were wh o l l y
Indians
The
e n tr en ch ed
were
sh ould
r ac ia ll y
and
situa tio n of colonial
be
ref le c t ed
the
1930s,
school
to
sta ye d at school
of
Indian
four years
for
less than
ch ild ren
in
1936.
a dr op
four years of s c h o ol in g from
total
enrol lme nt re p o r t e d
Four.
The drop for
were various.
in Class One to
Indians was fom 39%
The rea sons
Few scho ols
to
pr ov ide d edu ca ti on
at the time.
from
Official
level
prim ary
s e c o nd ar y
improve the
in
schooling,
to
and educa tio n
pri mary
d e l ay ed
-
The
108 -
the
were
few
bey ond the very
those
introd uct ion
sou ght
lack
as
Fijians
whose
The poor qu al it y
go ver nme nt
sector.
rate
non -E ur op ea ns
for
the
to
qu al if ie d
di s c o u r a g e
agriculture.
as
one
edu ca ti on
for
was dee me d un ec ess ary
s c h oo li ng
of
of
Class
bey ond
There
far
limited
p o li cy was
d e s ti ny was sub si st en ce
much
were
leaving their vi lla ges
ele me nt ar y
levels.
pr oc eed
e mpl oym ent o p p o r tu ni ti es
in
for the high dr op- out
teac her s to teach upper pr im ar y
incentives
34%
Class
fourth or fifth grade and there was a lack
ec ono mic
in his
for Fijians,
12%
in
at
chi ldren
Mayhew,
reported,
by
only
st ay ing
Many
four years.
(1936)
with
in Fiji
10% in Class Four.
system
wi d e s p r e a d
Keport on Edu cation
in the first
enter
Fiji.
15%
for more than
to
so ci o-p ol it ic al
the wast age rate was very high
11% of Fijian and
both
op po sed
school
Al though prim ary sc h o o l i n g was re l at iv el y
the mid
to
allowed
ex clu siv e
more
of
to
of
of
first
ce nt ra liz ed
control
co mb ine d with the
meant that
in r e a l i ty
of qua li t a t iv e
The
issue of
Indians.
finance
little could be done
and
in
manpower
the
field
improvement.
s ec o n d a r y
sporadically
lack of
in the
Their
ac ademic
1920s and
a p p ro a c h e s
ed uc a t i o n
had
arisen
1930s from both Fijians and
were
different:
although
Fi jians ge ne r a l l y s u p p o r t e d agricu lt ura l
education,
requested
secondary
few,
pref er abl y
overseas;
wh ereas
freely
available
ed uc a t i o n
Indians
for
a
re qu e s te d
se co n d a r y s c h o o l i n g to p r e - u n i v e r s i t y
Brothers’
School
non-Europeans
in
Suv a
co u l d
ed uc at io n until
the
was
obtain
late
school
The
in the
late
at
the
in both Fiji
The colonial
protect the
d is ru p t i n g
influence.
re f e r r i n g
to
vari ous
edu ca ti on of pri mi ti ve
not
cope
place
where
se co nd ar y
succeeded
go ve rn m en t
for
with
Fij ians
and London,
p o l ic y had
much
This
be came
mainl y over
s e co nd ar y
educ ati on
it
was
in
education
for
fear
attitude
was
just ifi ed
people,
ad v a n c e d
pre se rv e
that
educa tio n
faculties.
of
on
conformed
then
that
-
109 -
t h in ki ng
by
the
of
such as the
Hadow Report on the e d u ca ti on of Africans,
ps yc h o l og ic al
its
Fijians
bec au se
Reports,
and
princ ipl e
reports
concluding
a
whether
to
’au th or itative*
inherently poor r e a s o n i n g
current
in
Natabua
been
indigenous Fij ia ns and
against a ll ow in g too
could
only
1930s.
to send boys ov ers eas or to provide
in Fiji.
Marist
Indians
issue of s e c o n d a r y e du ca ti on
major debate
The
academi c
1930s.
se c u r i n g s e c o n da r y edu ca t i on
level.
the
an
they
to
mental
c ha ra c t e r i s ti cs
were ge ne ti ca ll y
o v e r w h e l m i n g c on cl us ion
’uneducable*
ag ri cultural
racial
that
inherited and
u n ci vil ize d
in the Eu ropean sense.
people.
There
c o m p os iti on
of
ed uc at io n
in European
(Despatch
from Gov ernor
Colonies,
C083/225/8).
time to form social
al le g e d l y genetic
is,
the
"The Fijians
therefore,
Fijians
sc hools either
to
of
It was quite
in
Fijians,
that
a
external
as they knew from ex pe rience
agricultural
educ ati on
at
basis
would
become
of
The
Col on ies
educa tio n
few boys would
e x a m in at io n
in
the
this
The co mmittee was o p po se d
p r e -u n i v e r s i t y
academic
Fiji"
for
the
p r o p o s i n g that s e co nd ar y
for Fijians should be no n- ac a d e m i c as very
al l o w i n g
their
of
State
an
the
characteristics.
London Adv is or y Co mm i t te e on Education
need an academic education.
in
warrant
a cc ept ab le
inherited racial
were
are
no t h i ng
in or out
to S e cr et ar y
the
peoples
and eco nomic policy on the
end or se d this stance,
bore
other
to
for
col onies
p r e f e r r ed
over
education.
Colonial
education
document
’Education
po lic y had been
Po lic y
loosely set out
in British
Tropical
in the
A f r i c a ’,
the main theme of which was not to give so much educ at io n
as to have a d i s i n t e g r a t i n g or
boys should have voc ational
girls should
or technical
se con dar y
in Fiji
education,
edu ca ti on
for
forcefully.
dec ision making
were
powers
reporte d to London
-
The
was also ad am an tl y
p ro mu lg at ed his thoughts
Go vernor
effect.
learn hygi ene and domestic crafts.
Director of Edu cation
academic
u n s e t t li ng
in
that
110 -
accord.
then
and
he
all
the
1937
the
once,
In
and
against
Fijians
For
Thus
"The Le gi sla tiv e
Council
has acc e pt e d the pr in c i p le of
establishment
of
p r o v i di ng
s ec on d a ry
ma tr i c u l a t i o n s t a n d a r d for
funds
e d uca ti on
Indians,
up
but the
E d uc at io n op poses the p r o v i s i o n of si milar
Fi j i a n s - o n the gr ou n d that the pro vi si on
of fa ci lities
for an ac a d em ic ed uca tio n
upset the practical
aiming"
bias
at
which
( C 0 8 3 / 2 1 8 / 4 ). Only the
not c o n s u l t e d on this
issue.
in
social
The
and political
late
the
Fijians
schools
was
qu a l i f i e d
long-term
overall,
than
poorer
and
pre ssure
in the L e g i s l a t i v e
triumph.
Europeans,
many
is
were
Indians
and to deny
quality
for
it
the
the
for
Fiji an s as Table 3 . 3 . 3
and
D e pa rt m e n t
Indians
indicates.
-
Ill -
now
of
schools.
their
constant
had
of
Fijian
Indian
Gaining
for
children
schools
been
on
increased
97%
in
Fijian
1941 ex pe n d i t u re
7% for Fij ia ns
c a p i t a e x p e nd it ur e
local schools
Fijian
Council.
e d uca ti on
1931 and
for
for
Government
through
for the d i f f e r e n t races
Feport
f ac ili ti es
p a rt ic i p a t i o n
fewer
gains
secondary
Between
e d uc at io n
Annual
in
the
many
had
acad em ic
of
im pl ications
more
Indians,
Indians
for
Director
themselves
for G r a n t s - i n - a i d c o m pa re d to
made
the
d e v el op me nt of Fiji.
Althou gh
at t e n d e d school
to
The move to pro vi de
1930s saw a t u r n i n g point
education.
the
for F i ji an s would
access to an a c a de mi c s ec o n d a r y educ at io n
to Fijians was to have
for
pr ov ision
a
major
gover nme nt
by
19%
Indians.
for
(1944
Education).
surpassed
that
Per
of
Table 3,3,3
E xpe nd itu re
per
ca pita
C hild ren Aged 5 to
1928
E u r o p ea n *
1935
£8.0 . 0
Fijian
on
for
15 Years.
1940
1941
n.a.
£3 . 1 6 . 4
12/- .
14/7
5/-
8/6
Indian**
Ed uca tio n
1942
£4.11.2
£5.4.10
£1.6.6
£1.8.8
£1.8.1
£2 .5.4
£2.6.3
£2.10.1
* Includes ch ildren of mi x e d descent.
** I n c l u d e s Chinese.
Sources:
L eg is la tiv e
Edu ca ti on
Council
Reports,
De pa rt m e n t
Reports.
C l e ar ly European educ ati on
this tri partite
system.
was
the
This
favoured
ref le ct ed
sector
the
1940 e xp en di tur e on Fijian
edu cation
less than the other racial
with their
groups.
lack of pol itical
pa rt ici pat ion
was
This
muscle
of
period.
factor,
and
com bi ne d
their
indigenous Fijians.
pressure on the government,
They acc ep te d the colonial
pl ace d great
interests.
did
not
levels,
influential
and,
chiefs
as
to
per
place
Indians.
en jo yed
push
the
go ver nme nt
people.
c o n s i s t e n t l y cal led
-
112 -
the
their
fruits
to
Un do u b t e d l y
times,
to
tradition,
re pre sen t
had
chief of colonial
Sir Lala Sukuna,
as did the
who
for the common
or
polic y of e d u c a t i n g ch iefs
in their
The chiefs
education,
educ ati on
faith
limited
co nt r i b u t e d
The Fijians themse lve s did not de ma nd ed uca tio n
se co nd ar y and ter ti ar y
By
si gn if i c a n t l y
in the e c o no my of the country,
to the mar gin al iz at io n
in
political
s up r e m a c y of Euro pe an s th ro ug h ou t the colonial
political
of
of
provide
the
most
O xf or d ed uc a t e d Ratu
for
’ed uca tio n
with
a local
bias*
required
for Fijians.
is a schem e
of
He wrote
in
educ at io n
1944:
that
“What
will
fit
Fijian c hi ld to become a goo d citizen of his own
which
needs
boat-builders,
girls
with
men
a
home-cleaning,
Scarr
above
a l 1... farmers,
s ki l l e d
prac ti ca l
cooking,
1982:340).
in
washing,
country
handicrafts,
of
sewing,
the
mechanics,
indigenous
know le dge
is
house-craft:
nur sin g. ."
Ratu Su k u n a and other chi ef s
(in
feared
the
em e r g e n c e of a d i s c o n t e n t e d sc h o o l e d class who wo ul d
lose
their culture and t r a d i t i o n s of respect.
were but an echo of colonial
Their se n t i m e n t s
atti tu des and did not
the co m m o n l y held p e r c e p t i o n s of education.
Spate
that
and
"The core of Ratu S u kun a* s posi tio n
natural
one
no t e d
a
very
in a man of his heritage and ex p e r i e n c e - was
a firm belief
di st ru st
-
match
in h e r e d i t ar y au th o r it y and a c o r r e s p o n d i n g
in the c ap a c i t y of ord in ar y men to run their own
if
affairs.
(Legislative Council
The Spate Report).
edu cation
for
The
Fi ji an s
Paper N o . 13 of
lack
of
thus
pre ss ur e
re s ul te d
1957,
for
in
p . 7,
improved
gov ern me nt
neglect.
As S e c r e t a r y for Fijian Affairs,
the
se le ction
of
c o m m o n e rs
ove rs ea s and for go ve rn m e n t
Council
of
Chiefs
in
the ea rly
1960s,
posi ti on and
a
few
jobs.
in
a d m i n i s t r a t i v e and political
st u d y i n g abroad,
for
1945
increa si ng ly vie with rank
Fijians
Ratu S u k u n a
ad vi se d
t er ti ar y
on
ed uca tio n
Ratu S u k u n a wa rn ed
that
the
elite.
ed uc a t i o n
recruitment
In
1947,
the
would
of
of the
the
nine
four were the sons of chiefs.
c o mm on er s
enjoyed
an
eco no mi c
its a c c o m p a n y i n g status a p p r o a c h i n g that
-
113 -
By
of
the c h i ef ly
class.
r e m a i n e d powerful:
But
the
influence
"The high
chiefs
status gr ou p that gui ded the social
of up w a r d l y mobile c om mo ne rs"
Certain traditional
of
fo rmed
place
their communal
of
the
individual
society.
The
Fijian
gave rise to
little
the
ec on om y
e ar ly
asc r i b e d
social
in
status,
values
lifestyle
to
education.
competitiveness
s e l f -s uf fi ci en t
Fijian society,
mon et iz ed
dominant
( N o r t o n , 1977:65).
features
for
a
chiefs
and political
un d o ub te dl y also af fe c t e d their r e sp on se s
There was no
the
nature
mot iva ti on
colonial
social
in
of
to
join
days.
With
was
not
mo bil ity
n e c e ss ar il y de s i re d or sought after.
The
'laissez-faire’
intervention
a p pr oa ch
in e duc at ion
In social
policy terms,
been one
of
Mishra, 1981).
of
m i ni mu m
g r adu al ly al t e r ed
the
residualism.
ea rly
colonial
(Hardiman
and
gov ern me nt
in the
1940s.
policy
M i d g l e y , 1982;
The g o v e r n m e n t had e n c o u r a g e d the v o l u n t a r y
sector es p e c i a l ly the c h ur ch es to play an active role
education,
had
leaving
itself
in
a
positi on
of
for most
s t u de nt s
in
indirect
author ity.
By the mid
1940s,
formal
Fiji
was still
than
1% of the total
257 students.
e du ca ti on
limited to p r i ma ry schooling.
Table
en ro ll me nt
3. 3 . 4
were
shows
di s t r i b u t i o n of this minority.
-
114 -
In
1944
in
less
in se co nd ar y school:
the
racial
and
sex
Table 3.3.4
S e c o n d a r y School
Enrolments
in
1946.
Europ ea ns
Fij ians
Indians
Ch inese
Boys
66
187
203
11
Girls
50
4
8
1
Total
116
191
211
12
Source:
De par tme nt of E du cat io n Eeport
By
Indians had ov ert ake n Fijians
1946,
for
in the q u a li ty
educa tio n they pr ov id e d for their children
m ak i ng
The
inroads
into many asp ects of
1946 meeting; of the Fijian
co ncern at such de velopments,
year
Indians
Fijians.
had
A
ad mi n i s t r a t io n
Indians
a ch ie ve d
pet ition
"to adopt
in order that the
remain p re -e mi ne nt
life
e s p e c i al ly
firm
the Fijian
Affairs
acknowledged,
the
B oa rd
1946,
p a t er na li st ic
indigenous Fijians did not change.
p e r i p h e r y of eco no mi c
life
-
115 -
colony.
that
superiority
over
the
the
King.
colonial
tow ar ds
the
Fijian
race
in the
(Meeting
C083/244/4).
att it ud e
They r e m a i n e d
in the colony,
forged ahead as a st ro ng political
were
in
as de t ai le d
1874 Deed of Ce ssion was sent to the
of
e x pr es se d
since
at titude
interests of
in the Colony"
the
Bo a r d
req ue st in g
a
and they
in
Affairs
numerical
1946.
while
and e c o n o m i c
the
of
Although
towards
on
the
Indians
force.
3. 4
I ncreasing G o v e r n m e n t
The
Intervention:
1948-1960,
first attempt at co m p r e h e n s i v e p l a n n i n g for ed ucation
was the Ten Year Plan which
Although
became
the plan was d r o pp ed
in
o p e r a ti ve
1948 b e c au se
a c c e p t a b l e to the S e c r e t a r y of State
for
since
of
it had too
large a
services,
sev eral
social
from
it.
social
p ro po rt io n
in
1947.
it was
the
not
Colonies,
expenditure
on
not ew or th y ac h i e v e m e n t s re sul ted
Col on ie s were e x p e c t e d to be s e l f - s u p p o r t i n g and
services
such as e d uc at io n
co n s u m e r s of gover nm en t
revenue,
were
seen
pu re ly
as
role
in
not ha v in g any
eco no mi c production.
In
1948
the
op en ed and
servants.
go v e r n m e n t
Teachers*
in the same year most
This gave
pa y i n g teachers,
te achers
g ove rnm en t
the
pr of essional
It also
status
of
Col le ge
became
increased
teachers
which
V i c t o r i a School.
go ve rn me nt
to
that
The go ve rn m e n t was s h ow in g
from
reflected
(Adi Ca ko bau School)
status
for
se c u r i t y
for Fijian girls was op en ed
si milar
A
the
system.
a
civil
burden
po s i t i v e l y on the ed uc a t i o n
ra pi dl y ac q u i r e d
was
responsibility
thus r el i e v i n g some of the
vo lu n t a r y aided schools.
and
Na si n u
school
and
of
an
it
Queen
exp licit
r e c o g ni ti on of the need to adopt a more po s i t i v e ap proach
to education.
expressed,
for example
po st -p r i m a r y
lamented
Co ncern about the qua li ty of ed uc a t io n
e du ca ti on
the
es p e c i a l l y
qu al it at iv e
by a Board set up to e n qu ir e
in
for
poor
quality
rural
areas,
Fijian
boys.
of
pr i m a r y
and
improvement at pr im ary
-
116 -
it
Its
strongly
level
was
into
report
schooling,
favoured
before ex pa nd in g
s e c o nd a r y education.
(Fiji
Legis la tiv e Council
There was however c on s i d e r a b l e social
s ec o n d a r y education.
pr e s s u r e to
P os t-w ar p r os p e r i t y
had
Fiji and eco no mi c growth was s t a r t i n g to be
m a np ow er planning.
Ev en t u a l l y
that secon dar y ed uc at i o n
longer,
although
the
co ul d
be
ag ric ult ur al
to
d es ir ab i l i t y of
means
of
inculcate
a
sense
farming as a way of
livelihood
t e nd en cy to reg ar d
and
to
1955).
as
an
nature.
well
the
co mf o r ta bl e
many
fully aware of peoples*
of
to
the
in
a
Paper No.
the
demands.
education,
unsuccessful,
change the way people thou ght and beh av ed
a
present
revealed
social
mostly
and
as
income
others
per ce pt io ns
there were pe rsi sta nt attempts,
The
e m p h a s iz ed
(Legislative Council
This report and
should
avenue
di c h o t o m y between the po li cy makers and
While
it
any
d i gn i t y
life
...as
ac qu is it io n of wealth or of a
34 of
of
with
back
Fiji
cou nte ra ct
e du ca ti on
w hi te -c o l l a r e d o cc up at ion "
in
to
co nce ded
h el d
or technical
1955 Le w is -Jo nes Report on e d uc at io n
"need
linked
go v er nm en t
not
expand
sprea d
it e n d e a v o u r e d to insist that
be of a vocational,
the
1953).
in
reg ar d
to
to
s c h o o 1ing.
In
1956 the G r a n t - i n - a i d sy st e m was e x t e n d e d to s e co nd ar y
schools.
Thus the scene was set
se co nd ar y education,
for
rapid
es p e c i a l l y am ong
Indians,
had alr e ad y shown their great en th u s i a s m
Pr im a r y edu cation had been wid ely
under the Gr an t- i n - a i d sch eme and
117 -
for
av ail abl e
as
of
they
education.
since
1925
Indians had taken every
ava il ab le opp or tu ni ty to build and staff
-
ex pan sio n
schools,
often
at great personal
sacrifice.
ed uc at io n
es cape
as
an
For
route
Indians
from
cl early
an
agricultural
ex is te nc e and as a means of es ta bl i s h i n g th e ms el ve s
foreign cou nt ry where they had
only
saw
limited
in
rights
a
to
land ownership.
Alth ou gh b ud ge tar y a l l o c a t i o n s were no
on a per capit a basis by race,
terms of
their
racial
longer
co mp arable
schools were still
orientaion.
In
1957,
sch ools out of 540 had ra c i a l l y mixed rolls.
of Edu cation Report
1955
made
for
1957).
te nta tiv e
towards
local Euro pea n c om m u ni ty who
of sta ndards
schools.
if Fijian and
into
A dv iso ry Council
had b r o a de ne d
feared
the
Eur opean
5
schools.
its
Indians
The
domain,
educat ion al
as well
as
ex clu siv e schools
By the
late
behind
matters.
1950s,
other
The
the
lowering
and
4
dec isions
wish
to
were
retain
accept
Education
membership:
d is p r o p o r t i o n a t e l y high number of Euro pe an s
that
of
indignation
gr ud gin gly pr ep a r e d to
Chinese children
atti tud e
Report
Indian children a t t e n d e d their
They were how ever
there were 8 Europeans,
32
integrating
sc ho ol i ng but these were re c e i v e d with great
by the
only
in
(Department
The Lew is -J on es
pr op osals
seen
in
1957
Fijians.
The
typified
the
a
European
su pe rio r
and
for their children.
it was clear that Fij ians
communities
in
col on y
economic
an
investigation
into the causes of this sit ua ti on with
the
mandate
make
(S p a t e ,1959).
The
Council
in
lagging
commissioned
to
Le gi s l a t i v e
the
were
s ug ge st io ns
report
foc ussed
-
118 -
and
recommendations.
almost
en ti r e l y
on
land,
agriculture
and
the
constraining
Fijian cu st om s and traditions.
was that F ij ian s sh ou ld
t r a d i t i o n a l l y ow ned
communal
centres.
Commissioner
ed uca tio n
The
become
land,
main
recomm en da ti on
farmers
on
retaining
villag es
as
while
In his conclusion,
re co g n i z e d
and re gr et te d the
of
independent
( S p a t e , 1959:9).
(Spate)
influences
the
the
importance
lack of time to
look
of
into
E v i de nt ly e du ca t io n was not r e ga rd ed as a critical
it.
factor
in the F i j i a n s ’ econ omi c progress.
A result of the highly
es te em ed
r e p e a t ed
Spate
agr icu lt ur al
Report,
edu cation
was
for Fijians,
in perpetuity.
One result of the e mp ha sis on agric ul tur al
been that many of the r e la t i ve ly small
in the years
were a g r i c u l t u r a l i s t s
ministers,
and
by
senior
agriculture.
di plo mat s
training.
is ap pa ren t
Several
various
had
Fijian
independence
go ve rnment
ministries,
ba ck g r o u n d
with
agr ic ul tu ra l
were
colonial
in
bright yo un g Fij ians e m e rg ed who cou ld cl ea rl y cope
they
in
a
of
when
eduction,
that
number
has
days
te rt iar y
It
have
e d uca ti on
follo win g
per ma ne nt s e c r e t a r i es of
for
a s s u m i n g that Fijians
wo uld h a p p i l y remain as a g r i c u l t u r a l is ts
u n i v e r s i t y grad uat es
calls
ch a n n e l l e d
into
the
co ll ege s of Aus tr al ia and New Zealand.
These
people have s u b s e q u e n t l y been e m p lo ye d
Fiji,
a r e fl ec ti on
that
in many sp heres
it may not have been the
of the t r a i n i n g that mattered,
but the di sc ip li ne
t r ai ni ng per se which was more significant.
-
119 -
in
content
of
the
3. 5
The Decade L e a d i n g to
By
the
1960s,
su bs ta n t i a l l y
the
from
Independence
political
what
it
ag en d a
had
been
p re vi o u s l y when the G o v e r n o r ’s will
positively
Council
towards
1963
of
groups.
and
Ali noted that
i n s t i t ut ion al ize d
(1980:150).
the
1960s.
factor
it.
In
pre pare
e l e ct ed
three
the
and
major
Many British c o lo ni es
independence.
for
c o l o n y ’s
had ga in ed
politics"
independence
from the Uni te d Nat ions to
Within
1965 c o ns tit ut ion al
Fiji,
Indians
talks were held
for s e l f - g o v e r n me nt
r e s ol ve d that
Council
if
and
in
eventual
in
1966.
m aj o r i t y
London
did
Scarr,
come,
gi vi n g
first
"Fijians
sys te m shoud
for an
independent
De spite many r e c ur r in g problems,
a c qu ir ed
by
ce rtain
-
120 -
gear
must
Le gi s l at iv e
indigenous
for the
to
fears
Indians
Fi jians
time.
Br itain ex pl ic i t l y r e c o g n iz ed
t r ai ni ng manpower
had
to
of
in the
itself
a
Po litical
formed and el ec ti on s were held for the
that F i j i ’s educ ati on
sys te m
were
independence.
A d i f f e r e n t a l l o ca ti on of
seats eventuated,
parties were
according
in de pe nd enc e
(1984:170).
slight numerical
time
racial
in dependence while Fi jians wa nt ed to defer
Indian d o m i na ti on and,
leave"
four
acce pte d
There was much a c r im on i ou s debate on the topic
of
Lo oking
World event s he l pe d shape de ve lo p m e n t s dur ing
Fiji
clamouring
the
in
years
Le gi sla tiv e
"Pace con ti nu ed to be an
and Britain was under pr e s s ur e
give
fifty
the
four
n o m i n a t e d members from each of
cha ng ed
was supreme.
self - g ov er nm en t,
c on si s te d from
had
first
1960s
towards
future.
1960,
the
educa tio n
c h ar a c t e r i s t i c s
and
achievements.
Alt hou gh q ua lit y var ied greatly,
had become gra du al l y more standardized.
p ri mar y edu cation had
There was constant pr es sur e
financial
sc hools
were
initiative,
was
having
expan sio n
limitations.
Initially,
1960,
and
go ver nm ent
was
Edu cational
po li c y
with the
incremental
social
po licy
demand,
perm it te d
r e sp on d i n g to social
social
bud ge ta ry
services
and
v o lun ta ry
in
was con sis te nt
model
which,
while
"the exp an si on
of
increases
exten sio n
of
in
e x is ti ng
(Hardiman and M i d g l e y ,1982:19).
The re la ti o n s h i p of mutual
established:
de pe ndence
had
been
firmly
without G r a n t s - i n - a i d the sc hools could
survive,
and
chi ldren
would have had access to education.
wit hout
c le arl y shows that
the
vo lun tar y
sector,
minority.
with
The small
not
very
Table
the di s t r ib ut io n of school
favours Gr an t- ai de d sch ool s
very small
all
increa sin gly
gradual
the
eq ua lly
almost
by
at this time
through
al lo cat ion s
pr ovi sions"
of
effect.
and
ma na ged
control.
the
some
for
established
but by
qu al it y
improved and the output of teachers
from Nasinu T e a c h e r s ’ Co lle ge
const ant
The
the system
few
3.5.1
man age me nt
g ov er nm en t sch oo ls
number of un ai ded
a
pri ma ry
schools re pre sen ts sc hoo ls which had not met the cr i te ri a
of gover nme nt r eg ul a ti on s and does not re pr e s e n t a st rong
private
sector
of
education.
G r a n t s - i n - a i d were e x t e n d e d
1964,
13
st and ard s
sch ools
had
for go ver nm ent
Grants-in-aid
to
been
aid.
Between
secondary
1960,
for s e c o n d a r y schools
effort to halt the rapid expansion,
-
121
-
when
schools,
and
me et in g
the
a p pl ic at io ns
for
ac ce pte d
In
1956
as
were
cl o s e d
as
an
but schools spr ang up
unaided,
opti mis tic
the future.
that grants would be
The b u r g e o n i n g number
of
f or thc om ing
una id ed
in
secondary
sch ools was a wo rry to g ov ern me nt as s t and ar ds were
low:
t ea chers were poo rly q u a l i f i e d and po or ly paid
and
most
p a ssed
the
s tu den ts
were
admitted
without
Sec on da ry Schools Entr anc e
Table 3.5.1
M a na ge me nt
ha v i n g
Examination.
of Schools,
1964.
Primary.
Go ver nme nt
Ai ded
28
6
520
13
24
24
Unaided
Source:
The
Department
immediate
childre n
of Ed uca tio n Report
issue of
insatiable demand
1955 Le w is -Jo nes
1960s
p ri ma ry
up
coping
large
an
numbers
of
The
Report had
in
education,
with
for exp an s io n of s e con da ry education.
1946 roll
an ti c i p a t e d
1960
of
3 , 300
a
gradual
of 530.
in
1960
In
-
Table 3.5.2 shows
in
grew more
the
late
rap idly
further education.
-
122
-
and
and pr edi cte d
pupils.
increasing num ber s of girls
races were see king
there
of s e c o n d a ry educ at ion
se co nd ar y enr ol lm en ts
and
1964
an
in se con dar y en ro l l m e n t s
Fijians,
was
With
there were 5 , 439 se c o n d a r y pupils
times the
for
was
c o nt ro ll ed ex pan sio n
a sec on da ry roll
the
for education.
c o mp l et in g
’upward thrust*
Secondary.
reality
over
the
1950s.
than
of
ten
build
Indian
those
both
of
major
Table 3.5.2
Secondary School Rolls 1946 - 1960
Fijian
Boys
Indian
Girls
Boys
Chinese
Girls
Boys
European
Total
Girls Boys Girls
1946
187
4
203
8
11
1
66
50
530
1955
502
165
1, 104
271
54
6
164
192
2,462
1956
505
168
1,242
408
34
26
145
185
2,713
1957
762
279
1,441
514
56
38
167
223
3,480
1958
961
421
1,571
582
57
18
173
211
3,994
1959
1,044
. 424
2, 195
815
57
57
203
223
5,018
1960
1,042
620
2,299
912
86
71
224
184
5,439
Source: Department of Education Keport for 1960.
Table 3.5.3
Schools and School Enrolments
1960-1969.
No. of Primary
Total Primary
No. of Post-
Schools.
Koll.
Prim. Schools* P.P ro:
Total
1960
534
76,182
52
5,762
1963
564
84,587
57
7,281
1966
586
99,138
60
9,479
1967
594
104,971
64
11,153
1968
600
110,912
66
13,128
1969
608
116,154
77
15,068
* Includes vocational and teacher training institutions.
Sources: Keport of the
1969;
Education
Education for Modern Fiji,
Department
1969.
- 123 -
for
the
Year
Dur i n g
the
1960s,
p r i ma ry
e n ro llm ent s
increased
si g n if ic an t l y and se co nd a r y en ro llm ent s almost tr eb le d as
shown
in Table
increased by
3.5.3.
of
in dicatin g the shift
s ec on da ry education.
Desp it e
co m p a r a t i v e l y
se co nd a ry school,
increasing.
number
p r im ar y
schools
12% du ri ng this period and s e c o n d a r y schools
increased by 32%
education,
The
In
the expa ns ion
few
ch ildren
of
s e c o n d a ry
were
re a c h i n g
was
gr ad ua ll y
a l t ho ug h the pr op ortion
1960,
was 7.5% of the
in emp hasis towards
for example,
pri ma ry
increased thro ug ho ut
One reason
for the
Secondary
Schools
roll
the
and
post-primary
the
the decade until
increase
the
it was
roll
pr o p o r t i on
13% in
1969.
lay with the pass rate of the
Ent ra n c e
Ex am in at io n
increased ma r k e d l y d u r in g the
1960s,
which
(See
itself
Table
5.2.3)
al though children who did not pass the Se co nd ar y Ent rance
ex am ina tio n were being a d m i t t ed
into
un ai ded
se co nd ar y
schoo I s .
The deman d
for educ at io n
was not the same
ethnic groups as the d i s a g g r e g a t e d figures
show.
Although
Indians were
maj or it y
in the po pu la ti on as a whole,
the number of
c o mp ar ed
to
the colony.
the
Indians att en di ng
Fijians.
significant,
in
e s pe ci al ly
The
Table 3 . 5 . 4 also
es p e c i a l l y males,
were
than
numerical
there were
almost
s e c on da ry
school
of
this
are
for the uneasy race r e lat io ns
The s e c o n da ry school
1980s.
major
school
slight
implications
students
wo ul d be the pr of es s i o n a l s of the
of the
the
in Table 3 . 5 . 4
Fewer Fijians were re ac h i n g sec on da ry
Indians.
double
in
-
1970s and
indicates
stay ing
124 -
of
at
the
the
that
school
of
1960s
leaders
Indians,
longer
and
g ai ni ng q u a l i f i ca ti o ns
for higher
the
was
community.
Fiji
independence and was
In terms of gender,
status
only
two
years
in theory pr ep ar in g
by
e m p l oy me nt
from
her
for that goal.
1968 only m a rg i n a l l y
fewer
girls
than boys of both major races were a t t e n d i n g school.
c o m pa re s very f av ou rab ly with other d e v e l o p i n g
where
female
ed uca tio n
se co nd a ry education,
girls*
for
has
at te n da nc e s are more sh arply
Indians.
The Fijian girls*
Indian girls
cultural
attitudes.
on the s it uation
very
1936,
few
was
These
e nr ol lm en t
a
was
figure
re fl ec t i o n
figures show a vast
for example,
in parti cu la r a t te n d e d
only
12% of
Fijian girls between 5 and
Indian girls
of
improvement
in the earlier part of the c e n tu ry
Indian girls
and
es p e c i a l l y
comparable
was
In
boys’
defined,
s e co nd ar y
This
co un t r i e s
bet ween
whereas the
61%.
This
considerably.
the di ff e r e n c es
79% that of Fijian males,
for
lagged
in
when
school.
and
58%
15 years old a tt en de d
In
of
school.
( M a y h e w , 1936).
The
ex am i n at i o n
sys te m
in
e x a m i n a t i o n s at Forms Four,
wa stage rate as shown
Five and Six,
in Table 3.5.5.
suf f e r e d from this process,
the Sixth Form
Clearly
(at
s e co nd ar y
education.
ca us ed
Al though
least the twelfth year of
for high
with
a
high
both
races
fewer Fijians r e m a i n e d
Indians were s t a y i n g at school
qualifications
sch ools
status
The so c i o - p o l i t i c a l
-
schooling).
longer and ga ining
em pl oy m en t
or
implications of
obvious.
125 -
until
ter ti ary
this
are
Table 3.5.4
Race.
Racial Breakdown of Pupils Attending School.1968
Primary.
Post-primary.
Boys
Girls
Boys
Fijians
23,767
21,637
2,276
Indians
30,823
27,758
1,413
Total.
Grand
Boys
Girls
1,802
26,043
23,439
49,484
4,709
2,867
35,532
30,625
66,127
1,532
282
245
1,695
1,777
3,472
581
581
209
164
790
745
1,535
1.453
1.367
313
261
1.766
1.628
3.394
Total
58,037
52,875
7,789
5,339
65,826
58,214
124,040
Source:
Education for Hodern Fiji,
European
Chinese
Others
Table
3.5.5
Secondary
Girls
Total.
1969.
Enrolments
1969.
Indians
Fij ians
Form III
1,626
2,860
Form IV
1,638
3, 141
Form V
573
1,917
Form VI
127
412
Source: Report of the Education Department for the Year 1969.
Table 3.5.6
Proportion of Children aged 6-13 years in School
Indians
Others
86. IX
74.3%
91.1%
79.9%
1966
86.5%
79.5%
87.2%
82.7%
1967
86.8%
80.9%
87.4%
83.6%
1968
88. 7%
82.3%
83.3%
64.8%
Year
Fij ians
1963
Source: Education for Hodern Fiji,
1969.
- 126 -
Total
Table 3 . 5 . 6
imbalance
re veals
slight
in education.
children aged 6
c o m p a r e d to
reflects
a
to
A
13
pa radox
higher
y ears
in
the
ethnic
of
Fijian
p r i ma ry
school
pr o p o r t i on
a t t en de d
Indian childr en of the same age
the
long
h i s t o ry
of
prim ary
group.
e d uca ti on
Fijians - for well over a cen tu ry there had been
schools
in most Fijian vil la ge s
al though not compulsory,
and
school
mentioned,
Indians before
1925 when G r a n t s - i n - a i d
involvement
for
primary
attendance,
had become the e s t a b l i s h e d norm.
As p r e v i o u s l y
thus their
This
there
in
were
few
schools
were
ed ucation
was
for
introduced,
comparatively
recent.
C o m p a r i n g Tables 3 . 5 . 5 and 3.5.6,
it appears
that Fijians
were content with p r i ma ry sc ho o l in g and did not have
drive to push
were still
armed
for
various av enues
forces,
graduates.
further education.
which
of
were
open
areas and the
largely rural
on wid ely sc at te re d
lived
1966 census,
in rural
areas)
sec on da ry school
cos tly
61% of
The
there
no tably
the
pr i m a r y
school
for
Fijians*
limited
The r e l a t i v e l y
located
Fijians,
islands,
1960s
to
in se c o n d a r y education.
s ec on da ry schools were m os tl y
(At the
employment,
There are other reasons
par ti ci pa ti on
In the
the
in
few
or
near
urban
many of
whom
lived
had very r e s t r i c t e d
Indians and
few chi ldren
76%
of
access.
Fijians
who q u a li fi ed
had to a tt en d bo ard ing school
for
which
was
itself di s c r i m i n a t e d against
the
for the families concerned.
The G r a nt -i n- ai d sys tem
-
127 -
poor,
esp ec ia ll y
Fi jians were
to 0 . 2 % of
and
was
poor*
the
1966,
Ce ns us
str ug gle
in their c o m m u n i t y - r un
little
possibility
least ef fective ed uc at io na l
to
of
of
building
without cash
the
schools
incomes.
difficulty
and
Fisk
of
is greatest tend to have the
facilities
for that
purpose,
whilst those al re ad y e f f e c t i v e l y c o m m e r c i a l i z e d have
best"
of
maintain
p r im ar y
"...these areas where the need and
entry to the ad v a nc e d sector
4 5 *2%
ag ri cu lt ur e com pared
1966
Fi jians had to
m a i n t a i n i n g s e c o n d a r y sch ools
noted,
In
in sub si st en ce
(Report on
Rural
stan da rd s
there
rural
involved
Indians
Population).
minimal
the
the
(1970:55).
Despite
the huge
co nc ur r e n t
increases
increase
in number of
Report of the Ed uc ation
commented,
"the
o ut st r i p p e d
teachers"
of
for
school
c ap a c i t y
to
This r e s u l t e d
there
te achers
D e p ar tm en t
growth
F i j i ’s
(p.5).
in enrollments,
trained.
no
The
the
Year
1969
rolls
has
far
train
the
n e ces sa ry
in the e m p l o y m e n t
un tr ai n ed tea ch er s and 400 ex pat ria te
was
tea ch er s
of
in
750
1969
alone.
S ec o n d a r y c ur ri c ul a were alm ost
tota lly
external
in cr ea si ng ly seen as the
exa mi na ti o ns
which were
gea re d
towards
major obj ective of education.
Table 3 . 5 . 7
illustrates
e x a mi na ti on s
a
of
t hro ugh out the
levels.
external
were
used
1960s,
as
with
pr ocess
high
It also shows the ra pi dl y
ex ami nat ion
ca nd id at es
failure
qualifications
for all of the e x a m i n a t i o n s
-
128 -
as
elimination
rates
inc reasing
the
how
at
all
dem and
for
number
inc reased by
of
many
times.
The ex ami n at io n s at upper sec on da ry
the highest proportional
was
ind icative
following.
of
increases
the
of
direc tio n
and Fiji Junior)
that
(Secondary
re vi sed cu rr ic ul a and
stu den ts at higher
standards,
the
Until
then,
the
The Derrick Technical
vocational
Uni ve rs it y
regional
with the
of
and technical
the
university,
the
tr ai nin g
d e s p er at el y needed.
South
Fiji
of
more
Pacific
in
had been
op en e d
overseas.
in
In
opened.
of
1963
to
1968
the
Alth oug h
has always d o m i na te d
a
in numbers
A major role of the un iv er s i t y was
of
sec on da ry
teachers,
The e s t a bl is hm en t of
the
uni ver si ty
its
the
ex ce pti ons
ethnic
the
new
university.
st ud ent s
had
been
immediacy and political
-
129 -
who
were
Un iv er si ty
d i s p a ri ti es
in
s u ff ic ie nt ly
The
t e rt ia ry edu cation had pr ev io u s l y been eas il y
which re mo ved
of
po st -s ec on da ry
per for man ce as few Fijians were
q u a l i f i e d to enter
since all
period,
abs or b
education.
of the South Pacific a c c e n t u a t e d
educational
the
became ev ident
notable
Inst itute was
of student s attending.
to be
ma jo rit y
and pri mary teache r training,
provide
in
levels.
ed uca tio n and training,
medical
was
Entrance
use
increased cap ac it y to
The dem an d for po s t - s e c o n d a r y ed uc ation
1960s.
which
educ at io n
improved tow ards the end of the
r ef le c t i n g better t ea c h i n g
shoued
ca nd id a t e s
Table 3 . 5.7 also shows that pass rates
e x am in at i on s based on Fiji c u r ri cu la
the
levels
sent
issue
of
ov er lo ok ed
overseas
visibility.
Table 3.5.7
Examination Results
Secondary
Schools
Entrance .
1961-1969.
Fiji Junior
Certi ficate.
Cambridge and
Neu Zealand
School Cert.
N.Z.
University
Entrance.
Sat
Pass
Sat
Pass
Sat
Pass
Year
Sat
Pass
1961
3012
24X
1572
33%
499
49%
no
50%
1962
3393
24%
1704
29%
520
50%
114
56%
1963
3360
32%
1653
42%
633
61%
122
43%
1964
4084
30%
1912
39%
722
68%
124
42%
1965
4861
39%
2051
41%
794
68%
145
58%
1966
5719
40%
2488
55%
934
66%
216
51%
1967
6488
53%
3315
55%
1220
51%
374
37%
1968
7256
51%
3960
53%
1622
52%
455
35%
1969
8300
49%
4965
64%
2395
42%
665
36%
Report
of
Sources: Education for Modern Fiji,
1969;
Education Department for the Year 1969.
The external examinations
taken
in
upper
the
secondary school
changed in the 1960s from the Cambridge Overseas examinations
to New Zealand School Certificate and Neu Zealand
University
Entrance.
system
(Chapter 5.2 explains
the
Fiji in more detail).
- 130 -
examination
in
The
rapi d
q ua nt it a t i v e
exp an si on
of
ed uc a t io n
atte nti on to the need to r evise the curriculum.
to sta nda rdi ze the
cu rr i c u l u m
there had been c o mp la in ts of
had
been
Attempts
sporadic,
"the ho peless
the
basis
( M a n g u b h a i ,1984:188).
In
of
a
1968,
a C u rr ic ul u m D ev el o pm en t Unit,
r e vi si n g
curricula
and
s up po r t i n g texts
for
junior s e co nd ar y
(Forms
Educa ti on De pa r tm en t
of
both
Neu
Zealand
of
written
syllabus"
the Gov er nm en t es ta bli she d
"charged with the task
pr od uc in g
pri mary
1-4)
and
inadequacy
a 20 year old s yl la bus put out by the government,
in Eng lish on
dreu
the
for the Year
nec essary
(Classes
schools
De ve lo pm en t U n i t ’s work c o n t i n u ed well
1-6)
and
of
the
(Report
1969:5).
of
The Cu r r i c u l u m
after
independence
and c u r ri cu l a were r ap id l y standardized.
The rapid growth of the school
on the De pa rt men t
need
for
issues
sys tem put
much
of Ed uca ti on and there was
long term planning.
However,
led to cr isis planning.
As
the
pressure
a
definite
immediacies
W hi te he ad
"they seemed forever to be re so rt in g to ad
of
commented:
hoc
mea sures
and e x pe di en c ie s to tide them through en dless em er g e n c i es
brought about by a
lack of trai ned
school
and
buil din gs
financial
teachers,
resources,
inadequate
and
the
vagarie s of pri vate e n te rp ri se on which they de pe n d e d
the est ab li sh me nt
The need to assess
of schools"
for
(1981:97).
the s ys te m and
lead to the a pp oi nt m en t of a Royal
plan
for
Co mm is s i o n
the
in
future
1968.
Its findings were si gn i f i c a n t as they formed the basis of
educational
d ev el o pm en t
in
the
-
131 -
po st -i nd e p e n d e n c e
era.
A pp oi n t i n g a Royal
document*
Com mi ss i on
on the eve of
independence
other British colonies.
where
e d uca ti on
po li ci es were
political
was
largely
fo rmu la ted
felt
influence
The
been
end
of
any
that
New
in
the
era
that
c o ns id e r a t i o n
Commissioners
of
consisted
include any new
Z e al an d
done
in
one Au st r al i a n and one Malaysian.
c on s c i o u s de cision not to
it was
’res po ns ib le
no n- pol it ic al
without
The
a
had
It de no ted the
expediencies.
four Britons,
to draw up
It was
Zealanders
already
had
of
too
a
as
much
in F i j i ’s educat ion.
Comm is si on
ex p r e s s e d
examination-oriented
shortages*
teachers,
found
in
concern
curricula
many
lack of books,
at
and
the
the
schools:
narrow,
’q u a l i t a t i v e
poo rl y
tr ai ned
laboratories and equipment.
c r i t i c i s e d the G r a n t - i n - a i d system,
sa y in g that
They
the
"low
q u a l i t y of schools
in the de p r i v e d areas has te n d e d to be
se lf -p er p e t u a t i n g "
(Education
The Commi ss io n made 81
areas:
recommendations
the qu ality and nu mber
between
ge og raphical
for Modern Fiji,
and
of
in
three
teachers,
racial
1969:44).
major
disparities
gr oups
and
the
curriculum.
One of the spe ci fi c ma n d a t e s of the Royal
to
look
into the
Fijians*.
’special
proble ms of
This topic was e x a m i n e d
Commission
the
in detail
education
and
identified.
found
hindered
education.
geographic
The
isolation
De p a r t m e n t
lacked
su pe r v i s e and offer pr ofe ssi on al
-
the
support,
132 -
of
various
factors ha mp e r i n g Fijian e d uc at ion were
that
was
They
Fijian
capacity
to
especially
to
teac her s
in isolated
island and rural schools*
Com mi ss io n re po rt e d that a bout
130 Fijian
only be reached by sea and the Edu cation
only one small and
rural
inadequate vessel.
pov erty of these
of a low standard.
ne c e s s i t a t i n g
multiple-class
great tea ch i ng skill,
training.
schools
The
few
ch i l d r e n
school,
cost
was
s u g g es te d were
often
the
in rural
examinations,
the
these sch ool s were
were
us ua ll y
small,
re quired
lacking due to
inadequate
pa ss ed
the
S e con da ry
q u al i f y i n g
for
seco nd ary
prohibitive.
e s t a b l i sh me nt
areas,
in
pol icy res er vi ng 50% of
of
of
rural
areas
all
tertiary
it came to be known,
sol ution
to
was
a
a
The
it
and
pre-school
s c h o la rs hi p
sc ho la r sh ip s
*the
between Fijians and other races and
sec on da ry
c u rr ic ul a
and
visible
cl os ing
measures
junior
localisation
Fijians and 50% for all other races.
ap p e a l l i n g
Special
improvement of teacher training,
and adult edu cation
as
with
had
invariably had to a t t e nd b o ard in g schools and the
factor
scho ols
could
This
who
Scho ols Ent rance Examination,
schools
Depar tme nt
teaching.
which was
Royal
Co mb i n e d
iso lated areas,
Rural
The
*50/50
and
for
policy*
p o li ti ca ll y
ed uca tio n
was
gap*
immediately
adopted.
The colonial
in
go ver nme nt han de d over a sys te m of edu cation
1970 which was ex p a n d i n g rapidly,
s ec o n d a r y
level,
with no signs
of
especially
abating.
and there were plans to bu il d a second teachers*
Despite the many pr oblems
future of education
in
the
underway,
train ing
system,
was seen with o p t i m i s m and much
-
133 -
the
Q u a l it at iv e
improvements such as cu r r i c u l u m r e va mp in g were
college.
at
the
hope
uas v e s t e d
and
in it! to r e c t i f y nanpouer shortages,
integrate the races,
and to promote
the
to unify
social
and
e c o n o m i c de ve lop me nt of Fiji.
The
imbalance
for the
as
in ed uca tio na l
economic,
it ga in ed
social
and political
independence
p r o v e d to be the pas sport
an d
the
pr ofe ssi on s
conscious
stakes.
of their
Fo rging
multi-racial
a ch iev em en t had
in
1970.
for
and
Indians to
in
edu cation
c o u nt ry was to
be
a
had
enter
were
position
re ali s ti c
s t a b i li ty of
Ed uc at io n
Fijians
inferior
implications
indeed
commerce
increasingly
the
education
p o lic ie s
major
Fiji
for
ch all eng e
a
for
indepe nd ent Fiji.
Footnotes.
(1)
Fisk
describe
(1970)
the
co in e d the
hi ghl y
p r a c t i c e d by Fijians.
affluence
term
’s u bs ist enc e a f f l u e n c e ’
pr o d u ct iv e
He
tra dit ion al
maintained
that
prov ide d such a secure social
F i j i a n s that m ot iv ati on
to change this
-
134 -
this
to
ag ri culture
subsistence
and eco no mic
base
lifestyle was weak.
for
C H A P T E R FOU R
POST-INDEPENDENCE EDUCATION
At
in
Ind epe nd en ce
1970,
Fiji
became
the C o m m o n w e a l t h and ad o p t e d
been d ra wn
a
a
IN FIJI
Do minion
Co ns ti t u t i o n
which
in Fiji
and the
p r o v i d e d for a bicameral
British
government.
ratio of pa r l i a m e n t a r y seats:
8 of other
races.
22 Fijians,
leaders of
the
for
who,
mi n o r i t y
and
econ om ic
Elections
that took
in
their
marginality,
place
in
1972,
upper
with
Council
indigenous
land
position
and
and
of
Ele ct or s
rights
numerical
threatened.
1977 and
1982 ret ur ned
(those ne ither Fijians nor
political
Fiji
example
itself on be i n g an
of
felt
This c r e a t e d an e n v i r on m en t of
prided
a
Fijians.
a p a rl ia m en t d om in a te d by an alliance between Fijians
General
It
fixed
an
mem bers
was drawn up to protect the
Fij ia ns
a
Indians
be ing nomi ne es of the Great
traditional
Legislation
22
There was also provision
house or Senate c o n s i s t i n g of no mi n a te d
large pr op or t i o n
of
W e st min ste r sy st em of government
with a c o m p l e x vo ti n g sy st e m which would ensure
of the
had
up after c on su l t a t i o n with r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s
all c o m m u n i t i e s
Chiefs,
uithin
and
I n d i a n s ) . (1)
st ab il it y
of
and
multi -r ac ia l
peace and harmony.
In
1987 however,
came to power and
a Coa li ti on
it soon
u n a c c e p t a b l e to many
tak ing
office,
o v er th ro wn
the
backed
Ma jo r- Ge ne ra l
by
became apparent that
indigenous Fijians.
ne wly
elec ted
by a mil it ar y coup.
ensure political
largely
su p r e m a c y
-
this
was
Four weeks after
go ver nme nt
was
The aim of the c ou p was to
for Fijians.
R a b u k a ?s t a t e d :
Indians
"The
135 -
The coup
co un try
would
leader,
never
again
see
a
po pu lation"
G ove rn men t
(Observer
do mi na te d
17/5/87).
re p r e s e n t a t i v e of the Queen,
the coup,
The
political
political
control
and
Indians,
After some
solution
leadership of
for
the
an
interim
aim of the
second coup was to
the
de cl ar ed Fiji
Fijian
second
a republic.
loss of Com mo nw e al th
domin anc e
politcal
the
the
under
the
this
plan
took
previous
place,
coup.
aims
supremacy.
the
as the
indigenous
The
of
Some
mi lit ary
a
which
the
two
go ve rnment
One c on seq ue nce of this
membership,
of
g ov er nm en t
Before
fulfil
coup,
birth.
wrangling,
a second coup
same army off icer as the
to gu ar antee
dema nd in g
form ul at ed
Gov ernor-General.
implemented however,
a
har mo ny was shattered.
led by the
racial
after
in the co un try of their
Indian pa rt i c i p a t i o n was
weeks after
Fij ia ns
four months of bitter political
com pr o m i s e
first:
control
who run the eco no my of the
F i j i ’s much va u n t e d multi-r aci al
could be
Indian
Governor-General,
took nominal
solution:
de ma n di ng rights
included
the
with the a c k no w l e d g e d pr oblem of wo rking out
c o m p ro mi se
country,
by
overt
was
wish
a
for
p o pul at ion
was
un acc ep ta bl e to the Commonwealth.
In December
months,
1987,
after
the mil it ar y go ver nm ent
ha nde d the
the April
ap po in te d
a
lead
Fiji
1987 elec tio n
Cabinet
indigeneous Fijians.
which
Four
was
was
milit ary
-
power
for
some
two
a p po in te d a Pr esi den t and
reins of go ver nme nt to
prime min ister who had
until
ho lding
136 -
ci vilian
for
rulers.
seven tee n
re-instated,
com po se d
officers,
The
years
and
mos tly
he
of
including
coup
leader
Major-General
formed Cabinet,
an
Rabuka,
were
in
the
newly
indication of the o n g o i n g strength and
influence of the military.
The most
immediate task
the new government was,
a c c o r di ng to the
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara,
to re bu ild the n a t i o n s ’s economic
strength.
"This
stability,
based on peace
c o m m un it ie s
Times,
means
cr ea t i n g
and
Prime
facing
an
en vi ron men t
goodwill
am ong
The ef fects
of the political
on the co untry and p a r t i c u l a r l y on e d uc at io n
more cl os el y
in Chapter
4. 1
Post
After
independence
initiated
in
Royal
Commission
planning.
1982;
1984;
of tasks
all
the
however,
for
Mangubhai
Indicative of the respect
that
Report
and
on Education
of
example
1984;
C o m m i s s i o n ’s
unlike
by
the
colonial
-
137 -
1969
work
on
quoted
Co k a n a s i g a
Whitehead
is
the
the
1981.
C o k a n a s i g a ’s
and
imposing
lies
in
in
the
a
set
(1982:41).
Not
in F i j i ’s re co mm endations,
recommendations
the
were
been
that F i j i ’s future
which must so me ho w be attended"
as
dire ct iv es
it has
for the Report
is,
new
specifically
"...one thought was very real
C om mi ss io n
radically
Commission,
The
in Fiji
extensively,
e v e r y o n e ’s mind,
are examined
has been r e g ar de d as a seminal
and d i sc us se d
comment:
instability
Rather
1960s,
1969 Royal
the subject of education
La sa qa
there were no
late
rec o m m e n d a t i o n s of the
(Fiji
Policy.
implemented.
the
basis of educational
Edu ca ti on
1970,
immediately
the
4.4.
Independence
in
of
all
that make up our richly va ried nation"
9/12/87).
poli ci es
Minister
were
adopted
government,
the
govern me nt of
political
independent Fiji
expediency.
to
The C om mis si on
r e c o m m e n d e d co n t a i ni n g the
system,
had
take
had,
expansion
of
increasing
facilities.
that
ad mi ni st ra ti on
"The British colonial
the
education
but
this
electorate,
far more
demand
could afford to
edu cational
it was not di r e c t l y an s we ra bl e
but a p op ul a rl y el ec ted gover nme nt
sensitive
to
the
force
was
Whi te he ad obs erved
a r e l a t i v e l y cau tio us approach t o wa rd s
de v e lo pm en t because
of
example,
popular
for an expa ns io n of school
adopt
for
to prevent an er osion of quality,
c o n t r a d i c t o r y to the r a p i d l y
account
of
to the
had to
public
be
opinion"
( 1986:4).
The
1960s had
seen
a
es p e c i a l l y secondary,
sh a r p
indicates.
the decline
in birth rate,
although
S e c on d a r y
approximately
150%,
with
boys by
The expa nsi on
largely
educational
1972:
"...the
after
increased
of s e co nd ar y ed uc ation
u n p l an ne d
and
cau se d
Delailomaloma,
in the M i ni st ry of
they sp ring up wherever
impact
people
children
to have"
type
of
has
can
put
as
ex ac e r b a t i n g
-
138 -
said
in
in
an
extent
that
together
four
without
education
for
Chief
r e s ul te d
they
(in C o k a n a s i g a ;1982:29).
was wi dely re c o g n iz e d
a
Ed uc ation
walls and gather a group of children,
what
by
in the
problems
u n c o n t r o l l e d growth of these schools to the
to
as
the number of girls o u t n u m b e r i n g
force of this
idea as
1970
the number of schools
e n ro llm ent s
administrators.
Edu ca ti on Officer
enrollments,
Pr imary e n r o ll me nt s dro ppe d due to
increased slightly.
1970s was
in
and this es ca l a t e d
Table 4.1.1
1981.
increase
any
clear
want
these
Local
the
politics
pr ob lem
of
duplication*
as ©very c om m un it y wanted not only
prim ary school,
but
Cl e ar ly though,
many ch ild ren
se con dar y school.
now
In
a
s e co nd ar y
were
school
still
1981 the total
its
as
not
own
well.
reaching
s e c on da ry enrollments
were only some 40% of the p r im ar y enrollments.
The ma jo ri ty of schools have
Table 4.1.2 shows,
rem ai ned p r i v a t e l y
receiving
Gr a n t s - i n - a i d
run,
and
as
coming
di rec tly under the M in is tr y of E d u c a t i o n ’s cur ri cu lu m and
policy prescriptions.
t r ai ni ng
The
fact
that
excluding
i n s t i t u t i o n s , 97% of schools
and mana ged by n o n -g ov er nm en t
significance.
financial
Although
bodies
in Fiji
is of
the gover nm ent
assis tan ce to no n- go ve rn me nt
d e c i s io n - ma ki ng power
for
the
M i n is tr y
lack of Mi n is tr y control
-
not
edu cation
139 -
ultimate
lies
Education.
in the Fiji
ranging
sc hools
of
to many anomalies
schools,
owned
substantial
schools,
the manag em ent
This
the
individual
are
wide
gives
teacher
has
given
system.
with
of
rise
Table 4. 1. 1
Number of Schools and Enrolments 1971-1984
(a) Primary
Number enrolled
Number of schools
1972
628
127,908
1981
656
116,318
1984
665
123,340
Cb) Secondary
Number of schools
Number enrolled
Boys
Girls
Total
1971
73
9,777
8,317
18,094
1981
136
22,693
23,150
45,843
1984
139
21,521
21,756
43,277
Sources:
Ministry of Education Annual Reports for the
Years
1981 and 1984.
Table
4.1.2
Types
of
Educational
Institutions
a
Controlling Authorities,
1986.
Controlling Authority
Government
Non-government.
Total
Pr imary
14
658
672
Secondary
11
129
140
Tech/vocat ional
3
37
40
Special schools
-
7
7
Teacher training
1
2
3
Source: Ministry of Education Annual Report for the Yi
- 140 -
and
The G r a n t -i n- ai d sy stem has
scho ol i n g to arise which
the country.
Although
same cu rr ic ul a
and
enormous amount
numerou s
also
is far from
d i v e r s i ty
various
H i n du i sm
parts
of
and
the
among
follow
there
the
is
an
All
reli gi ons
have
of
throughout
schools.
Muslim,
country.
system
in Fiji
guidelines,
branches of the three main
Christianity,
a
un iform
all the schools
Min is tr y
of
e n a bl ed
in
the
Fiji;
schools
Many
in
schools
are
c h a r a c t e r i z e d by a d o mi na nc e of a part ic ul ar ethnic group
or cultural
size.
size
In
ethos.
1986,
Schools vary gre atly with
location and
the rolls of seco nda ry schools
from 27 to
1,121.
(See Appe ndi x Three).
in
Schools
in
rural
areas tend to be
smaller
and
than
those
areas.
The Gr an t - i n - a i d
in
urban
less
varie d
w e l l - e q ui pp ed
system
stipu lat es that schools must provide a certain proportion
of their capital
and recu rr ent
thus
schools
with a more affluent c l ie nt ele are more able
to
provide
favourable
larger
facilities.
urban
schools.
Sc hools
they
produce,
based
e xa m in at io n
The
results.
1969 Royal
school
This tends to
favour
also differ wi de ly
in the
on
used
the
c o mmo nl y
from
r e co mm en de d
the
8
a
year
secondary,
with 2 years at a senior college
practical
level.
p r ima ry /4
The aim was for
located mai nly
orientation.
index
of
This
-
year
year
junior
junior se co ndary
rural areas and to
was
seen p a r t i c u l a r l y
141 -
the
for those who
in
means of as si s ti ng Fijian education.
in
primary/4
to a system of 6 year
schools to be
results
change
secondary,
pro ce ed ed to that
and
(See App en dix Four).
C o m m is si on
st ructure
expenditure,
Lin ke d
have a
as
clos ely
a
to
these plans*
external
uas the pr o p o s e d
examinations.
The
est ab li s h m e n t of junior
du ring the
1970s,
restructuring
policy
sec on da ry
of
of
primary
e n c o u ra gi ng
sch ools
the
uas
pursued
alt ho ug h es ta b l i s h e d s e c o n d a r y
schools
uere re luctant to change their structure.
By the
late
1970s however,
had adde d Forms 5 and 6,
schools.
Co n v e r t i n g
se co nd ar y schools
Education.
thus
junior
is now
secon dar y
aim
The present s it ua ti on
ret ai ne d the 8 year
The school
The
(This
fact
su c c e s s f u l l y
of
some
Similarly,
some
are
taken
is e xp la in ed
large
as
a
more
sec ondary
at
Form
extent
p r i ma ry
fully
3.
what
leaving
in
Chapter
government
was
implement
its
policy
changing
school
crux
F i j i ’s
of
the
unable
of
to
the G r a n t - i n - a i d sy s t e m has r e su lt ed
havin g
e n co ur ag e school
only
indirect
m a n a g e m en t s
force them.
to
control.
change
Hindson noted
from the public p r e v e n t e d the
It
in
can
their
policies,
that
"Pressures
restructuring
from
being
and doubts of parents and te a c h e r s conce rn in g
the n o n - ac ad em ic ed uc a t i on
wo rked
M i ni st ry
the
the Go ve rnment
successful,
full
that
e du ca ti on system:
it cannot
to
is thus very mixed:
st ru cture e x e m p li fie s a p r ob le m at
but
the
1, while others start
e x a m in at io ns
secondary
schools
of
st ru cture de te rm i n e s to a
examination.
full
schools
after 6 years while others have
system.
schools start at Form
5.2).
b e co mi ng
the
pri ma ry schools t er mi na te
external
many junior s e c o n d a r y
against
and the role
the
junior
of
ex am in at io ns
secondary
school
c o n c e p t ...While go v e r n m en t rh etoric thr ou gh ou t the decade
co nt i n u e d to
lay stress
on the need to control
-
142 -
growth,
to
institute a more practical
rural
c ur ric ul um and to
junior seco nda ry school,
bodies went their own way"
Teacher education
C om mi ss io n
and
(H i n d s o n ,1985:143).
had been a pri ority of the
it was the
focus of the
1971-1975.
enrollments,
much
there was
ex pan ded
With
sector
e v e r - i n c r e a s in g
the
educ at io n
was
qua lity
of
Nas inu T e a c h e r s ’ College was re st ru c t u r e d
and
way
of
was
and
ra is in g
in the early
South Pacific
Catholic
Royal
increase
a
education.
1969
e d uc at io n
pressure
number of tra ine d teachers,
as
the
no n- go ver nme nt co ntr oll ing
of D e v e lo pm en t Plan VI,
seen
assist
1970s,
and Seventh
Day
co nti nu ed to train small
the
tr ai nin g
familiarize
teachers with
overall
Un iv er si ty
sec ondary
Adventist
n um bers
In-service
teacher
and the
tr ain ing
was
to
teachers.
Teachers’
for their
introduced,
new
of
own
the
Roman
Colleges
schools.
e s pe ci al ly
cu rri cul a
that
had
to
been
developed.
Educa tio n
became
issue
in the
1975
the
Gove rnm ent
poor
Indian
The
1970s,
then
increas ing ly
important
fr equ ent ly with racial
Min ister
would no
Indian
assi sta nce
an
of
Education
longer sub sidize
children,
for Fijians.
but
political
overtones.
de ci de d
the school
would
reserve
fees
all
There were out ra ge d pro tests
leaders and ev e n t u a l l y the decision
was
In
that
of
its
from
reversed.
fact that such an o v e rt ly di s c r i m i n a t i n g policy could
emerge at all
r e p r es en te d the wish
of
attempt to hold back the progress of
Fijians to
’catch
u p ’.
In
-
the
143 -
many
Fijians
to
Indians and to allow
1977
general
election
campaign,
education
uas
dif f e r e n t
entry marks
a
for
major
issue.
The
Fijians
and
Indians
Un i v e r s i t y of the South Pacific
a n x i e t y to
Indians.
caused much
(2) Although the
Party j u s t ified the p o l i c y on the
were
grounds
Indians saw
the
E n d o r s i n g the high
placed on education,
Indian
co m m u n i t y
opportunity,
e ducation"
Ali
in
all
often
late
costs,
relative
1970s there
to
concern
their
them
of
previous
that Indians
of
the
f o u nded on
the
a c q uire
at
the
of education.
and compares
Western
increasing
Table
it
and health,
come to be p e r c e i v e d as universal
to
that of
better education,
fundamental
of both the dema n d
and also of the political
educat i o n .
-
144 -
per
rights.
between
for
the
the
capita
both of which
increased e x p e n d i t u r e on e d u cation
1975 is indicative
4.1.3
e x p e n d i t u r e in
Table 4 . 1 . 4 shows expe n d i t u r e
of p o p u lation on edu c a t i o n
and
make
life-chances
is
of educational
g o v e r n m e n t ’s budgets,
sector.
was
and absolute,
shows the p r o p ortion
g r e atly
Fijians
(1980:203).
By the
health
Alliance
"The pr o g r e s s
spheres
self-made,
and
to
stake
noted that
anguish
in the country,
their c h i ldren n a r r o w i n g and the door to
success closing.
the
that
Indians as an attempt
s e c o n d - c l a s s citizens.
of
at
governing
in a se v e r e l y d i s a d v a n t a g e d position
it was p e r c e i v e d by
issue
more
had
The
1964
and
v i s i b i l i t y of
Table 4*1.3
E d u c ation
and Health
O p e r a t i n g Budget,
1964
in Fiji
1964 -
1968
G o v e r n m e n t ’s
1978.
(Percent)
1974
1978
E du c a t i o n
14.9%
15.8%
22.2%
25.0%
H ealth
12.3%
10.0%
10.2%
8.8%
Table 4.1.4
G o v e rnment
Expenditure
on
Education
Health Per H ead of Population.
1964
($Fiji)
1968
1975
E du c a t i o n
3.5
6.7
45.1
Health
3.6
4.5
15.4
S o u r c e : ( F o r both Tables 4 . 1 . 3 and 4.1.4)
P a r l i a m e n t a r y Paper Number 24 of
Fiji
expenditure
was
of the budget
salaries
the p r o p o r t i o n
increased
from 74%
in the
1970s,
(Parliament of F i j i ,1984:1376).
This was
powerful
teachers*
were
demands.
The Minister of E d u c ation
real
issue
unions
conce r n s
a
who
Government,
1978.
While the share of g o v e r n m e n t
increasing,
better
on
edu c a t i o n
devoted
to 85%
in
largely
m i l itant
stat e d
in
in
1984
distribution
“...the
of
of the
g o ing
redressed,
will
in
personal
emoluments
to
their
for e d u c a t i o n ...the d i s p r o p o r t i o n of
to
to
1984.
due
r e s ources voted
budget
and
must
the
85%
be
without a r e m e d y here the q u a l i t y of education
the
end
F i j i ,1984:1380).
The
be
threatened"
issue was not however
it was simply not viable
to do so.
A
in
1978
-
145 -
committee
(Parliament
appointed
to
redressed
review
of
as
government
e x p e n d i t u r e on education,
especially tertiary
found that te r t i a r y edu c a t i o n cost
per head,
was
some
80
times
per
the
e x p e n d i t u r e on e d u c a t i o n and,
The
(Government of Fiji,
1970s
were
a
time
of
exchange
stable
crisis.
and
annually.
average
per
this was a
Fiji
moderate
there
donors.
e c o nomic
The
c o u n t r y had been
was
far from being a w e a l t h y
absol u t e
poverty.
group of middle
Changes
were to come
foreign
considerably
of
its
stable
investors and
nation,
aid
in social,
there
Fiji
that
towards
the
the
in
was
was
building
end of
relative
the
it
little
in
the
the rise
of
the
in oil
basic
turning
point
increased v u l n e r a b i l i t y e s p e c i a l l y
-
146 -
of
in
1979,
of
(1983:11).
economically,
in
the
the
honeymoon
apparatus
e a rly
a
prices
independence
largely completed"
were
the decade.
prosperity
i ndependent state was
1980s
The
citizens and although
"highlighted the end of an
the
major
key pos i t i o n s
In World Bank terms,
1970s was s h a t t e r e d with
in which
growth,
income countries.
C a m eron suggests
which
for
1980.
optimism
Host
filled by Fiji
no
proud
to foreign
arenas.
e c o nomic
expanded
1970s were a period of
and political
capita
cause
1970 and
was
was very
p o lity which was a t t r a c t i v e
This
1978).
Infrastructure
d u r i n g this period.
students
head
a v e r a g i n g a 3.3% growth rate between
c u r r e n c y was
Pacific
$2,000
given a fairly high wastage
rate at the u n i v e r s i t y especially,
concern.
estimated
with U n i v e r s i t y of the South
c o s t i n g the g o v e r n m e n t $3 , 6 0 0
figure
an
education,
main
an
The
with
export
commodity,
sugar*
The co u n t r y could have
opted for a n o - g rowth
o r i e n t e d economy which
m a i n t a i n e d a stable balance
re d u c e d
chosen
employment
a
growth
decision,
more
repayment,
her
oriented
especially
unemployment.
growth
at
Alt h o u g h Fiji
budget
of
1970s
e n r o l l m e n t s slowed,
p art l y because of the
in
point
would
have
may
have
in
the
country,
It
was
a
time
or
political
ec o n o m y
of
had a good
had
increasing
for
debt
foreign debt s e r v i c i n g
from
in
partly
this
but
oriented
a
gradually
the
s a t u r a t i o n point
p a y ments
path.
the p r o p o r t i o n of
annual
increases
of
opportunities
and o b v i o u s l y a
appeal
at
record
increased.
new
out
The
schools
of
massive
and
economic
school
necessity,
falling birth rate and also because
school
provision
had
almost
been
focus
from
reached.
Development
teacher
Plan VII,
training
to
c u r r i c u l u m revision,
education.
This was
new p r o b l e m came
progressed
manpower
change
especially
with a strong e m p hasis on v o c a tional
light
to e m e r g i n g problems.
as
secondary
the
Sixth
schooling
Plan
a c a demic
VII,p. 177).
leavers"
There was me n t i o n of
as some of the
school
Rural
buildings,
and then applied p r e s s u r e
restraining
of the G r a n t s - i n - a i d system,
-
147 -
had
expansion,
permission,
Since the
been
Plan
constructed
without official
it
large
Grant-in-aid
communities
for grants.
period
(Development
inherent d i f f i c u l t i e s of the
persisted.
mak e - s h i f t
school
"A
e x p a n d e d . ..the
needs of the e c o n o m y cannot cope with the
number of
system
s h i fted the
qualitative
in r e s ponse
to
and
1976-1980,
inception
d i f ficult
to
refuse
requests
of
a l r eady
e s p e c i a l l y where political
functioning
pressure
was applied.
Manpower p l a n n i n g was very evident
VII,
with many pages
There a p p e a r e d
of
however
in
complex
to
be
schools,
Development
man p o w e r
no
link
Plan
projections.
between
these
p r o j e c t i o n s and edu c a t i o n sector plans.
The s e cond teachers*
the
late
e a rly
1960s,
1980s
college,
was o p e n e d
which had been p r o p o s e d
in L a u t o k a
it was clear that
re a c h e d s a t u ration
teacher
point and the
r e s t r u c t u r e d Nasinu Teachers*
an
e x p e nsive
increased greatly
as
from the mid
institution had been
mid
1960s.
Between
was
been
t e a chers
problem
were no
them
in
te a c h i n g
political
1985 to
posts.
pressure
e a r n i n g a small
allowance.
and
was
its
the
to
148 -
give
intense
was
Scheme,
to
whereby
teachers,
have
problem,
te a c h i n g
to
r e s ponse
students have been
-
University
w o rked as
It appears
secondary
the
student
under
favour of
for the
in
for
in t e a c h i n g s t a g e d hunger
to
gov e r n m e n t
had
unemployment
employment.
’v oluntarily*
No further
obviously
force the gove r n m e n t
act,
1983.
numbers
u n s a t i s f a c t o r y response
it.
in
and
The urgent need
e st a b l i s h a V o l unteer C o m m u n i t y Service
n e wly tr a i n e d teachers
had
teacher
Government
to
revamped
government-sponsored
longer p r o m i s e d
1984 and
had
10 years earlier,
of the South Pacific d i p l o m a t e s
s t rikes
requirements
teacher
1987,
and
the
College
1970s.
the second
a
By
College was c l o s e d
blunder,
1983 and
1977.
r e c ently
The b u i l d i n g of L a u t o k a Teachers*
been
in
in
been
an
few
in
sponsored
by
with
diploma,
in
an
attempt
to
curb
the
teachers.
Emigration
p olitical
t r o u b l e s of
number
of
of
many
unemployed
teachers
trained
following
the
1987 put an end to the brief period
of teacher surplus.
D e v e l o p m e n t Plan VIII,
that
quantitative
1981-1985,
pro b l e m s
em p hasis was on q u a l i t a t i v e
was
the
unemployed
curriculum,
new
gives
had
the
been
solved
improvements.
school
practical
leaver.
possible
Revision
subjects,
relevant
and useful
The current
solutions
Plan
p. 136).
the
a g r i c u l t u r e remain
reduce
academic
examinations
e d u c ation
high
plan
period,
the
a priority,
bias.
A
(Development
with
r e view
with
by
1989.
of
the
basic
the Minister of
items
E d u cation
-
149 -
such
commerce
and
pleas
localizing
the
When c r i t i c i z e d
IX,
curricula
Computer
of
Plan
constant
of
education
to
and
all
was
plan was
to
see
school
by
the
parliament
for
in e v ery p r i m a r y and s e c o n d a r y
its duration.
"educating
advantages
in
h a v i n g mi s p l a c e d p r i o r i t i e s and p l a c i n g
desks,
more
given
sub j e c t s such as crafts,
was p r o p o s e d
on com p u t e r s than
were
e d u c ation was
seen as a p r i o r i t y and the aim of
end of
courses
that
pr e v i o u s
secondary examinations
c om p u t e r s
teacher
notes
skills p r o v e d difficult"
Practical
the
1986-1990,
parents and pupils to a p p r e c i a t e
practical
of
revising
making
IX,
and vocati onal
p r i o r i t y during
the
to students.
Development
while technical
to
and
A major concern
ed u c a t i o n and the emp h a s i s on ag r o - t e c h n i c a l
seen as
impression
more
as
refuted,
importance
tex t b o o k s
"We
are
and
of
course he l p i n g
towards
these
facilities
conti n u e to help towards e n s u r i n g that
come about,
march
but the
and
these
ue
uill
facilities
inadequacy of these cannot delay
our
forward so that we enable our children to cope with
the 21st century"
(Parliament of Fiji,
1984:694).
The n e c e s s i t y to re s p o n d to the ever w o r s e n i n g p r o b l e m of
educated unemployment
has
pr o m p t e d
r a p i d l y expa n d
its vocational
s u b jects taken
in the
give pro m i n e n c e
There
to
final
education
and
is an a p p a r e n t l y a s s u m e d
in the e c o nomy at
Integration:
Following
increased
said
the
racial
education.
vocational
e m p l oyment
effort
by
integrated schools and
to
tripartism
which
s t affed
1980:6).
locational
by
rather
in
racial
1980s and much
tea c h i n g
an explicit
for E d u c a t i o n
1979,
than sec t a r i a n
multi-racial
Integration became
in the early
characterized
The Per m a n e n t S e c r e t a r y
schools and replace them with m ulti-racial
are
teaching
opportunities
there was a s u s t a i n e d
are c o n s c i o u s l y made to play down
have
subjects.
link between the
in a p r i z e - g i v i n g day speech
will
The
the p o s t - I n d e p e n d e n c e Goal.
gov e r n m e n t to promote r a c i a l l y
colonial
programmes.
to
large.
independence,
break down
gov e r n m e n t
two years of s e c o n d a r y school
techni cal
of such subje c t s and
the
"...efforts
and
s e c tarian
schools
that
identities and
staff"
(Bole,
e d u cation
policy
parliamentary
d i a logue
was
c e n t r e d around the subject.
While the m a j o r i t y of Members
of Par l i a m e n t were s t r o n g l y
in favour of the pri n c i p l e of
-
150 -
school
integration,
n u m bers of t e a chers
oppos i t e
the meth o d
community
was w i dely
firmly
Fijians,
’4 : 4:2 formula*
4
Indians
(Parliament of Fiji,
While some
r esist the
schools.
are
1983,
Ratu K a d a v u l e v u
an
the
seen
former
seen as
of
one
noted,
but
"It
1986,
and
is one
quite
implement
vehicle
unity
it"
some
of
4
roll.
for Fijian
tried
high
The education
set
move
a
very
of Education
is
as
seen
schools
of
harmony,
that
rhetoric,
in
as
Bullivant
multi-racial
up p r o g r a m m e s
151 -
The
ideology
but
from
several
of
s y stem
Despite official
-
public
included
the official
secondary
A
time.
to
status
notably
by a M i n ister
of
for modern
boys.
who
to
Fijian
appointed
community,
life,
have
ba s t i o n s
was
two
nation- b u i l d i n g ,
to
as
Indian d o m i n a t i o n
for
(1981:86).
89%
with
prestigious
of the
thing to advocate
another
schools
areas,
have
in Fiji at the
at
Indian himself.
national
wait
school
urban
Fijians
school
servants
an attempt
important
Government
as t r a i n i n g gr o u n d s
the
se n s i t i v e area of Fijian
who was
a
Fijians
from the Fijian
pro m i n e n t civil
in
Indian principal
School,
students
on
more
by
gov e r n m e n t s e c o n d a r y s c h oo ls
outrage ensued
that
then
encouraged
others
especially
integration of
In
The
1984).
indigenous c u lture as well
leaders.
the
integration a nd not
r a c i a l l y mixed,
These
of
- a ratio of s t u d e n t s
and 2
schools,
tended to become
large
another
criticized.
it to occur s p o n t a n e o u s l y and he
to adopt a
an
to
be l i e v e d
sh ould try to p o s i t i v e l y pursue
was
transferring
from one school
Minis t e r of E d u c a t i o n
for
of
Fiji
will
in
were
d o m i n a t e d by one of the two major ethnic groups,
4 . 1.5
as Table
illustrates.
Table 4 . 1 . 5
Racial
Composition
of
Secondary
Schools.
1986.
S c h ools with
over 90% Fijian
s t u dents
-
31%
Schools with
60 - 90% Fijian
students
-
11%
Indians
-
11%
Schools with
less than 60% either Fijians
or
Schools with
60 - 90% Indian
students
-
36%
Schools
over 90% Indian
students
-
11%
(From
with
1986
Annual
school
returns to the
Mi n i s t r y
of
Education.)
Table 4 . 1 . 5
polarized
indicates that e d u cation
along
racial
lines,
in Fiji
with
42%
d o m i n a t e d by Fijians and 47% d o m i n a t e d by
makes
an
interesting
proportions
comp a r i s o n
d i f f e r e n c e s have
jus t i f i e d
been
grounds of geography,
areas,
which
Nausori
urban area,
in Fiji
atte n d school
and where there
group.
edu c a t i o n
in
(See
Fiji
schools
their
the
in
This
relative
(in
1986)
total.
the
certainly
past
true
Such
on
in
the
some
islands which are populated
However
where 36% of all
even
in
the
secondary
Suva
students
(15,013 out of a total of 42,107
is a high degree
of schools have a racial
ethnic
is
e s p e c i a l l y outer
almost e n t i r e l y by Fijians.
1986)
of
in the p o p u l a t i o n as a whole where
Indians 49% of
clearly
Indians.
to
Fijians made up 46% and
rural
is
d o m i nance of
Appendix
partly
-
Three).
explains
152 -
of
mobility,
over
The
this
60%
in
75%
of
one
nature
of
situation
because
schools
are
largely
run
by
o r g a n i z a t i o n s and c o m m u n i t y committees,
to select schools
particular
for their children
preference.
H i s tory
Three)
and a r a d i c a l l y
new
independent g o v e rnment
4.2
Qualitative
in Fiji
e c hoed
levelled
at
edu c a t i o n
in Fiji.
by
the
1984 material
Form Four)
Zealand
put
p o licy was
in
Chapter
forward
been
by
identified
in e d u c ation and
this
view.
Criticisms
since
the
C u r r i c u l u m revision
for the
first
10
completely
policy
an
began
years
Certificate
1968
(Class
re v i s e d
and
have
in
and
with
makers
inception
’Fiji O p t i o n s ’ had been built
School
racially
Colonial
(as d e t a i l e d
f r e q uently
curriculum
had been
S ubstantial
the
their
Improvement through C u r r r i c u l u m Change
improvements
have
match
e x p lains
poli c y
able
c o u l d not qu i c k l y gain acceptance.
C u r r i c u l u m change has
qualitative
parents are
which
s e p arate s c h o o l i n g to a large extent.
to educate the races s e p a r a t e l y
religious
One
been
of
and
to
localized.
into
the
University
New
Entrance
examinations.
It has become evident h o w e v e r that the mere e x i s t e n c e
a
Curriculum
Development
unit,
curriculum,
does not a u t o m a t i c a l l y
t e a c h i n g or
learning.
background.
of the colonial
of f icers
learn
of
a
lacked specific
training
"One of the u n f o r t u n a t e
the
job*
-
153 -
new
improve the q u a l i t y of
period has been the
’on
even
The officers c h a r g e d with the
of r e v i s i n g the c u r r i c u l u m
t heoretical
or
of
idea
and
that
that
task
and
legacies
education
successful
experience
in t e a c h i n g
b ecome competent
deve l o p m e n t "
is suff i c i e n t
for an
individual
to
in the sp here of c u r r i c u l u m p l a n n i n g and
(H o p k i n ,1978:
150).
Mat e r i a l s p r o d u c e d range
from s e n s i t i v e l y b a l a n c e d and c a r e f u l l y s e q u e n c e d courses
of
study,
to
text-books
large
s e c tions
of
university
i n d i s c r i m i n a t e l y c o pied with
no
level
atttempt
to
guide or explain.
It
was
intended
to
have
wide
curriculum
development
work-groups
for each subject
process
Draft texts were p r i n t e d
unit of s t udy
and
teach e r s
m ovement
in
trial
few changes
teachers.
when
final
from the
were
( B a b a , 1980;
e x a m ination
c u r r i c u l u m change.
reasoning.
of
appointed.
trial
for each
schools
Pro b l e m s
while
arose
and
the
t r a n sfers
booklets.
curriculum
participation
and
continuity.
editions were printed,
by
in
In
there
reality,
o f f icers
by
and
practicing
M a n g u b h a i , 1984).
has
p l aced
constraints
There has been pressure
factual
rather
This s i t u a t i o n
(1984)
series
were
Constant
trial
made
s y stem
the amount of
t e s t e d by recall,
Lewin
in
place.
schools.
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s with minimal
increase
level
of staff e x a c e r b a t e d the pr o b l e m of
major decisions
The
a
the
form of booklets
used
took
and
in
interest of both the w o r k - g r o u p s
In many subjects,
were
and
in the
were
e v a l u a t i o n and r e v ision
s u s t a i n i n g the
participation
by t e a chers to
information which
than through
on
can
be
i n terpretation
or
is by no means
unique to
Fiji.
wrote g e n e r a l l y of d e v e l o p i n g countries,
s i t u a t i o n s where a p r i m a r y motive
-
154 -
in g o ing to
school
"In
is
to
be
se l e c t e d
for
qualifications,
co n s i d e r a b l e
and
likely
stages;
more
than,
difficulties
its
with
the
implementation:
new
how
to
leave
are able to
behind
examination-oriented
the
because they
learning.
lack b a c k g r o u n d
Gurmit
Singh,
as Principal
wrote
"This
issue
cl a s s r o o m teacher
design
for
example,
in texts
to
curriculum
use
the
it.
The
learning and
has
learn
from
of
feel
this
approach,
often
themselves.
of La u t o k a Teachers*
the
implement
effectively
professionalism
in Fiji"
all
teachers
fail
language and
lot of teachers
subject kno w l e d g e
in
because they
literature.
other
curriculum
is often due
Frances Pene,
The
(confined to what
ent h u s i a s m
last two a p ply to
-
a
very
a
limited
is examinable)
pure l y exam based and s a l a r y based m o t i v ation"
155 -
wrote:
just d o n ’t have a
nor enough
subjects
-
re g a r d i n g
for s e c o n d a r y English,
wide enough b a c k g r o u n d of reading,
the
( S i n g h , 1978:121).
in the subject areas.
a former c u r r i c u l u m a d v iso r
of
dec i s i o n s
Failure to use the new c u r r i c u l a e f f e c t i v e l y
lack of conf i d e n c e
College,
competence
of
in teach e r s
rote,
t e a chers
in the s u b jects
namely
have
Many
change - lies at the heart
for the
both
pedagogy
u n c o m f o r t a b l e and t h r e a t e n e d with
"In English,
exert
teachers
new c u r r i c u l u m e m p h a s i z e s c h i l d - c e n t r e d
to
to
(1984:145),
and how children
at t e m p t e d
acquire
rheto r i c and p r e s c r i p t i o n c o n t a i n e d
and guidebooks"
material
are
and
influence on the c u r r i c u l u m at
exhortation,
arisen with
schooling
examinations
implementation
The major
more
and
a
(Personal
c o m m u n i c a t i o n , 1986).
F r a ncis
Mangubhai,
c u r r i c u l u m advisor,
has written
in the
pace of c u r r i c u l u m
development
over
independence
has
outstripped
the
another former
same
the
vein,
decade
capacity
"the
since
of
many
te a c h e r s to use the new m a t e r i a l s properly.*
(1984:194).
In-service courses were
intended to retrain
t e a chers
the new curricula.
faith was v e s t e d
of one
or
two
Much
days
duration,
a t t i t u d e s and practices.
negat i v e
attitudes
School
is s t r a i n e d
by
to the pr o b l e m of
in
was to have all
1984,
v o l u n t a r y att e n d a n c e
There
is very
little
change
Inevitably,
courses
supply teachers,
absence
of
in-service
teachers.
courses
basis d u r i n g the school
follow-up
to
curtailed
isolated
run
schools
on
courses,
schools.
are
Such
costs.
neglected,
d e p r i v i n g them of much n e e d e d prof e s s i o n a l
support.
The emphasis of the C u r r i c u l u m D e v e l o p m e n t
U n i t ’s work
the
late
1980s has been to plan and write the
for the the new Fiji
i mplemented
1989.
in
School
Interviews with C.D.U.
a shortage of staff and
Morale
was
low
staff
funds
b e cause
of
-
for the
was
the
156 -
in
first
This was
time
1987 r e v e a l e d
hindering
uncertain
in
curriculum
L e a v i n g Certificate.
1988 and e x a m i n e d
a
holidays.
in recent years to cut
rural
A
suggested
in-service
to
as
a school
lost t e a c h i n g time,
such as visits of c u r r i c u l u m a d v isors
v isits have been
established
t e nded to have
in-service
the
s o l ution
in these courses
principals
t o wards
without a system of relief or
ti m e t a b l e
to
in
in
that
progress.
political
situation*
in
The c h a n g e d political
situation
of the country
1987 also r e q u i r e d a d j u s t m e n t s to be made
s u b jects such as Social
Science.
A lecturer
at the U n i v e r s i t y
in edu c a t i o n
P a c ific s u g g e s t e d that too much
curriculum,
1987.
in the
He o b s e r v e d that e d u c a t i o n
used as a vehicle
and respect
communal
for
for
had been taught
culture
seen
in
the
is
p l aced
on
i nstability
of
been
in
of
others,
South
persistently
instilling the values of
the
b i t t erness
had
certain
of
e m p hasis
light of the political
in
tolerance
and
yet
the
1987 bore no witness to
schools.
(Personal
what
interview
July
1987).
After
independence,
g o v e rnment
the pr a c t i c e of
inspecting schools by
inspectors was r e p l a c e d by
that
of
visits which were a n o ther duty of C u r r i c u l u m
staff.
In practice
there
or manpower r e s o urces
year,
and the
was never
to visit
ill- d e f i n e d
Deve l o p m e n t
s u f f icient
each school
’advisory*
financial
even
visits
schools
and very
ad v i s o r s
time
informally to teachers.
rural
schools r e c e i v e d
available
Due
fewer
inferior position v i s - a - v i s
to
for
transport
visits,
once
had
value as there was no feedback to the
little
a d v isory
little
concerned
to
talk
difficulties
reinforcing
their
their urban counterparts.
-
157 -
a
4. 3
The Access
Issue.
Access to education
i n c r e asi ngly
years.
and e q uity of o p p o r t u n i t y have become
important
issues
In a m u l t i - e t h n i c
in
the
s o c iety with wide v a r i ations
ec o n o m i c power and achievement,
education
more p o l i t i c a l l y c h a r g e d than ever.
1971-1975,
set down the aim
years of e d u c ation
this
aim
has
Development
Plan.
assumption
education,
reality,
that
for edu c a t i o n
r e i t e r a t e d in
Such
all
and that
and s o c i o - e c o n o m i c
an
various
r e a sons
wants
have
VI,
i t ’,
the
and
implicit
equal access
for
ten
subsequent
holds
is available
Plan
’To provide
every
aim
ch i l d r e n
it
there are
who
in
has also become
Development
for e v ery child
been
post-independence
the
institutional,
to
taking.
In
geogr a p h i c a l
why access to edu c a t i o n
is far
from equal.
As
inferred earlier,
about a very
the G r a n t - i n - a i d scheme has
unequal
system
of
schooling,
tended to d i s c r i m i n a t e a g a inst schools
income
receiving
v i l lage
those urban schools
in
the
more
inherent
has
lower
while
cash
favouring
pro s p e r o u s areas.
basis of the G r a n t - i n - a i d s y stem has
i ndependence and the
which
in the
communities,
brought
not
The
changed
inequalities
in the
since
system
have become self-per p e t u a t i n g .
School
size
is s i g n i f i c a n t
access
to education,
rural
areas,
are
when
as
small
unab l e
to
-
examining
schools,
maintain
158 -
d ifferential
especially
facilities
in
of
quality.
The G r a n t - i n - a i d s y s t e m
encouraged duplication
groups and rel i g i o u s
est a b l i s h
the
few families.
organizations
have
as
community
been
able
to
schools
in
in some s c h ools with such
Under the G r a n t - i n - a i d system,
rec u r r e n t
s c h ools have a very
for their
unwittingly
they are e f f e c t i v e l y s u p p o r t e d by only a
to pay for certain
upon
f r a g m entation
This has r e s u l t e d
rolls that
small
has
new schools r e g a r d l e s s of e x i s t i n g
locality.
small
and
itself
income.
and
limited
capital
parent
schools have
costs.
body
Table 4.3.1 shows school
1986 and reveals that 3 9 . 7 %
of
secondary
Thus
to
call
size
schools
in
have
less than 200 pupils.
Table 4.3.1
Total
roll
Student E n r o l m e n t
in S e c o n d a r y Schools,
1986
Percenta;
Number of schools
23
16.3%
101 - 200
33
23.4%
201 - 300
33
23.4%
301 - 400
15
10.6%
401 - 500
10
7.0%
501 - 600
11
7.8%
601 - 700
9
6.3%
701 - 800
3
2. 1%
801 - 900
2
1.4%
901 -
1,000
-
Over
1,000
2
Less than
(Source:
100
Mi n i s t r y of E d u c a t i o n
-
-
1.4%
annual
159 -
school
returns,
1986)
Researc h
from
other
developing
suggested
difficulties
especially
in rural
areas,
New G u i n e a that small
suffer more
than
with
s c h ools
S o m e r s e t ’s
secondary
(1987)
se c o n d a r y
and
the
(less
(1984)
report
than
200
schools.
on
and
for
schools
tend
Such
resources,
turnover
This
were
concurs
where
he
small
lacking
they
schools
s pecialist
may
fail
to
standards.
privileged minority
"The
to
’schools of sub-optimal
students).
learning
m a i ntain educational
schools.
in Papua
these
Nepal
st r uggle to be f i n a n c i a l l y viable and
A small
found
of
also
schools,
schools
effects
in small
h i g h l i g h t e d the same p r o b l e m s
teachers
has
from staff s h o r t a g e s and high staff
larger
size*
small
Vu l l i a m y
rural
re l a t i v e l y more d a m a g i n g
with
cou n t r i e s
prop o r t i o n
is large and
attend
spent
the
the
few
upon
relatively
g o v e rnment
the
few
government
children
who
attend such schools are to continue to e n joy an education
much superior to that of their peers"
Se l e c t i o n
uniform,
cri t e r i a
for
but the urban
medi u m from Class One
first
four years
(compared
from homes where English
class
to
schools)
schools
factor.
but
English s p e a k i n g g o v e r n m e n t
and has much political
gov e r n m e n t d e c ided to h a n d over
-
160 -
children
used to
servants,
races do m i n a t e
the
This urban elite
is
influence.
its
the
socio-economic
Children of civil
schools.
for
favours
now
not
English
These schools
people and p o l i t i c i a n s of all
very vocal
are
ver n a c u l a r
which
is spoken.
affiliations,
is the d o m inant
bu s iness
gove r n m e n t
g o v e r n m e n t schools use an
in most
have s t rong racial
(Hopkin, 1976:226).
p r imary
In
1978,
the
schools
to
parent committees,
all
in order to cut costs and also to
p r i mary schools
While some schools
in the co u n t r y on an
’c h a n g e d hands*
p a r ents of two elite sc h o o l s
to comply,
equal
with no problems,
to keep control.
of this s i t u ation where the more a f f luent and
were r e c e i v i n g better e d u c a t i o n
since
fees
compared
to
E d u c ation
announced
in
in
of other races)
students
or
to
their
comply
the
with
Aware
c h i ldren
schools
schools,
and w o uld be
(Parliament
are
low
M i n ister
the
a d m i ssions
o b l iged
to
of
Fiji,
admit
income
80%
of
1984:693)
point.
question.
the Veiuto and
face reality,
Rural
privileged
it"
their urban
in Fiji
often had
position
of
Baba
Suva
of Fiji,
also
to
P r i mary
not
speak
effectively
the
stated
this
schools
in
in parliament:
p a r ents
should
and
( 1984)
1984:694).
are g r a vely d i s a d v a n t a g e d vis-a-vis
counterparts.
to be on buildings,
science,
aimed
of
because they cannot have their cake as well
(Parliament
schools
priority.
moves
The Mi n i s t e r of Education
"In short,
as eat
These
2
F$3,000
He
was d i s c r i m i n a t i n g a g ainst c h i ldren who c o uld
e l i m inate the
of
schools
t h r e a t e n e d to d i s a l l o w the use of English medium as
it at entry
at
(a ratio of 4 Fijians to 4 Indians to
from families with an annual
less.
the
articulate
1984 that the two pr i m a r y
in q u e stion would have
f ormula of 4:4:2
for
government
non-government
footing.
in Suva v o c i f e r o u s l y refused
forcing the g o v e r n m e n t
less cost,
put
Emphasis
e q u i pment
for f u n d - r a i s i n g tends
and
found that rural
books
s c h ools
library and other support ser v i c e s
161 -
had
available
less e x p e r i e n c e d and q u a l i f i e d staff.
-
take
low
poor
and
The
degree
v a r iable
of
geographic
in Fiji.
isolation
S c hools on small
from absent teach e r s as boats are
be
such as chalk,
months
before
new
often
There are
remote
su p p l i e s
least
to
are almost
areas,
and the
for sec o n d a r y school
in
Children
school
Their
spoken
for
a high drop-out
Poverty,
rural
education.
fear of ridicule.
who
do
or urban,
Although
there
do
these
are
ch arge
English
to
and
increase
often
under
c o n t r i b u t i o n s ’, are often
uniforms,
to
their
general
reluctant
C o n s e q u e n t l y there
is
at
bus-fares,
Knapman and W a l t e r ’s
the
text-books
(1980)
-
many
to
other
c o n stant
of
to
on
running
level.
The
fund-raising
’b u i l d i n g
fund
Parents have to pay for
and various
research
162 -
calls
cover
secondary
guise
levied.
limits access
first 8 years of school
fees
Grants-in-aid system necessitates
fees,
q u alify
r e l atives
compared
d e t e r m i n e s and
in t h e o r y the
Schools
expen s e s and
and
rate of such children.
are now tuition-free,
finances.
need.
islands
b a c k g r o u n d tend to be poor and they are
to speak out
and
greatest
who go from rural
urban schools tend to p e r f o r m poorly,
urban counterparts.
from
Thus professional
either have to board with
or attend bo a r d i n g schools.
it may
non-existent,
in the outer
few children
to
essential
arrive. Visits
those
few s e c o n d a r y schools
rural
suffer
unav a i l a b l e
terms. If
due to the cost and time of travelling.
is p r o v i d e d
important
paper or pencils run out,
M i n i s t r y of Ed u c a t i o n o f f i c i a l s
s upport
an
islands often
bring staff at the start of school
e q u ipment
is
in the
incidentals.
villages
of
n o r thern
very
Lau r e v eals a s i t u ation
limited r e l ative
land and
inadequacy of
resources.
(1980:211).
ou t l a y s
especially
d i f f e r e n c e between
important
constitutes
for
in
emergency"
low-income
access to
education.
This
rural
clouds
is
of
location
and
c o i ncide
largely with the Fijian race,
also
"The
is earned
Tuition,
and
is
fees,
lodging
(B e c k e r , 1962:26).
all
discussion
heightened
factors
are
families.
transportation
in Fiji
low
because
econo m i c
thus
of
the
status
creating
an
identifiable d i s a d v a n t a g e d group.
1986 census
areas,
figures show that 67% of Fijians
compared
to
r u r a l / u r b a n d i c h o t o m y masks
the rural
sector.
59%
of
sign i f i c a n t
rural
*c a n e - b e I t s *, due to their
suga r - c a n e
industry.
and economic
Such
areas
i n frastructure
large
islands where
have
163 -
maps
within
in
the
established
throughout
in
on
clu s t e r e d
and do not suffer
found
in
this
based
are
well
i n frastructure
-
but
involvement
Fijians h o w ever are s c a t t e r e d
islands of the g r o u p and are
live
var i a t i o n
Indians
ar o u n d the
isolation.
Indians,
Population distribution
1976 census show that
of the
situation
an
indirect cost of schooling.
situation
many
a
what c o u l d have been and
The racial
social
on
that
more direct costs"
the
pressure
it is hardly s u r p r i s i n g
e x p enses are other,
rural
to
puts
unusual
The
is
expenditure
books and supplies,
easily
income
The o p p o r t u n i t y costs of e d u c a t i o n
significant
an
"In
consumption
pr e s s u r e on cash resources,
e d u c ation
cash
to cash needs due
which even d a ily personal
meeting
where
the
is
from
the
interior
poor.
The
ne g ative
factors that a p pl y to rural
those s u f f e r i n g
from
geographic
schools,
esp e c i a l l y
isolation,
thus
apply
d i r e c t l y to Fijians.
It is a p p arent that Fijian s
are the poorest ethnic group.
With over half
semi-subsistence
involved
and a h i story of
sector,
limited
the civil
is the major
in
involvement
service,
employer
in
in
the
(Report on the Census of Pop u l a t i o n
very small
Indians.
number
The
living
communal
family prevents
Clearly,
many
linked.
This
disadvantage
nature
to another.
selection,
apart
to
be
the
Fiji
Fijian
the
are
extended
to edu c a t i o n
advantage
perpetuated
are
or
from
one
of
from s c r e e n i n g through examinations.
It
and their
to
sector.
The s y stem has hidden
u r b anite
and places the
a
poor
rural
at a distinct disadvantage.
Aca d e m i c s have paid a t t e n t i o n
differences
of
levels of
ma j o r i t y of the p o p u l a t i o n
objectivity
modern
methods
favours the a f f luent
edu c a t i o n
forces,
r e a c h i n g this point.
reinforces
g e n e ration
armed
p o v e r t y in
factors d e t e r m i n i n g access
tend
commercial
1976). However
in extreme
its member s
which
the
e s p e c i a l l y the
of F i j ians
agriculture
findin gs
highly
to d i f f e r i n g
help to
lend
e m o tive
in e d u c a t i o n a l
responses
in
a
of
degree
area. R e s e a r c h
achievement
is
reviewed
on
in
Chapter Five.
Psych o l o g i c a l
to resolve,
and s o c i o - c u l t u r a l
thus
most a t t e m p t s
-
to
164 -
con f l i c t s are
aid
Fijian
difficult
education
have been at the
made though to
changes.
Fijian
institutional
’indoctrinate*
An example
language
parental
level*
parents
is a series of
pr o g r a m m e
involvement
in
which
Altho u g h
importance to e d u cation and
in
part
a c t i v i t i e s with great enthusiasm,
in
the
greater
Mi n i s t r y
public
parents
take
talks
The
been
attitudinal
advocate
education.
Fijian
have
into
radio
E d u c a t i o n has r e i t e r a t e d this theme
and addresses.
Efforts
of
speeches
do
attach
much
in
fund-raising
they tend to be passive
r e c i p i e n t s and r a r e l y play an active part
in
the
formal
e du c a t i o n of their children.
One of
the
g o v e r n m e n t ’s
main
responses
has
implement the policy of a l l o c a t i n g t e r t i a r y
on a 5 0 :50 racial
first,
basis,
r e f e r r e d to
the quota,
university,
so a dual
entry
syst e m
whereby Fijians
than others were accepted.
high wastage rate as
poor l y m o t i v a t e d or
is a very
high
u n i v e r s i t y - in
Fijians
3.5.
to
it did
not
rate
40% of
failed their Foun d a t i o n
fill
established
for
lower e n try r e q u i r e m e n t s
solve
the
problem
i n a d e q u a t e l y p r e pared students.
1977,
At
(2) This s y stem has y i e l d e d
dro p - o u t
failure rate of 9%.
with
was
to
scholarships
in Chapter
there were not enough q u a l i f i e d
been
in
the
first year
first
Fijian
a
of
There
year
at
students
course c o m p a r e d with a n o n - Fijian
I n e v itably this
its opponents,
system
discrimination
has
races who feel
b l a t a n t l y d i s c r i m i n a t e d against.
many Fijians have benefitted,
especially
of
-
from
the syst e m has not
the d i s p a r i t i e s between the two major racial
165 -
positive
other
Although
reduced
groups.
The early
1980s saw
much
d o m i n a t e d g o v e rnment
Fijian education.
glaring
gap
evident.
p r e ssure
to take
After a
between
Although
more
Fi jians
in D e v e l o p m e n t
E d u c a t i o n Annual
Reports,
there
political
the
and
was
still
had
been
Ministry
of
few visible results,
problem.
In
grant
was paying
1984
of
Cabinet
F$3. 5 m i l l i o n
towards Fijian education.
expediency,
be
a d m i n i s t e r e d by the M i n i s t r y of Fijian Affairs,
not
the
M i n i s t r y of Education,
was
set
schools.Initially
the
and much
for the c o n s t r u c t i o n
M i n i s t r y of Education
Board,
but by
involved
c omp a r i s o n
in
of new
had advisors
1987 there
the
of
this
the
was
As
to
aside
of
independence,
Plans
annual
(approximately £2.4million)
matter
for
Indians
were
Fijian
action
that the gov e r n m e n t
lip-service to this critical
a
the
suggestions
t e n t a t i v e l y made
de c i d e d to make a special
of
and
va r i o u s
on
p o s itive
decade
and there were a c c u s a t i o n s
put
money
in the Fijian
were no education
administration
with the annual
of
e d u cation
Affairs
professionals
the
funds.
budget,
this
In
grant
is substantial.
T hr o u g h o u t
the D e v e l o p m e n t Plan Nine
period,
F $ 3 , 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 was b u d g e t t e d a n n u a l l y
for
development,
of
as o p p o s e d to a total
and development.
Fijian
education
F$30,000
research
It c o u l d be s p e c u l a t e d
amount a c c o r d e d to F i jian e d u c a t i o n
that
w o uld
more research as so many que s t i o n s remain
this sphere.
Baba has w a r n e d that the
c o uld go a long way t o w ards
improving
only
based on
"if p rofessional
a d vice
-
166 -
1986-1990,
the
large
benefit
from
unanswered
$3.5million
Fijian
research
in
grant
education
and
the
sound u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the
factors
education
is heeded"
Decisions
for g r a n t i n g m o n e y from
made
a
by
Secretary
of
and
some
especially
far been the dom inant
senior s e c o n d a r y school
Fijian
fund.The emp h a s i s
$3.5million
Permanent
retired
teachers.
for s e c o n d a r y
item
were
the
of
for example,
is on s e c o n d a r y
schools
expenditure.
in the province of Lau
for Form Five and Six has,
this
the
politicians,
Edu c a t i o n
B u i l d i n g s and equ i p m e n t
have thus
impede
(1985:6).
committee
for
that
been
to
cater
financed
school
A
by
education
and also on t e r t i a r y s c h o l a r s h i p s with the
intention
of
u p g r a d i n g teacher qualifications.
e d u c ation
is
not
seen
as
Secretary
tend to
a
priority
for E d u cation
lose
edu c a t i o n
sight
as
a
Primary
issue.
A
former
c o m m e n t e d that c o m m ittee
of
the
whole,
goal
as
of
they
(Personal
i nter-provincial
and
Although
was
a n n u a l l y until
for financial
In
1986,
a
seek
favoured
over
criticisms
press
h i g h l i g h t i n g the very political
nature
even within the
intended
1990,
been aired
of
in the
in Fiji,
it
Fijian
constantly
Such
imbalances have
in parliament,
of education
interview).
members
improving
e x p l a n a t i o n s as to why some p r o vinces are
others.
Permanent
that
the scheme
Fijian
community.
$3.5million
was
be
abandonned
spent
in
1988
reasons.
policy
of
concentrating
s e c o n d a r y school
in each
excellence*
proposed.
was
d i r e c t e d at schools
province,
Such
with at
-
resources
creating
’centres
was
one
of
to
be
least 75% Fijian students
on
167 -
assistance
on
their
rolls.
lack
of
However
i n vestigations
k n o wledge
of
such
a
1987
policy
official
contentious
issue within pro v i n c e s and the
jealousy
dismissal
of the
b e t ween
idea.
it
schools
hoc
An example of
had
a
the
Encyclopaedia Britannica
for
rural
i mplemented
at
cost
consultation
with the rec i p i e n t
great
p rovide c o m puters to
mid-1980s.
As
likelihood
of
to
a
sets
little
schools.
rural schools
to some schools with
no
training
in computer
resulted
in an e x p e n s i v e
resulted
taken
in com p u t e r s
electricity.
skills or
Lack
relevant
capital
of
the
This
was
apparent
in the case of the e n c yclopaedias,
of p r e l i m i n a r y research
defined
A decis i o n
was
in
to
the
a
lack
b e ing
sent
of
teacher
curriculum
o u t l a y which
has
senior
schools.
with
the
s c h ools
idea of
to pur c h a s e
senior
a
clearly
M i n i s t r y of E d u cation official
a
become
Fijian
, lacking
this is
a
had lead
Aid to rural
thus been somewhat ad
policy.
that
revealed
and
government
creating
claimed
in
has
is not able
to be e f f e c t i v e l y utilized.
This response to Fijian
e ducational
p r o blems
of much educational
planning:
crises or problems,
wi t h o u t adequ a t e
long-term
implications.
Fijian education
As
Indians
period,
Fijians
in
hoc
for
high l y
ass e s s m e n t
politically
education
independent
Fiji
edu c a t i o n as the key to their survival
the government
in
the
were
168 -
of
fact
to
the
that
charged.
colonial
perceiving
and d e m a n d i n g that
shou l d make up for past neglect.
-
typical
responses
It also u n d e r l i n e s the
has b e come
clamoured
ad
is
4. 4
After Hay
1987:
F i j i ’s m u l t i - r a c i a l
Ed u c a t i o n
in the New Republic.
peace and ha r m o n y and her
s t r o n g e c o n o m y were dealt severe blows
coups of May
and
September
1987.
became w i d e s p r e a d and those
effort to emigrate.
Sep t e m b e r
who
by
the
Fear
were
relatively
a m ong
able
70 s e c o n d a r y school
150
t e a c h e r s had resigned.
Indians
made
The M i n i s t r y of E d u c ation
1987 that since the May coup,
military
reported
primary
Many of
were science te a c h e r s as they were re a d i l y able
employment
Times,
in n e a r b y New
5/9/87).
Ze a l a n d
entry
st a r t i n g
1988 was s h e l v e d
teacher shortage.
age
from
(Fiji
The e c onomy of Fiji
plummetted
duties,
de l a y e d
Job
b e c ause
of
appeals were held
school
years
1987 due to the
Customs
as
industry
and
excise
revenue were
children
financial
students
were
greatly
hardship
examinations.
in an en d e a v o u r to raise
for the fees.
The Fiji
"Thousands of
forced
and
were unable to pay fees
and New Z e a l a n d e x t ernal
1987 that
five
losses e s p e c i a l l y among u n s k i l l e d and casual
s e c o n d a r y school
amount
lower
f o l l o w i n g the May coup,
harvest.
w o r kers meant that many school
leave school
to
(Fiji
5/9/87).
a major source of g o v e r n m e n t
reduced.
Fiji
years
find
to
Indian d o m i n a t e d sugar
its
these
Australia.
in S e p tember
Times,
t o u r i s m s u f f e r e d and the
repeatedly
six
in
and
to
The p r e v i o u s l y a p p r o v e d poli c y
the school
in
and
every
Times r e p o r t e d
children
because they cannot
have
pay school
-
169 -
many
for the
N ation-wide
the
required
in September
dropped
fees",
to
out
of
consequently
many sc h oo ls
were
facing serious
were una b l e to pay
Times,
12/9/87).
were given a
teachers
Civil
financial
their
servants,
problems
full
salary.
15% s a l a r y red u c t i o n
survive
first:
the
setbacks.
the
economy
previous
in August
racist m i l i t a r y t a k eover
m ark e d c o n t r a c t i o n
from
the
1987.
reported 4,000
Indians
1987,
increase
a
60 %
Guardian,
4/11/87).
emigrated.
peaceful
tolerated
pre-coup
Indians.
and
November
(The
also
confi r m a t i o n
Firstly,
that
in
m a k i n g pr o c e s s of the c o u ntry would
not
be
hard-line
Indians an
A
say
by
giving
Fijians.
Secondly,
that does not a d e q u a t e l y take
is
likely
any
into account
to
be
aborted
When
schools
fruition.
Inevitably the education
re-opened
an
increased
emigration.
of F i j i ’s c u r rent politics.
interests of the m i l i t a r y
before
was
on
May
a
equal
reconciliation
the
between
aid,
expulsion
to
the s e c o n d coup was a
reconciliation
the dec i s i o n
in
particularly
left
overtly
Num e r o u s w e l l - q u a l i f i e d Fijians
Above all,
of two a s p e c t s
led
to
further
the
industry and
also
people,
of
reductions
to the t o u r i s m
of s k i l l e d
struggled
experienced
b r o ught
It
consequences
had
condemnation
Commonwealth.
emigration
which
months,
International
(Fiji
including many teachers,
In many r e s p e c t s the s e c o n d coup had graver
than the
and
system
for the new school
estimated
dropout r a t e s
year
shortage
s ho r t a g e s of tea c h i n g
of
staff,
were e v i dent
suffered.
in J a n u a r y
1988,
500
teachers.
financial
cuts
after the two coups,
-
170 -
there
While
and
loss
high
of
morale
and
inter-racial
tension
uere
i n c r e a s i n g l y d a m a g i n g to the educational
process.
Civil
disturbances
in school
heightened
in the wake of the coup caus e d
attendance.
R u m ours of unrest
urban a r e a s caused parents
from school,
school
a m o n g the
in
(Fiji
1987 and
races u s i n g dif f e r e n t
teachers
of
an o t h e r
race.
discipline
became
of a
one
problems,
rel u c t a n t
possible
connections
the
to
teach
m ulti-racial
a m ong
from
stude n t s
levels.
different
cases
of
c h i ldren
of
co u n t r y
i nextricably
who
from
linked to
for
fear
might
have
told
of
kindergarten
to
sit u a t i o n
its
faced
Indian teachers
Tea c h e r s
That the political
tension
s c h ools
parents
military.
university
is
of
ex t r e m e
with the result that
backl a s h
unstable
increasing
teachers
away
Teachers
to d i s c i p l i n e Fijian s t u d e n t s
with
polarization
with
refusing
Certain
and
S u n ,22/9/87).
staff rooms and
race
children
nervous
1988 told of
staff of schools,
in S uva and other
their
creating a generally
environment.
interviewed
to keep
f l uctuations
of
e d u cation
the
system
became o v e r w h e l m i n g l y apparent.
In
1988 all
government
r e d u c e d by 30%,
f undamental
no-growth
in the
forcing d r a stic
choice
e c o n o m y no
on recovery,
b e t ween
their
financial
a
budgets
cutbacks.
growth-oriented
as foreign r e s e r v e s had
1987 and
had deteriorated.
or
further.
all
fallen
the
a
was
drastically
economic
A d v isory visits to
schools,
in pr e v i o u s
Te a c h e r s had a l r e a d y
-
The
other
which had been s e v e r e l y r e d u c e d
c u r t a i l e d even
had
longer e x i sted - the thrust now
latter half of
indicators
departments
171 -
years,
had
were
salary
reductions.
B u d g e t a r y r e s t r a i n t s and the general
of u n c e r t a i n t y
morale
in
e ducation
in the co u n t r y c o n t r i b u t e d to
many
se c t o r s
of
society,
feeling
a
loss
including
of
the
sector.
Another side effect of the political
has been the negat i v e
upheavals
of
image placed upon e d u c a t e d
especially
indigenous Fijians.
g ov e r n m e n t
had b a c k i n g
from
The
overthrown
some
opposed to those of traditional
Fijian
1987
people,
Coalition
academics,
chiefly
ranks.
It
as
was
co m monly a s s e r t e d that the edu c a t e d Fi j i a n s who s u p p o r t e d
the C o a l i t i o n had
lost
their
t r a d i tional
their chie f s and had come under the
ideas,
thus
education.
Minister
casting
Fijian academic
of
government,
Education
wrote
e n d o r s e d through
the
use
of
uni l a t e r a l
discussions
"The
on
Dr.
in
on
universalistic
the
implicit
In o p p o s i t i o n
were
basis
in schools"
at
especially
introduced
mi l i t a r y
who
to
-
coups
such
as
violence,
religion,
di a l o g u e
to
the
by
and
more
society
which prides
authority,
indigenous
with
cadet
the
(1988:6).
from
those
the
and
encouraged
the military,
least
was
ad o p t e d
absence of
their
C o a l ition
that
race
for
foreign
on
aggression,
of
its c o n f o r m i t y and o b e i s a n c e
schools,
Baba,
in direct o p p o s i t i o n
to this,
public adulation
value
values
unsolicited
the
of
short-lived
values p r e v i o u s l y
and t r a n s m i t t e d
the
Tupeni
imposition of views,
etc,
infuence
the a c tions that were
force,
discrimination
on
doubt
r e s pect
largely
training
172 -
in
itself
received
Fijians.
Many
Fijian
rolls,
1988.
These
p r og ra m m e s are g o v e r n m e n t - a s s i s t e d and are u e 11
by Fijian teachers and students.
to be re gar ded as the en emy of
e du ca ti on
values.
Mara,
was
seen
as
the
The P r i m e - M i ni st e r
the
main
of
in Octo ber
the
de mo cra tic
western
association,
pos iti on
rel igion
of the Fijian
1987 that
etc.
and does
violence
to
boundaries.
Western
of submission,
of
the
inferior
country.
and
The
insults
traditions.
c l e ar ly
d e f in ed
(From copy
educ at ion - a basic
go v e r n m e n t policy,
unity and
am ong
is in
the
prevail.
syste m as a tool
ch ild ren
of
balance,
Similarly,
for
fo ste rin g
towards e d uca ti on
soc io- po l it ic al
Indians
d i a m e t r i c a l l y opposed.
are,
Some
situation.
on
the
face
well
-
however
173 -
common
was
it,
feeling
because
qualified,
jobs or s c h o l a r s h ip s bec ause of
been
of
Indians e x p r e s s e d the
matter how hard they tr ied or how
More common
have
Two
that sc h oo li n g was not worth b o th er in g about,
tow ard s Fijians.
tenet
integration.
of school
w ou ld not get
for
speech,
villifies,
cu stoms
ideologies c o nt in ue to
a f f e c t e d by the
at ti t u d e s
fr eedom
freedom knows no boundary"
the use of the e d uc at io n
Att it ud es
plea
8/10/87).
post-Independence
national
-
freedoms have
future of mu lt i- ra ci al
if p o s t - c o u p
such
"All the high li gh ts of
belittles,
C us t o m a r y and tra dit io nal
and
Kamisese
a
in their own
Fijian
of
Sir
in
ex ace rba te
people
Wes ter n media ridicules,
Ratu
II
became
people,
p r o m ul ga to r
Fiji,
values
values’
Fijian
s u bm it tt ed to Queen Eliz abe th
understanding
The
’Western
rec ei ve d
no
they
fav ouritism
the
attitude
that
they must get as uell
to co mp e te
for scarce
view to migrating.
be in g s om e wh at
q u a l i f i e d as po s s i b l e
jobs,
and also
with
a
long
term
Fijian a t ti tu de s co uld be p e r c e i v e d as
more relaxed,
perhaps with the
tre at me nt
idea
they may rec eiv e
favoure d
et hn ic
status.
Some
Fijian
teach ers
f r u s t r a t e d wish
that
Fijian
children sh o ul d
p re se nt
as a
m ot iv a t i n g
s i t ua ti on
in order
because
of
that
their
expressed
force to
the
see
the
achieve
more
in education.
The
ban on publi c
p l a c e d the
threat:
think
censure
f ou nd ati on s
of
of
the
for themselves,
na tional
and the one
n ew sp a p e r s
f o r c i b ly cl os e d
re-open,
such
ne w s p a p e r s
other
(Fiji
conditions.
but
After
polit ica l
s a n c t i o n e d news.
news.
but was d e f e r r e d
A pre sen t
under
pupils
t h o ug ht s
independent
army.
was
could
p la ce d
publ ish
weeks the Fiji
was
limited
The g o v e r n m e n t - s u p p o r t e d
was due to start
the
and
the
those
Ti me s
r e sta rt ed
to
of fi ci al ly
radio
issue
of
to
on
under
station
’official*
transmssion
i n d ef in ite ly because
both
p e r mi tt ed
cl osed a l t g e t h e r
to
to
radio station
When
but was only a l l ow ed to
T e l ev i s i o n
and eco n o mi c
Sun)
r ef u s ed
c om men t
s ys te m
teach
of such
ce ns o r s h i p
several
to
si tu ation
After the s e c o n d coup,
the
(Fiji
Times)
r e m a i n e d open,
by
severe
that one
is
e xpr es si on
offence.
political
e d uc at io n
if the aim of ed uc a t i on
now be a p u n i s h a b l e
were
the
the
in
1987,
political
situation.
M in ist er
Fi j i a n a t t i t u d e s
of the
Interim G o v e r n m e n t
have c ha n g e d since
-
174 -
claims
that
the m i l i t a r y coups of
1987.
The coups were an
be broken
Several
and
such
illustration that
an
action
could
incidents since that time
Interim
Gover nme nt
p a r t i al ly
of
1987.
p r e c i p i t a t e d a split within the
laid down by
the
the
more
liberal- min ded
in
solved,
protest,
which
installed their own
am ong
the
The
rift
in
Met hodist
the
This
commands
population.
and
the
The
cle rgy
church
as both sides are conv inc ed that
The
leader.
ac cu se d of being w e s t er ni ze d and not true to
Fijian culture.
Methodist
was ous te d u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y
’f u n d a m e n t a l i s t ’ faction
the
capital.
church,
the fo llo win g of some 90% of the Fijian
e l e c t e d president
the
restri cti ve
Churc h o r g a ni ze d roa db lo ck s throughout Suva
within
same
1988,
the
A faction of
e f f e c t i v e l y ha lt in g move me n t
the
In late
lifted
could
legitimized.
shown
S un da y ob ser van ce decree which had been
m il it ar y gover nme nt
law
be
have
d i s r e g a r d for e s t a b l i s h e d procedures.
the
were
tradit ion al
is
far
their
from
view
is
the correct one.
In
late
Indian
1989,
places
there
were
incidents
of
worship:
Hindu,
of
arson
Mus lim
against
and
a ll e g e d l y p e r p et ra te d by Metho dis t extremists.
Sikh,
There
were
also att em pt ed re ta l i a t o r y attacks at Me th o d i s t churches.
In a dee ply re lig iou s
country,
w i d e s p r e a d outrage and
Indians pr ot es te d
their
labour
n a ti on al ly
for
d e m o n s t r a t i n g that they still
co un tr y to a
standstill.
these
one
The
of the
-
by
interim
incidents
175 -
cause d
wit hd ra wi ng
day,
have the power
indeed the ma jor ity of cit izens of all
in their co nd em na ti on
incidents
si len tly
to bring the
government,
races,
which
were
and
vocal
served
to
d e m o ns t r a t e that despite the fragility of race
in the new republic,
there was still
general
relations
respect
for
the common man.
In the field of
education,
sh ow ed the same d i s r e g a rd
e m e rg e d
an
for
incident
law and
between the principal,
and the community.
var iou s
occasions,
ran amok
resulting
in
A
on the
the staff,
The stu dents
late
order.
in a g o ve rn me nt s e c o n d a r y school
Taveuni,
in
a
A lt hou gh con flicts
in
previously
c on ven tio na l
recent
It
pr oec e du re s
for
per iod
and
the
res ol vi ng
of
which
example,
have
community.
the
Meth od is t
been
Another
tradi ti on al
within
of
and
time.
oc cur red
flo ut in g
prob lem s
of
is
a
eastern
increased power
unanimous.
chiefs,
of
the
the
is
defeat
within
a
typical
indigenous
Fijian
n e c e s s a r i l y quelled.
d om ina ti on
of
is be ing veste d
in
the
hands
of
their support cannot be as su me d to be
urban
of
political
hi g h l i g h t i n g
from the western part of Fiji.
The gr ou nd sw el l
e s p e c i a l l y the
e l ec ti on
conflict
Fijian c o n fe d e r a c y has emerged,
Fijians over those
tradi ti on al
con fl ic ts
issue of whether to e s t a b l i s h a fourth
longheld sus pi ci on
While
on
phenomenon.
is worth noting that many p os t-c ou p
Fiji,
the
the use of vi olence
students
damage
to be clo se d for
sporadically,
island of
in the school
physical
had
dispute
the
c au s i n g the school
sch ools
1988
of disco nt en t
and
educated,
1987,
has
been
There are constant
formation of new political
am o n g commoners,
that
s t i fl ed
ru mours
parties to op pose
-
176 -
led
the
to
the
but
not
of
the
present
interim administration,
to be too moderate,
The pro gr ess iv es
which
is p e rc ei ve d by
and by moder ate s to be
in the community,
the ad mi ni st r a ti on
as
lacking
in
extre mis ts
too
extreme.
however,
tend
to
see
overall
dynamism
and
1970s
of
coherence.
The
proce dur e
established
in
the
ea r l y
a l l o c a t i n g te r t i ar y sc hol a r s h ip s on the basis
parity,
50%
to
Fiji ans
overturned
in ea rly
increased
for
and
1989 when the
Fijians.
The
se le c t i o n of st udents was
indigenous
50%
gover nme nt
Fijian nominees who,
in many cases,
than
17/1/89).
ap pl ic a n ts
N at ur a ll y
of
Indians
other
felt
had
may
An ac ri mo ni ou s
row
felt that
Indians were
those who
felt that Fij ians
’catch u p ’. A letter
exchange:
"Such
In do- Fijians more bitter,
t ow ard s national
In ear ly
the emigra tio n
of
as well
as at te m p t i n g
to
races.
Fiji
(Fiji
ever
lower
Times,
since
right,
Times
as
its
and
typi fie s
the
must
make
dis cr im in at io n
while di s c o u r a g i n g any movement
of Med icine
cou nter
had
to
must be given every chance to
r e c o n c i l i at io n"
School
of
given
have
basic
(Fiji Times,
1990 it was pr op o s e d that the
for the Fiji
in favour
flared up between those who
the
racial
that
increased resentment,
being denied a
to
all ocation
been
races"
th ey had dis li ke d even the 50/50 policy
inception.
was
a d mi tt ed
"heavily wei gh te d
C on si de ra ti on
racial
non-Fijians,
p er cen ta ge
Fijians.
marks
to
of
bridge
-
intake of students
should be 80% Fijians
Indians with
(Fiji Times 2/2/90).
23/1/89).
the
medical
gap
The Minister of
177 -
to
tr aining
between
Health
the
said
"..the re ality of the situ at io n
staff
losses through mi gration
that of qu ali fi e d
do ct or s had
were
Indian
left Fiji
Indians.
Other
ab sc o n d m e n t of
There
po lic y which was seen
5
issue
which
and
problem:
3
become
it
removal
hig hl ig ht ed
of
an
a
8
en c o u r a g e s
further emigration.
Education,
and the p o s si bl e
likely
denial
the
policy
important
they sh ou ld
to
Indians
Indian
this
of
rather the sc ho la r s h i p s
ma gn i f i e s
30
tauto lo gi ca l
Indians emigrate,
by ex cl ud in g
or
(Fiji
Although the
be re s e r v e d for Fijians who are more
However,
pathologists,
as a
somewhat
61
of whom 54
radiographers,
Indians.
it
not be given sc hol arships;
qualifications,
that
ph ysiotherapists.
by oppo ne nts
since many t ra ine d
the country.
been
was co ns id er ab le cr it ic is m of
modified,
has
7
of
were those of 39
cons ul tan t
rights and o p p o r t u ni ti e s of
was e v en t ua ll y
said
1987,
personnel
pharmacists,
3/2/90).
He
has
losses at t r i b u t e d to r e s i g n a t io ns
dietician/nutritionists
Times,
per sonnel."
Indian medical
10
maj or it y
and a b s c on dm en t
since the coups of
laboratory technicians,
dentists,
is that the
shoul d
stay
from
gai nin g
di sco nte nt
of access to
in
and
it,
is an
issue which stirs the
st ro ng es t emo tions and
it has
been
one of the
few
on which
spoken
out.
Generally,
since the coups of
op en l y vocal
to the
about political
feet*,
numerical
Indians have not been
developments,
leaving Fiji
first time since
Indians have
1987,
fear of re pe rcussions.
with their
For the
issues
1946,
Father
they
have
due
’voted
as soon as they were able.
there
is
ma j o r i t y of Fi ji an s c o mpa re d to
-
p o s s i b ly
178 -
now
a
Indians
slight
in
the
e s t i ma te d po pulation of Dec ember
1988.
As tea cher sh ortages have worsened,
been em p l o y e d to fill
e m e rg e n c y measure.
been re cr u i t e d
1990 school
v a can ci es
Am erican
school
Peace Corps
Teachers’
Educ at io n
de ni ed however that the
Austerity
in the e d uc at io n
has coi ne d a phrase the
situation.
He
Union
view and
look
for
in the
The
1980s and
Lewin
to
sy ndrome
c o n s e r v a t i v e towards change and
thus:
seek
where this ceases to be v i a b l e . . . it
services;
access
and
it may support
mentality*
to
where the
will
eq uitable
the
it
focus
is
on
immediate
1987:93).
Lewin
sit uation
in Fiji
to the
institutional
*s
p ri or it ie s
M in is tr y of
pa ra d i g m
where
of
Ed uc ation
inability to fund school
term
long
will
min imize
point
ec o n o m y
d i st ri bu ti on
of
ek in g
a
out
ones
’siege
from
outside
(Lewin,
pa ra llels
the
long-term p l a n n i ng has given
financial
official
expediency.
told
in
visits and buy text
-
179 -
of
exi st in g
en vi ron me nt"
cl osely
be
cost
the
value
d ev elo pm ent
re sou rce s rather than g en e r a t i n g new
its
n>a
the
within the e x is ti ng s tru ct ur e of prov is io n to
improved
de scr ibe
devaluing
involved;
in
(1987)
no rm al ly tend to take a short
immediate savings,
of
high.
feature
’a culture of c u t s ’ -
term because of the un ce r t a i n ti es
over
that
M in is tr y
figure was that
this
have
alleged
sector has been a
expl ain s
culture of c u t s ’ will
vo lu nt e er s
an
At the start of the
the c o u n t ry was short of 500 teachers.
many de v e l o p i n g coun tr ie s
have
in pr im ary schools as
for s ec on da r y schools.
year the Fiji
leavers
A
1988
way
senior
of
books,
the
but
of ■the n e c e s s i t y to a l l oc at e e xt ra funds
s en sit ive
areas such as bu yi n g
to
food for
p o l i t ic al ly
Fijian
boa rd in g
schools.
By
late
1989 the e c o no my of Fiji
recovery.
This
was
ta x- fre e zones
ma nu fa c t u r e r s
Ze al and
not o nl y
which
as
from
garments.
not
ne ar by
their
levels
pr e- c o u p
with a 25%
This
depend
Civil
increase
and new hotel
that
has
on
Serv ice
in
high
salar ies
1989.
in
political
and
New
By ea rly
1990,
156
on
a
new
su pr e m a c y to
of
them
implications
for
empl oy me nt
level
were
of
school
restored
is
to
fl our ish ing
1988
with
the
it,
as a r ef le ct ion
change
indigenous
will
which
gu ar antees
Fijians,
It
but
is
sm o ot hl y
On the
-
180 -
allows
an ti c i p a t e d
be p r o m u l g a t e d
return to d ai ly
1987.
who
There has
in
in
1990.
Fiji.
life could be
of the e s s e n t i a l l y gr as s - r o o t s
that e x i st ed before
1987
barracks.
c o n s t i t u t io n
is r u n n i n g
r e l a t i v e l y uneve nt fu l
December
s i gn ifi can t
from other races.
life
in
two other mi l it ar y offi cer s
that the new c o n s t i t u t i o n
face of
90
1989 co m p a r e d to
which took over
leader and
some r e p r e s e n t a t i o n
the
textile
plans are on the dr aw in g board.
its term e x t e n d e d
work
of
Australia
To ur ism
in arr iv al s
Interim G ov er n m e n t
the coup
a
held ca bi ne t rank have re t ur ne d to
been
cre at ion
it has o p e n e d up a new avenue of
does
has had
the
signif ica nt
been very a p p e a l i n g to
from South East Asia.
certific ation.
The
part to
a
had been set up under this scheme,
manufacturing
edu ca ti on
in
which has
but also
fac tories
due
had made
individual
On
The
seen
st ab li l i t y
level
there
is a strong core of goodwill
Fiji
a p eaceful
place to
and a genuine wish
live
to
keep
in.
Footnotes.
(1)
In
1977
the
Indian
s u p p o r t ed
Party won a narrow maj or it y
p r o c r a st in at ed
in
Go ve rn or- Ge ner al
in a
fo rmin g
a
government.
and the Fijian bac ked All ian ce
In
1977,
General
Fe de ra t io n
Election,
government.
The
the Gover nme nt
A fresh electio n
was
to
marks,
while non -F ij ia ns
who
had
pa ss ed
exa mination
with at
were requ ire d to have a
of 261 marks.
-
held
de ci ded to grant sc h o l a r s h i ps
Fi ji ans
Ze al and Un ive rsi ty Ent rance
and
won with a clear majority.
for the Un ive rsi ty of the South P a c i f i c ’s Fo und ati on
science pro gramme
but
then
a n n u l le d the results of the elect ion
formed a caret ake r
(2)
National
181 -
the
year
New
least 216
mi ni mu m
CH AP TE R FIVE
E XA M I N A T I O N S AS
AN
INDICATOR
OF
SC HOOL
QUALITY.
5. 1
The Use
of
Ex am in at io ns
in
Ass es si ng
Education
Performance♦
Of the var ious outco mes
of a school
as a result of p a s si ng external
readily visible.
ex am ina ti ons
M or tim or e et
serve
al.
var io us
teachers;
po s s i b ly
(1984)
functions,
is the
most
suggest
that
inter
’benchmarks*
increasing
al low ing c omp ari so n
ce rt if i c a t i o n
e x a m i n at io ns
pr ov id in g ob jec tiv e ac h i e ve me nt s
a p u p i l ’s peers;
system,
the
between
Individual
to
work
per fo rm an ce s
in
a
moti va tio n
di ff erent
in
of
schools
control
d i s c i pl in ed
and abi lities
,
r e l a t i v e to
and ge og raphic regions and ac ting as a social
enc ou ra ge ch ildren
alia
to
manner.
non -ex am in at io n
areas tend to become s u b j u g a t e d to the pa ss in g or failing
of external
examinations.
The ori ent ati on
towards the pas si ng
freque ntl y c r i t i ci ze d
and
inhibiting the
in Fiji
of
and e l sew he re
teaching
and
va rious reports and commissions,
Royal
Commission,
have r e c o m me nd ed the
least the pri mary examinations,
no
valid
ind ust ria liz ed
e x am in at io ns
the
for se co nd ar y school,
re la t i v e l y
smaller
-
process.
as
the
abol iti on
function.
have
have re ta ine d them p r i ma ri ly as
allocat e
such
182 -
a
is
st ifling
In
1969
of
on the grounds that
educat ion al
co unt rie s
for
learning
Fiji,
serve
ex a m i na ti on s
While
at
they
many
a b ol is he d
selection
de ve lo p i n g
countries
selection
number
of
device
to
places
in
sec on da ry schools.
fa voured
the
Social
rete nt io n
Chapter 5.2 e x am ine s
The Case
(1979)
pr imary
has p r o p o s e d that
She argues that the
has
st ro ngl y
examinations,
to the
certification,
which
allo cat or of
purposes
s o c ie ty
is
system.
lifp
aura
instrumental
defin iti on
as
B r oa dfo ot
of
an
Both
most political
it,
and
app are nt ly
accountability
of
on
the
the
inherent
system and claims that
these
tests
was
"The
hi ghly
in the very
const itu te
edu cational
and society,
it is one
of
is
the
aspects of education.
Broa dfo ot ma int ain s that
and
are
She claims that as assess men t
the bridge between school
balan ces
that
a llo cat ion
as
for
’qu ality control*
sho ul d
(1979:50).
society.
as ses sme nt
pays
is critical
surrounding
what
pr ac tices
and
in hid ing any hint of class bias
ach iev eme nt"
ensures
who
chances.
class bias of the a s se ss m e nt
sc ien tif ic
of
pe rc ei ve d
and cer ti fi c at io n are means of
ed ucation
asse ss me nt
link betwen school
overt
accountability,
checks
Fiji
in more detail.
indicator of the
neutral
of
in
for and A & a inst Examinations.
Broa df oo t
are an
dem an d
their
and
there
in
ess e ntial
c h an gi ng
ass ess me nt
approach.
The
a
a
co mp le x
as ses sme nt
legiti mat ion
di st in gu is he s between
is
innovation
social
are
soft
not
and
a
former soft app roach merely
within the basic
framework,
-
which
of
threatened.
She
appr oa ch
hard
makes
to
’radical*
changes
whereas hard cha nges call
183 -
of
functions
’reformist*
pro ce du re s
series
for
moves auay from tr adi tional
In d e v e l o pi ng countries,
as se ssment
it is apparent that ex a m i n a t i o ns
usu al ly undergo a r ef or mis t
str ong wish and
indeed
ex am in at i on system.
practices.
type of change,
ne c e s s i t y
to
as there
ret ai n
S o me rs et has noted that
select does not derive
pla nners can control;
from
factors
rather,
its
formal
"The need
uhich
it has
a
is a
to
ed uc ational
roots
in
the
context of po ve rty within which all t h i r d - w o r l d e du ca ti on
systems must
selection
function"
(1987:4).
in poor co unt rie s
The a l lo ca ti on
is paramount:
to
can proc eed to the next stage of ed uca tio n
find
em plo yme nt
Educational
in
very
pla ce d on education.
co mp et it iv e system,
an alt ern ati ve
which
indu str ial ize d countries.
co ns id er at io ns
a llo cat ion
Conversely,
of
(S o m e r s e t ;1987:7).
internal
co mplete sub sti tu te
traditional
D o r e ’s
rampant
s e ver el y
it
for
Tanzania,
external
have
tended
is
is
in
for
at
the
over-riding.
bias
are
C o un tr ie s
as
a
at
that
partial
assessment,
to
viable
more
become
assess men t
value
is not as
much
can
returns
the
of obj ec ti vi ty and fairness
op po rt u n i t i e s
e x p e r i m e n t e d with
and
"Because so
who
of this
as
who
markets.
for
cou nt ri es
su bj e c t i v i t y and personal
costs avoided"
Ch ina
account
ass essment
for de v e l o p i n g
and
personal
Par tl y as a result
internal
decide
labour
qu al if ic a t i o n s bring great
in de ve l o p i n g countries,
stake,
res tr ic te d
factor of
revert
such
to
all
have
or
as
more
ob jec tiv e examinations.
(1976)
c el eb r a t e d
’qua lif ic at io n
’D i p lo ma Disease*
escalation*
-
184 -
which
p o i nt ed to the
f o llo we d
two
dec ades of ma ssive e xp an s i on
third wo rld countries.
He
in the ed uc at io n sy st ems
s e ri ou sl y
questioned
of
whether
c e r t if ie d and q u a l i f i ed people were ac t u a l l y e d u c a t e d
the
sense
of
creativity,
h av in g
h on es ty
ov e r - e m p h a s i s
on
the
favoured
se le ction
it
in-service tr a i n i n g
or at
which
would
interest rather than
"the goal
of the
ce r t i f i c a t e seeking,
lifelessly
learning which,
eroding
world"
the
I
persist
quality
of
contributing
to
of
He p r op o s e d that
sh o u l d
be
within
the
informal
higher
life.
e d uca ti on
the
importance
He
ca ll e d
engage
of
for
a
ch il dr e n ' s
bre ad- and-butter,
instrumental
in
creating
towards
for
least reducing,
pedagogy
an
with c o m m u n i t y
in the pr ocess of schooling.
wo rkable
such
work
more
integ ra ti ng the school
and eliminating,
the
life-chances
to
the
to
effect
problems.
His s u b m i t t e d so lution was
reorienting
saw
whe ther
ac tua lly
eco nom ic and social
learning and
Dore
qu e s t io ne d
was
imagination,
d et ri me nt al
or h a v i n g the converse
e x i s t i n g system,
new
he
as
link between s c h o o l i n g and
broken.
Dore
and
of
curio^sity.
in ed uc at io n
development,
political,
or
qu ali tie s
examinations
ed uca tio n pr ocess
ori e n t a t i o n
the
in
believing,
s c h o o l i ng
motive
is
for
steadily
th rou gho ut
the
( D o r e ; 1980:61).
D o r e ’s
’D i p l o m a
audience.
Disease’
His po li cy r e c o m m e d a t i o n s
of sel ec ti on are ho wever
not c e r t i f y students,
t e n d e n c y to revert to
processes,
thesis
has
re a c h e d
a
wide
for a l t e r n a t i v e means
somewhat vague.
If
scho ols
did
there wo uld u n d o u b t e d l y be a st r o n g
an te ce d e n t
such as ethnic
factors
background
-
185 -
or
in
sel ec ti on
s o c i o - e c on om ic
status*
The a ss ume d o b j e c t i vi ty of exa min at io ns
s t r o n g appeal,
as
it is
less
prone
to
retains a
c or rup ti on
and
in fluence than s u bj ec t i ve measures.
I mp rov ing Exa mi na ti o ns
In
a
search
for
a
to
Improve Pedagogy.
sele ct io n
system
e f f e c t i v e l y elim ina te the most negative
’D i p l o m a
Disease*,
alternatives:
educational
Little
earlier
qu ali fications,
lo tt eries or
sel ec ti on
for
of
Jobs,
four
ab ol it io n
re f or me d
wi t h i n
the e x a m in at io n sy st e m
c o m m o n l y held notion that
have
a t o t al ly negati ve
having
found
that
e x a m in at io n
po te n t i a l
for change"
on the basis of
removal
itself.
examinations.
backwash
sy stems
evi de nc e
from
of e x a m i n a t i o n s wo uld
demoralisation
and
as well
as
eschewed
the
must
inevitably
on
education,
large
to
Little
various
lead
to
lack of motivation.
co u l d thus be a positve s te p
educ at io n,
a
points
(1984:222).
was
effect
from
Little
innovation
She
ex am i n a t i o n s
"Evidence
na t io na l
for
number
an
of
en ormous
co ntends
that,
countries,
high
levels
E x a m in at io n
the
of
re f o r m
in improving the q u al it y
improving se le ction
of
restricted
R e j e c t i n g the first three proposals as untenable,
d e d u c e d that the most re al i s t i c path
the
r ev ie we d
se lection through
th rough
would
features
(1984)
sele ct io n
which
of
processes.
W o r k i n g on the same premise that
"examinations co uld be a
s p e a r h e a d of e du ca ti on al
instead of a bar rie r
it",
Somerset
(1987)
reform,
has d e s c r i b e d his work
r e f o r m i n g examinations.
Radical
-
in
Ke n y a
changes were made
186 -
in
to
in
the
type of
q ue st ion s
sy st em was
a ske d
imple me nt ed
their te a c h in g and
to
an
guide
schools
s tu den ts
of
high
The
c o n c e r n e d with the ef fects
of
The
a b i li ty
the
of
particularly
in schools
in practice,
it pro ved di ff ic ult
is great scope
i mprovements
quality
of
goals
were
of
knowledge,
and
areas.
equate
While
efficiency,
the Kenyan expe ri en ce
shows
examinations,
there
resulting
in
in pedagogy.
point out the
results a su ff icient
difficulty
of
indicator of the
Woodhall
finding
indisputable mea su re of school
an
e x a m i n a t i o n s or of
test
as
The p r o bl em with the
resu lts
administered
well
as
latter
qu es t i o n a b l e "
the
result
that
(P sa ch aropoulos
Many of the s t u di es r e v i e w e d
assess the effec t of
va rious
examination
-
may
be
W o o d h a l 1 ; 1 9 8 4 :2 13).
school
inputs,
indicator
results
187 -
"that
samples are
in Chapter Two a t t e m p t e d
in va riably used e x a m i n a t i o n s as an
While the use of
co gnitive
reliability
and
of
tests
is however
the tests are co s t l y and therefore only small
with
and
qua lity and admit that the
sp ec i a ll y
non-cognitive
(1985)
accu ra te
indicator does tend to be either
achievement.
used,
primary
nationally
q u a li ty of a s c h o o l? P s a c h a r o p ou lo s and
which
bias
and
in less pr i v i l e g e d
to
to
without
ref orms
ed uc ation
for r e f o r m i n g
But are e xa mi na tio n
most common
improving
allocational
educational
improvement
school
to
the t e a ch in g of rel ev an t skills
eq uity and relevance,
feedback
included ef f i c ie nc y and equity:
to wards p a r t ic ula r groups.
schools:
information
learning processes.
goals of ref or ms also
fairly select
and
as
and
of
an
to
they
output.
index
of
school
q ua lit y remains a co nt en ti ou s
other measurements,
po i n t e d out,
and,
as
issue,
So merset
ex a m i n a t i o n s do not by
there are
and
Littl e
de fi ni t i o n
feu
have
need
to
have a n e ga ti ve effect on schooling*
The re s e a rc h un der tak en
school
e x a m i na ti o n
in
in this thesis,
Fiji
as
q u a l i t a t i v e output of schools.
quantitative
p r o ce ss
5.2
perspective,
the
To
the
therefore,
bench mar k
mo di fy
te a ch in g
uses a
for
the
this
somewhat
and
learning
is also studied.
The Use of E x a m i n a t i o n s
"To most
people
in Fiji,
in Fiji.
educa tio n
is still
eq ua ted
with
p a s s i n g ex a m i n a t io n s as a means to future empl oy men t
school
and
co m m i t t e e s and t ea che rs alike are as firmly wedded
as ever to ex am i n a t i o n pass rates as a measure
success"
(W h i t e h e a d ;1986:19).
in the Fiji
school
Form 6 and Form 7.
for the next
system:
in Class 6,
Schools and t e a ch er s are
importance
rat es their stu de nt s
schools.
is r a n k e d
Form
4,
level of ed uc a t i o n and are thus pe r c e i v e d as
students.
r a n k i n g are
Class 8,
The e x a m i n a t i o n s are s el ec ti on devices
utmost
of
their
There are many ex am in a t i o n s
be i n g of
indices
of
a
at ta in
s c h o o l ’s
integral
by
teachers,
judged
and
these
merits.
pa rts of
by
in
the
become
Testing,
life
From the start of school
par en ts
-
188 -
popular
of
in Class One,
in order of merit d e p e n d i n g on res ul ts
tests.
pass
gr a d i n g
many
and
and
F i j i ’s
a
child
in class
The Pri ma ry School
The
Intermediate
E nt ran ce
years of schooling,
for chi ldren
in
Exa min at io ns
Fijian
at te mp te d
ex am in ati on as
age.
pr im ary
to
schools
but
example,
di sco ura ge
4,805
1984 and 8,143
c and ida tes
Annual
pupils
This
the
in the mid
sat
1985,
in just
Keport
in
use
dec line
the
for
almost
four
1985).
1980s.
in
(Ministry
Parental
to
years
of
Eighth Year
schooling,
e n te ri ng
a
introduced
is
s ec on d ar y
in
Until
S e c on da ry
alth oug h
ex am ina tio n
the
of
Ed uca tio n
Sch ools
s t ro ng ly
there
(since
sat
s e lec ti on
school
pr oc ee de d to s ec on d ar y school
at
Form
mid
crite rio n
Three.
1960s
many
without h a v i n g
Ent ra nc e
It
In
1955
for
but the
Form Three
1,100.
189 -
8
for
was
chil dre n
the
(S.S.E.E.),
only 471 chil dre n pas se d the S.S.E.E.
fo ll ow in g year was
1985
s t ar ti ng
pa ss e d
Ex am ina tio n
more pr e s tig iou s church schools.
-
has
after
it was n e c e ss ar y to gain entry to gove rn me nt
in the
for
number
has
Examination)
the
late
in
1954 when s e c o nd ar y educa tio n was
to exp and rapidly.
early
its pro po se d ph as ing out.
The Se co nd ar y Schools Ent ra nc e
r en ame d the Fiji
an
6, 114
favoured the re ten tio n of the e xa min at io n and
been wi de sp re ad opp os it io n
this
Entranc e
of
pres su re
of
In 1982
the
to
recent
the
1983,
dou bl in g
years.
in
Intermediate
inc reased to 5,561
in
6
en try
it invari abl y cause s wastage at
increased again
examination.
after
for
The gov ernment has,
The number of c a nd id at es did
1970s,
taken
was e s t a bl is he d as a se lec tio n device
Fijian s e c o n d a ry schools.
years,
examination,
or
example,
intake
to
(Department
of E d u c a ti on Annual
Report
for
1357)*
In
the
years of the ex am i n a ti o n the pass rates uere
n u m b e r s sit ti ng an d p a s s i n g
5.2.1
shows.
Ta bl e
5.2.1
Secondary
1954 -
increased
Schools
first
low,
rapidly
but the
as
En trance
Table
Results,
1969
Sat
Pass Rate
Pa ssed
1954
1, 198
214
17.8%
1955
1,622
266
16.3%
1956
1,970
471
23 .9%
1957
2, 123
601
28.3%
1959
2,710
664
24.5%
1961
3,012
719
23. 8%
1962
3,393
821
24. 1%
1963
3,360
1,079
32. 1%
1964
4,084
1,223
2 9 .9%
1965
4,861
1,896
39.0%
1966
5, 719
2,341
4 0 .9%
1967
6,488
3,434
5 2 .9%
1968
7, 256
3,704
51.0%
1969
8, 300
4,083
4 9 .2%
Source:
The
D ep ar tm en t
proposed
p r im ar y/ 6- ye ar
C h a p t e r 4.1)
of E d uc at io n Annual
stru ct ur al
secondary
Reports.
ch anges
school
to
sy s t e m
intended to e l im in at e
a
6
(explained
in
the need for
the
S e c o n d a r y Entrance e x a m i n a t i o n and from
1973 to
the
proportion
this
declined.
uere
feu
of Class 8
pupils
The M i n i s t r y of
sitting
Ed uc ation
-
190 -
Annual
1979,
exami na ti on
Report
for
1975 c o n t a i ne d the g o v er nm en t policy then prevalent:
en co u r a g e the c h a ng e -o ve r
se c o n d a r y to a 6- year
chil dre n
in Form 2
from an
8-year
p r imary/6-year
p r imary/4-year
secondary
course,
(Class 8) of se c o n d a r y sch ool s are
longer req ui re d to pass an ex am ina tio n
F orm 3." Many schools,
for
es pe ci a l l y those
t r a d i t i o n a l l y se le c t i v e
in
their
which
e nt ry
c h il dr en
found that the y were
the
6- 6
prevented
all schools
structure,
enlarging
prim ary schools.
s tr uc tu re
Not
as their
s ec o nd ar y
been
policies,
were
se cti ons
and also kept the
their
the S.S.E.E.
c l e ar l y had an advantage
se con da r y school,
sy st em emerged.
and after
numbers of can di da te s
its popularity,
for the
1980,
and
Scho ols
years
of
policy.
in
of
their
reg ai ne d
Table
nu mbers between
Class
increased to a level
higher than
in
191 -
sat
d e c l i n i ng
official
1972.
old
Entrance
in sel ec ti ng
s it tin g the ex am ina tio n
-
the
it
the propo rti on
it had been
reduc ing
examination,
the drop
change
Chi ld re n who had
few
ir re spective of
5 . 2.2 sh ows that de sp ite
from
a
form
am en ities
r e ta i n e d
S e con da ry
a dual
1979,
send
physical
examination,
and
to
S.S.E.E.
were able to
Bec ause many schools
to
had
to the sc hools they pr efe rre d wit hout some
of paper credential.
to
unable
no
ad mis sio n
re lu c t a n t to admit s tu de nts who had not sat the
a nd p a r en ts
"To
8
1973
pupils
si milar
or
Table 5* 2. 2
Pe rce nta ge
of Class 8 Children
S e c o n d a ry Sc ho ol s Examination,
Year
S i t t i n g the
1971 -
1986
Percent of Class 8
1971
88.8%
1972
93.9%
1973
79.4%
1974
72 . 9 %
1975
63.0%
CO
o
CO
1976
1977
59.2%
1978
56. 1%
1979
55.4%
1980
95.4%
1981
95.2%
1982
94.2%
1983
93. 1%
1984
94.4%
1985
93. 3%
1986
93.5%
S o u r c e : Min is tr y of Ed uca tio
There
was
phenomenon,
no
ex pl ici t
but
it is ap par ent
the form of parental
retain
the
education
different
wid ely
this,
the
ava il ab le
to
con sumer
cr ea ted
fact
by
in
need
to
the
that
the
a pass
to
sch ools
in the S.S.E.E.
co mmo nly
se co nd ar y
mi d
-
192 -
1970s,
and
in
pe r c e i v e d
as
was desirable.
the go ver nme nt has at te mp te d to modify
this
d em an d
sch ools are pe r c e i v e d very d i f f e r e n t l y
order to gain entry
’good*,
De sp ite
rea ction
that
pre ss ur e has
S.S.E.E.
was
go ver nme nt
R e c o gn iz in g
the
nature
of the ex am ina ti on to some extent.
the Fiji
are no
In
1985 it uas r e na me d
Eighth Year Exa mi na ti on and passes and
longer s ti pu l a t e d
marks are given.
their own
in the results
Se c o n d a r y schools are
*cut-off points'
-
but
the
pa s si ng and failing.
(This po licy was also
of the
stringent
in Fiji
a d h e r en c e
e s p e c i a l l y at pri ma ry
level.
are
to
use
dichotomy
Intermediate E n t ran ce Ex am in ati on
E d uc at io n p r o fe ss i o na ls
subject
e s ta bl is h
its
m ed iu m of selection,
the
o nl y
free to
which ret ains
lessens
failures
in
as
a
between
introduced for
1984).
largely very critical
external
A common
examinations,
c r it ic is m
is
the
influence of e xa mi na t i o n s on c u r r i c u l u m and teaching.
"As
a p u p i l ’s passage thr ough the educ at ion sy st em dep en ds on
his success at each examination,
most of the ex a m in a ti on s
is r e l a t i ve ly
s u r p r i s i n g that pre pa ra ti o n
pr e- o cc u p a t io n
parents"
and
and as the pass rate
for
co nce rn
(Elley and Achal;
low,
exams
of
becomes
teachers,
1981:5).
He also
e s p e c i a l l y the S e c o n d a r y
claims
Schools
means
of
it,
instrumentalizing
a
that
not
major
and
(1982)
because
of
the
Examination,
10
years
(1973)
c r i t i c i s m of the
have
rigo^rous
also
ad de d
sel ec ti on
Pa c ific
to
the
influence of ex a m i n a t i o n s on
c l a i m i n g that the e x a m i n a t i o n sy st em
the
lifestyle.
They
-
of
since ex am in a t i o n s are
193 -
is
condemn
Baba
ext en si ve
education,
an ti the tic al
the
a
which
discriminates ag ainst the poorer sect io ns of society.
and Ha rrison
has
examinations,
Entrance
co n t r a d i c t the go ver n me nt polic y of g i v i n g
s c h o o l i n g to those who want
is
pupils
Cokanasiga
cr it ic i z e d the ove r- us e of e x a m i n at io ns
high wastage caused.
it
in
use
to
of
ex am i n a t i o n s as a
e m p l o y e r s and
sele ct io n
institutions
de vice
should
and
a d voc at e
establish
that
their
own
testing.
A pr of es si on al
Ed uc a t i o n
educ at or and former Pe rm a n e n t S e c r e t a r y of
lamented the
importance that
place on examinations.
indi ge no us Fi jians
He c o n t e n d e d that the tuo
pr im ary
e x a m i n a t i o n s ex ac er b a t e uastage rates of Fi j i a n
and cause the uastage of much potential.
a t t it ud e of Fijian pa re nt s
se co nd
chance.
Vi c t o r i a School,
had o c c a s i o n a l l y
entr an ce
As
a
rather than g i v i n g
previous
admitted
boys
and
who
he
p e r f o r m a n c e s were no worse than
The pass
Suva,
rates
p r in ci pa l
a p r e s t i g i o u s go v er nm en t
ex a m i n a t i o n s
(Interview,
He c o n d e m n e d the
for w i t h d r a w i n g chi ld re n
failure of p r i m a r y examinations,
a
July
for
childr en
them
Queen
boys school,
had
found
those
of
upon
who
he
failed
their
that
their
had
passed.
1987)
different
indicate that more Fi jians
fail
Ent ra nc e ex am i n a t i o n than other
shows.
-
194 -
ethnic
the
races,
gr oups
in
Secondary
as
Table
Fiji
Sc hools
5.2.3
Table 5, 2.3
Se c o n d a r y
Rates
Sc ho ol s
En trance
Ex am i n at io n
for Diffe re nt Ethnic Groups,
Year
Fijians
1966
Pass
1966 -1984.
Indians
Other s
2 6 .4%
50.5%
6 1 .4%
40.9%
1967
39 .7%
61.9%
6 7 .5%
52. 9%
1968
36.7%
62.7%
60 .9%
51.0%
1969
35 .0%
60.3%
61.0%
49.2%
1971
5 1 .6%
65. 8%
73.8%
60. 1%
1972
46. 1%
61.3%
7 4 .9%
56. 0%
1973
4 4 .7%
62.3%
81.2%
56. 1%
1974
42. 1%
66.8%
83. 1%
58. 1%
1975
46.5%
68.4%
83.2%
59.4%
1976
49. 9%
69.7%
8 0 .0%
6 1 .6%
1977
55. 6%
71.6%
82.5%
6 5 .6%
1978
62.5%
76.4%
8 5 .4%
71.0%
1979
7 0 .3%
82.5%
93.5%
7 7 .8%
1980
69.6%
82.0%
9 3 .4%
77.0%
1981
7 3 .0%
82.4%
93.9%
7 8 .8%
1982
73.9%
84.7%
93. 1%
80.3%
1983
77 . 5 %
83.2%
92 .6%
81. 1%
1984
75.5%
84.4%
8 9 .2%
8 0 .7%
Mi n i s t r y of E d uc at io n
Annual
Source:
-
195 -
Reports.
Total
A sug ge st ed reason
for the
lesser per fo rm an ce
is that the best Fijian pupils are
Int ermediate Entrance
the re fo re
ex am i n at io n
pupils
r e l a t i v e l y small
thus
and
and
di ff e r e n c e s of up to
involved
co u l d
not
they
the
would
not
ho wever
possibly
15 pe rce nta ge points.
by
examination.
w ou ld
that the Sec on da r y En tra nc e examin ati on
Fijians,
Fijians
’cr ea m e d off*
be s i t t in g the Se co nd ar y En tr anc e
The number of
of
be
ac co un t
for
It does appear
mi li ta te s against
the very group who a d am an tl y wish to retain
it.
The co ns is t e n t l y sup er io r p e r f or ma nc e of the
num er ic al ly
small
This
group
and
mixed
ca teg ory of
co ns i s t s
’Others*
largely
of
is worthy of note.
chi ld ren
of
Eu rop ean des cent whose mo ther tongue
Their s u c cess
in all external
the fact that
it
tested,
is
rather than
inherent bias
(1987),
Europ ean
is n o r m a l l y English.
e x am in at io ns could point to
language
general
ab ility
which
competence.
in examinations,
is
The
as su gg e s te d
issue
by
of
Somerset
does not appear to have been addressed.
Bennett,
an
educat ion al
psychologist,
S e c o n d a r y Entrance ex am i n a t i o n and found
of cog ni ti ve
background,
c ap ac ity
school
r e l a t i ve ly
s t ud ie d
the
it to be a
test
independent
s ta nd ar d or parental
"Edu cat ion all y this so lu tio n has
r ec o m m e n d
if
ed uc at io n
it
there
are
is poor or who come
are
per for ma n ce "
disadvantaged
(1972:77).
He
ch ildren
whose
home
He
little to
primary
from a ba ck g r o u n d such that
in
points
their
educational
to
dan ge rs
the
a s s u m i n g that a test which measures cer tai n
-
of
en co uragement.
c o m m e n t e d that
t hey
being
196 -
factors
in
of
a
re la ti v e l y ho mo g en eo u s society,
in a so ci ety uhere home and
measures the same
school
factors
e n v ir on me nt s
differ
drastically.
Table 5 . 2 . 3 also shows the
changing
from
increase
1966 to
the S.S.E.E.
1984.
The huge
between these years
q u a l i t y of pr im ar y s ch o o l i n g
the up w a r d thrust
overall
in
indicates the
in Fiji.
It
in sec on d a ry sc hools became available,
pass
rate
disapproval
the
could
num be rs
sel e c t io n
also
be
ca nd id a t e s pass,
as
a
interpreted
The
increased
as
a
of
device.
it may serve to reduce
ori en ta ti on a t t a c he d to the examination.
s u g g es te d that the pass rates
re flects
as more places
hurdle.
sele ct ion
improving
more ch ildren were
by the M i n is t ry of Education
e x a m in at io n
tacit
the
If
the
use
80%
mask the di ff ere nce s b et wee n the
of
It has also been
political
races,
of
co mp e t i t i v e
in this and the Fiji
Exa m i n a t i o n have been rai s e d as a
rate
pa ss ing
also
for s ec o n d a r y education:
p e r m it te d to pass the
pass
Junior
ges tu re
es pe ci a l l y
to
the
lagging Fijian pass rates.
There are some st ud ent s who wo uld not sit either
pr im ar y external
both,
d e p e nd in g
ex aminations,
e nt ir e ly
on
pr i m a r y and s e c on da ry schools.
and
the
is automatic,
wo uld
sit
of
and
pro mo ti on
their
are
from
not re q u i r i n g any external
testing.
-
st ruc tur e
the
A few pr im ar y sch ools
feeder schools to se c o n d a r y sc hools
one to the other
indeed few
of
197 -
The Fiji
Junior C er ti fi c a t e Examination.
The
first external
sit
is the Fiji Junior Ce rt if ic at e
taken
in Form 4,
e x a mi n a ti on that all ch ildren
after
10 years
(F.J.C.)
of
in
Fiji
examination,
schooling.
At
that
l ev e l ? some 60 - 70% of the cohort who en te re d school
years
previously,
w oul d
( W h i t e h e a d , 1986:71;
statistics).
This
still
es ti m a t es
is a
be
attending
from M i nis tr y of
re la ti ve ly
high
10
school.
Educ ati on
reten tio n
rate
c om pa re d to many other d e v e l o p i n g countries.
The F.J.C.
was
int roduced
in the mid
1950s to rep lac e the
Junior Ca mbr idg e Over sea s examination.
With the e x ten si on
of the Gr a n t - i n - a i d sy st em to s e con da ry schools
su bse qu en t
increase
in enrollments,
and
the
there was a need
for
an ex am in ati on which wo uld serve pr ima ril y
leaving certificate,
number
who
examination.
m in im um
co uld
and secon dl y
pr o c ee d
For well
r e q ui re me nt
teachers*
to
enter
as
but
c l e ar ly been
for acad emi c subjects.
would
demand
the
s t a n d a r d iz e
since
a c h ie ve men t"
important
in
that
its
was
the
examination.
-
198 -
the
small
was
the
service
or
of
of
Educ at ion
the
new
inception
has
but
instead
instead of an
(H o p k i n , 1977:265).
it
school
It was hoped that the
education,
"became simply a se lec tio n device
of
basis
a
Ca mb r i dg e
the F.J.C.
G o ve rnm ent
examination,
F.J.C.
Senior
The Depart men t
s ub jec ts
the
select
the
over a decade,
tra in in g college.
fav oured practical
to
to
as
first
The
indicator
F.J.C.
local
it
was
secondary
Table 5 . 2 . 4 shows that the number of c a n d i d a t e s has risen
g r e a t l y since the start of the
examination,
1977 an d d e c l i n i n g g r a d u a l l y since.
to the r e d u c ti on
1960s,
to 2% by the
a contributory
rate
in the b i r t h r a t e
for
introd uc ed
factor.)
the
in
late
first
is
After
few
in
was
overall
1984.
within
a
The pass rate,
rose
almost
increasing
and
could
pe ople
sensitivity
in
a
be
school
It
about
suggested,
20
was
Fijian
rise
in
pass rates t e n d e d to mask the et hn ic di ff erential
to some extent.
The d i f f e r e n c e s
between Fij ian
pass rates
,however,
have
Secondary
Entrance
Ex am i nation.
School
stayed
unemployment.
and as has been e a rl ie r
be
standardization
un em pl o ym en t
thus d e l a y i n g or a v o i d i n g
education,
early
pass
rate
in
This c o i n c i d ed with
also a time of much po li ti ca l
due
the
co n s t r u e d as a means of k e e p i n g young
longer,
is
in the
f l u ct ua ti ons
de te rmined,
youth
in
E mi gr at io n c o u l d also
p ass
1985.
go v e r n m e n t co ncern over
from 3 . 5 %
po in t s until
politically
pe r c e n t a g e po ints
(This d e c li ne
years,
1966 and the
range of ten p e r ce n t a g e
which
1970s.
pe a k i n g
not been as m a r k ed
Ent ran ce examina tio n,
the
As
in
’Others*
s i g n i f i c a n t l y higher than ei th er Fij ians
Table 5 . 2 . 5 shows.
-
199 -
and
as
the
in
the
S e co nd ar y
pass
or
Indian
rate
is
Indians
as
Ta ble 5. 2. 4
Fiji
Ju nior
Ce rti fic ate
Nu mbe rs of Ca nd ida te s
Year
1955 -
Rates
and
1989.
Pass rate
Year
Pass Pate
1955
59.8%
520
1974
51.0%
9 , 398
1956
54.3%
389
1975
52.9%
9 , 556
1957
52.8%
427
1976
50. 1%
10,364
1958
5 3 .5%
1, 105
1977
50.5%
11,474
1959
3 1 .3%
1,414
1978
5 1 .5%
11,424
1960
2 8 .6%
1,585
1979
53. 6%
11,292
1964
38.7%
1,912
1980
5 4 .9%
11,003
1965
4 1 .2%
2,051
1981
55.0%
10,626
1966
5 5 .0%
2,484
1982
56.4%
10,642
1967
55. 3%
3 ,31 5
1983
59 . 7 %
10,302
1968
52. 9%
3,960
1984
61.9%
9, 945
1969
63. 6%
3, 158
1985
80. 1%
9,359
1970
56. 0%
4 , 966
1986
7 9 .5%
8 . 737
1971
60. 4%
6,030
1987
80. 3%
8 , 898
1972
5 4 .5%
6,822
1988
80.0%
9 , 254
1973
49.8%
8,395
1989
Source:
C a n di d a t e s
Pass
Min istry of Educa tio n
-
200
statistics.
-
Can di da
Table 5, 2. 5
Fl.ii
Jun ior
Ethnic Group,
Ce rt ifi cat e
1971-
Pass
Rates
by
1986.
Others
Year
Fi jians
Indians
1971
54.3%
60 .5%
83.8%
1972
5 1 .9%
51. 1%
N. A.
1973
4 7 .8%
4 8 .5%
78.3%
1974
48.4%
5 0 .6%
71.9%
1975
50.8%
51.8%
76.2%
1976
4 8 .7%
48.6%
7 2 .2%
1977
50.6%
48.2%
72.4%
1978
5 0 .5%
50.3%
70 . 5 %
1979
50.5%
53.5%
76.4%
1980
5 4 .0%
53.5%
74.8%
1981
50.0%
56.7%
72.4%
1982
53.0%
57. 1%
74. 1%
1983
54.6%
6 1 .3%
79.8%
1984
5 7 .3%
63. 1%
80. 8%
1985
78.9%
80. 3%
79.6%
1986
78.4%
79.5%
87.9%
S o u r c e : Min is tr y of Ed uca tio n statistics.
Altho ugh
the F.J.C.
is no
for em pl oy m e n t purposes,
longer
its
cu rr i c u l u m
have
major
re tention
only as an a l lo ca tor of Form 5
an d
a
restructured,
and
to
and
languages.
Such subj ect s have not been uidel y
in the past,
subjects
ex am in at io n
pr actica l
to
c om me rci al
The
been
t h e o r e t i c a l l y to uiden st udent choice
certain,
is
places.
r e ce nt ly
qualifical
but the new st ru cture
-
201
-
and
r e qu ir es
em ph a s iz e
v er nac ul ar
subscribed
stu de nts
to take
four core subj ect s
Sci ence
and
Social
ac ade mic
sub jects
Drawing,
Ac co u n t i n g
(English,
Science)
such
as
or
Ma thematics,
and
Home
two
or
ra tio nal e
is
p ot en t i a l l y
is
to
t er m e d
offer
Technical
pu r e l y
’relevant*
some
less
languages.
re fle cts a str ong p ol ic y bias away from
ed uca ti on to what
three
Economics,
ve rn ac u l a r
Basic
form
This
ac ademic
education.
of
The
tr a i n i n g
i n c o m e - g en e ra ti ng activities,
in
in an effort to
cou nte r gr ow ing youth unemployment.
There are definit e d i f f er en ce s
between sc ho ols
F.J.C results.
(See Ap pe n d i x Four).
e xp la in ed
by
the
individual
schools,
influential
se lec ti ve
both
a c h i l d ’s home background.
Researc h
in the F.J.C.
in the New
been ca rr ied out.
Z e al an d
(Kishor and
results of a large national
New Ze al and
School
to be a very pre cis e
tes t e d and proven.
potentially
teaching
and
influence
variables,
of
relating
as a p re di ct or of
School
Elley,
Ce rt i f i c a t e
1981).
The
has
F.J.C.
sample were c o m p a r e d with the
C er ti fi ca te
which had
of
examination.
(N.Z.S.C.)
results of the same pup ils a year
the N.Z.S.C.
par tly
A major concern of this thesis
into the r e l i a b i l i t y of F.J.C.
ac hi ev em en t
F.J.C.
the
and the
influence of these
them to pe rf o rm an c e
be
their
pol ic ie s
but there are many other
learning en vi ron men t of the school,
is to assess the
These can
adm ission
v ar iab le s r eg a r d i n g
in
later.
indicator of
pr ev i o u s l y
had
examination
The study
found
p e rf o r m a n c e
its
A t h r e s h o l d of 330 marks
in
reliability
in F.J.C.
was
a r r i v e d at to give a 5 0- 5 0 chance of p a s s i n g the N.Z.S.C.
-
202
-
Kishor and E lle y found slight di ff e r en ce s
in
Indians c o m p a r e d to Fijians,
t h r e s ho ld
the same
have
for both groups.
sli gh tl y
N.Z.S.C.
better
ba sed
on
They also
ch ances
their
co n c l u s i o n was that
although
F.J.C.
5
found
than
was
females
at
pas si ng
Their
overall
e x am in at io n
aca de mi c
of
that
males
marks.
"...the F.J.C.
go od p r ed ic to r of Form
the
favour
is a
success"
very
(1981:42).
Sen i o r S e c o n d a r y Examinations.
As a British colony,
Br i ti sh e x a m i na t i o n s
it was con sid er ed
at
senior
natural
se co nd ar y
to
levels.
Sen i o r C a mb ri dg e O v e r s ea s e x a m in at ion was thus the
school
ex am i n a t i o n taken
until
g r a d u a l l y ch a n g e d to the Neu
School
Certificate
in F o r m Six.
the
in Form Five and
wh ereas the nor th er n
Fiji
c i ti ze ns had had
Inspection
and
advisory
r e l a t i v e l y ea si ly and
1970s,
many
developed
New
’Fiji
e x a m i n a t i o n was
th eir
Zealand
O p t i o n s ’, which
largely set
locally o r i e n t e d curriculum,
Zealand.
The
same
in
c ou ld
be
o rg an iz ed
In
the
subjects
that
ma r k e d
but
administered
from
New
was
for
the
U n i v e r s i t y Ent ra nc e English paper.
- 203 -
taken
Fiji
the
and
app ro ac h
in
many
Zealand.
cost.
meant
There
and
New
Ce t i f ic at e
in fact
the
Ca mb ridge
in Fiji
exc es si ve
School
Entrance
calendar.
tr a in in g
wi thout
sitt ing
year was the
Senior
school
visits
final
in fo llo win g
The school
were many New Z e a l a n d t e ac he rs w o r ki ng
The
schools
-
U n i v e r si ty
hemis ph ere
had fitted po or l y with the Fiji
when
sy stem
There were many advan tag es
s y s t e m of a ge o g r a p hi c neighbour.
same,
1960s,
Z e al an d
take
to
a
In the ea rl y
1980s,
the Neu Z e a la nd ed uc at io n a ut ho ri ti es
war ned that the U n iv er s i ty Entrance e x a m in at io n uas to be
phased out alt oge th er
been occasional
examinations,
by the end of the decade.
moves toua rds co m p l et el y
but calls
for
had rem ai ne d paramount.
the Fiji
educa tio n
There had
localiz ati on
’international
of
recognition’
The Neu Z e al an d w it hdr aw al
forced
au th or i t i e s to set up their own senior
s ec on da ry examination.
in
the
Fiji
L e a vi ng C er ti f ic at e - a two year co urse
for
Form
Five and Six with an exa mi n at io n at the end of Form
Six.
School
(Form Five stud ent s
in
under the neu sys te m
1989).
The
This
and
they
to
subjects,
with
vocational
sub jec ts such as
it will
be
little
pa r t ic ul a r
from
were
offer
a
emp hasis
wide
on
the
those
observe
course
under
and
its
previous
in
late
variety
of
and
computing.
in
the
past,
progress.
pr es c r ip ti on s
the
taught
practical
e n g i n e e r i ng
to
be
e x am i n e d
failure of such a pp roa ch es
in te re sti ng
re al it y many of
r es ul te d
1988 were the first to
intention was
C o n s i d e r i n g the
has
differ
New
In
very
Ze a l a nd
exam in at i o n s .
Although the neu Fiji
School
pl an ne d
for some time before
issues
have
arisen
L e a vi ng C e r t i f i c a t e
it was
from
its
implemented,
had been
certain
implementation.
By
e l i m i n a t i n g an e x a mi n a t i o n
at the end of F or m
Five,
numbers e n t e r i n g Form Six
are
increased.
Under
the
Certificate,
pr e v i o u s
sys t e m
approximately
failed and were
substantially
with
60%
effectively
of
Neu
Form
prevented
- 204 -
Zealand
Five
from
the
School
students
continuing
into Form Six.
Table 5 .2 .6 takes
a
three se co n d ar y ex a m in a ti on s and
at each
School
level.
cohort
through
illustrates the
the
wastage
The hi gher numbers si t t i n g the Neu Zea la nd
C e rt if i ca te and U n i v e r si ty Entra nce than passes at
the pr ev io us
level r ep re s e nt repeaters,
and 2 7 % of the total
numb ers of ca nd id a te s
Under the neu system,
the
a p pr ox i m a t e l y
e n t e r i n g Form Five co uld remain
the pr e vi ou s Form Six roll of
6,855
students
Ce r ti fi ca te ;
sat
Table 5. 2 . 6
Year
the
aro und
neu
in
Wa stage
7, 0 0 0
st udents
instead
4,000.
Fiji
15%
respectively.
for Form Six,
c om p a r e d to 4, 23 3 uho sat
U n i v e r s i t y En trance
e s t i m a t e d at
(In
School
the
of
1989,
Le av ing
Neu
Ze al and
1988).
for
1983 Form Four Cohort.
Ex ami na tio n
Ca nd id a te s
Passes
(%)
1983
F.J.C.
10,302
6 ,1 52 (59.7%)
1984
N.Z.S.C.
7,187
3,116 (43.4%)
1985
N.Z.U.E.
4,236
1,398 (33.0%)
Source:
Mi n i st r y of E du ca ti on Annual
Int erviews with school
num be r of areas of
pri nc ip al s
co ncer n
over
L e a v i n g Ce rt i f ic at e e xa mi n a ti on
Report
in
the
1988
neu
(F.S.L.C.).
s t r o n g feeling that withou t an exa mi na ti on
st u d e n t s will
that
year.
A
discriminate
relatively
lack mo ti vat ion
con cer n
ag ainst
that
Fi jians
1985.
revealed
Fiji
There
in Form
to study di li g e n t l y
the
uas
new
st ru ct ur e
expressed
many uo uld
with e f f e c t i v e l y no qualifications.
- 205 -
Rural
a
School
is
a
Five,
d u r i ng
wo uld
in
feu Fij ia ns ac hi eve Form Six standard,
the abs en ce of a Form Five examination,
school
for
that
an d
in
leave
sc hools
also
feel
disadvantaged
communication
s u bs eq ue n t
pr ob le ms
with
because
of
the
the Mi ni st ry of Edu cation
difficulties
obtaining
with
new
tex tb oo ks
incre ase d n u m ber s of
Form
students,
need to pro vi de
Six work
was a co ncern
more
was also
and
and
it
With
would
be
equipment,
the
for many principals.
labo ratory space
c a u si ng
in Suva,
equipment.
n e c e s s a r y to pu r c ha s e more tex tb ook s and
high cost of which
of
pr es c r i p t i o n s
and
Six
lack
to cater
financial
The
for
Form
to
some
hardship
schooIs.
It
is
unlikely
capacity
or
that
schools
teaching
staff
s t u d e n t s to c o nt inu e to
elimination
will
to
Form
allow
Six,
at the end of Form Five
The M i n i s t r y of Ed uc a t i o n has not
pr o c e d u r e
six,
criteria.
it has al lo wed each
Form
some
is likely
to
school
school
a
Five
form
to
of
occur.
standardized
pr oc ee d
to
to
its
set
Form
own
(1988)
r ev e a l e d d i ss at is fa ct ion and conf usi on
over this
policy.
Pr in c i p a l s
responsibility
are u n w i l l i n g to take
a s se s sm en t
an
fee li n g of
uncertainty
impression
of
All p r i nc i p a l s
g ui del in es
objectivity.
the
new
lack of
teachers,
parents
pa r t i c u l a r
e x p re ss e d co ncern
students.
Overall,
with
- 206
-
is a
among
p r i n ci pa ls
the r ec og ni ti on
ou tsi de of Fiji.
a
exami na ti on
understanding
Indian
of
which
inter vi ew ed felt that there
of co nf us io n and
and
clear
regarding
great deal
F.S.L.C.
the
without any
w o u l d give
prevails.
with
thus
physical
p ri nc ip al s
internal
Interviews
the
all
issued
for d i s a l l o w i n g students
rather
have
of
in
the
There
is also a large gap between the d i f f i c u l t y
Fiji Ju nior
system,
and
some
Form
Six
ch il d re n
Z e a la nd School
studies.
c ou ld
Under
manage
to
the
pass
C e r t i f ic a te at the end of
lower
Le av in g Ce ri fi c a t e
has
a
these chil dr en uould not be
st ro ng social d em a n d
create
but
Un less
the
c a te re d
an
ex am i n a t io n
its functions:
those uho
at
stu de nt s
to act as a
leave
for.
for cer ti fi c at io n and the
the
rep li ca te the New Z e a l a n d School
school
end
Form
Five
that
cr isis of
and econom ic effects,
been
cer ti fi ca te
point
and
introduced
at
1987 and
the
a
year s t a rt ed
in
1988,
ap p r o x i m a t e l y 400 teachers,
s e c o n d a r y teachers.
on technical
neu
to
time.
Indians,
there
many
its
to
for
select
uas
of
co ul d
not
B e c au se
of
uhen
a
whom
The neu course has a
and voca ti on al
concomitant
course
worse
increased e mi gr at io n of q u a l i f i e d
the
s h or ta ge
were
he avy
subjects which are c o s t l y
uas appa re nt
at
1988
insufficient
teac he rs
start
of
tr ai ne d
in
that
these
uhich ca u s e d further problems.
•/
t r a i n i n g and p r ov is io n e q u i p m e n t
A
uas
there
in
to
It
were
sp ec ia l is t
expense
incompatible
the bu dg e t a r y cuts of 30% uhich were made
- 207 -
The
of
emp ha si s
costs of equipment.
the
neu
senior
implement due to the high capital
subjects,
to
Ce rt if ic at e and to serve
t e r m in at in g
at
pragm ati c
Ed uc at io n
of
The
for the Form Six course.
Due to the political
school
Five
su bs ta n t i a l l y
needs of schools may cause the Mi n is tr y of
have
Neu
level of d i f f i c u l t y than the Neu Z e a l a n d U n i v e r s i t y
Entrance,
social
former
the
Form
uo uld not be able to cope with Form Six work.
neu Fiji School
level of
1988.
of
uith
A pass
uas
in the Neu Z e a l a n d U n i v e r s i t y Entran ce e xa mi na ti on
for many years
achieve men t.
recognized
as
u l t im at e
school
It uas a pas sp or t to ma ny jobs or forms
further ed uc at io n or training.
ma ny
the
students,
late
at ta in in g
U n i v e r s i t y En tra nce pas ses but co uld not find
emp loy me nt
1976)
’Q ua li f i c a t i o n
had made
menial
Indians,
1970s houever,
uere
or training.
especially
By the
of
Inflation*
(coined by
it imp ossible to obtain even a
job
uit hout
ade qu at e
Form
to
r e la ti ve ly
certification. In
f o l l o u i n g the Neu Z e a l a n d system,
ad d e d on a Sev enth
Dore,
some s e c o n d a r y
cater
for
such
1979,
schools
students,
h o p i n g that they uo uld be al lo ued to take the Neu Z e al an d
B u r s a r y and
Sc ho l a r s h i p s
action
uhich
allou.
Alth oug h
Ed u c a t i o n
the
Neu
examinations
Z e al an d
initially
in Fiji
By
1986,
reluctant,
for
1986).
c o m p a r e d to
attempts
to
sch ol ar sh ip s,
pas s e s
of
r e f us ed
to
M i ni s t r y
of
Form
e x a m i n at io ns
Sevens
for
their
that
Of these,
(Ministry of
The high number
of
ac hieve
Fij ia ns
racial
of
is
the r e l a t i v e l y small
22 uere Fijians,
E d uc at io n
qualified
significant.
pa r i t y
uith
in
the
Annual
Indians
Due
to
aua rd
of
nu mber of Fij ia ns uith
in U n i v e r s i t y E n tr an ce had many o p en in gs a v ai la bl e
in the civil
sector,
cours e
17 sc hools o f f e r ed Form Seven studies,
Indians and 9 Others.
Re po rt
the
a cc e p t e d the e x is te nc e of
an e n r o l l m e n t of 308 students.
277
a
a ut ho ri ti es
and s t a r t ed to co nduct external
use.
-
service
and
uhe re as c o m p e t i t i o n
pl ac e s has been
some
areas
am ong
Indians
incr ea si ng markedly.
- 208 -
of
the
for
private
avai la bl e
When the first gr ou p of st ude nts sat the neu Fiji
Le av in g Ce rt i f i c at e
pass rate.
in late
1989,
School
there uas a 50% overall
This c o m pa re d to a 35% pass
for
the
pre vi ous
immediate
Neu Ze a l a n d U n i v er s i ty Entrance.
There uas
an
demand for
and
s c h oo ls
Form
accordingly
Seven
gr a n t e d
pl aces
pe r mi ss io n
more
to
expand.
number of stud ent s p a s si n g the F.S.L.C.
its oun up ua rd thrust,
secon d u n i v er si t y to be o p e n e d
increase
in school
ex a m in at i on s
in Fiji
Cu r r i c u l u m D e v el op men t
Ex am in at i on s
Education.
teac her s
are set
largely
from
im pl icitly
or
techniques.
a
the
the
sec tion
of
stu de nt s
explicitly,
T e a che rs
by
staff
uho
panels
of
the
section
Overall c o - o r d i n a t i o n comes
the
the
in se tt in g e x a m i n a t i o n s brings
uh er eby
for
for
Unit and the Exa min at io ns
It has been su g g e s t e d that
s it uat ion
calls
in Fiji to cater
advice
of the Min ist ry of Education.
the
cr ea ted
in Fiji
of p r ac ti si ng teac her s uith
from
large
leavers.
S e t t i n g E x a m i n a t io ns
External
The
has thus
and there have been
uere
of
are
set
Mi n i s t r y
of
uide
of
about
a
such
teachers,
taught
bi as ed
ex am i n a t i o n
e x am in at io n
e x c l u s i v e l y from the g r e ate r Suva area,
use
papers
uhich
adds
are
more
ueight to the bias of the pr imate urban area.
The q u a l i t y of
variable.
locally
set
is
e x t re me ly
The tuo p r i m a r y e x a m i n a t i o n s and F.J.C.
high pro por ti o n of mul ti pl e
of uhich
ex a m i n a t io ns
choice questions,
is to faci li ta te marking.
- 2 09 -
(Marking
have
a
the purpose
is
houever
done manually).
The future
intention
for
F.J.C.
limit mu lti ple
choice to
50% of the total marks.
pap er s
sub je ct s
contain
in some
factual
recall
questions,
i n cr ea si ng p r o po r ti on s of
(1972)
the
a high
wh ereas
Question
pr op or t io n
other
pa pers
size of
system,
p r et es ti ng is
impossible
in question type,
coverage,
reliability
mar ki ng
The
of
lack of s p e c i f i c a l l y
and
less than perfect
situation,
in
ad e qu ac y of
teac her s
spite
have
for great e f f i c i e n c y
been
var ious
of
New Z e a l a n d
att empts
create
which,
since
nationally.
a major at tempt was made
aid.
The
Tests
were
more e f fe ct iv e
t e a c h i n g and
Des pi te the
resources
which
large
went
s t a n d a r d i z e d tests,
w i d e l y and have
mental
with
gu id ing
learning.
amount
into
of
the
and
tea ch er s
(Elley
human
they
are
follow-up.
The
various calls
for
from
Class
towards
and
and
at
pi loted
in
att it ud e that tests and ex am in a t i o n s must
for their
a
In the
funding
de ve l o p m e n t
it app ea rs that
little e ff ec ti ve
c o u l d be a reason
Despite
in Fiji.
co ns t r u c t e d
for
a
the
has
1935
intention was to use the tests
Six as a di a g n o s t i c tool
and
in its organization.
i n t r o d u c i n g the use of s t a n d a r d i z e d tests
1970s,
of
personnel
e x a m i n a t i o n s section of the Mi n i s t r y of Edu cation
reputation
and
equivalence
tr ained
the de g r e e of rel ian ce on pr a ct is in g
1981)
have
no ted that because of the r e l a t i ve ly small
inevitably exist
late
of
Bennett
weaknesses
Th e r e
to
interpretive questions.
edu ca t i o n
papers.
is
Achal,
physical
of
the
not
used
ingrained
’count*
lack of support.
the
- 210
ab olition
-
of
di fferent
e x am in at io n s
the public
earlier,
of
a
in the Fiji
wishes
for
system,
schools
their
retention.
efficiency
to
pol ic y
as
As
in
as
mea sur e
to
us ing e x am in at io ns as
a
to
an
improve
follow
means
expla ine d
E x a mi na ti on s sho ul d thus exert a
learning,
rather
factors,
the
u t i li ty
improving
positive
than
211
-
theory
the
a
of
of
pedagogy.
influence
influence of which they are so often accused.
-
indicator
increasingly
S o m e r s e t ’s
of
that
prov id in g
While r e c o g ni zi ng these
ex a m i n a t i o n s would be
and
well
individuals
co mp et it i ve society.
t ea c h i n g
it is clear
ex am in a ti on s are p e r c e i v e d as a publi c
ce rt i f i c a t i on
po si ti ve
school
on
dea de ni ng
5.3
Rese arc h on Ed uca tio na l
P er for ma nc e
in
Fiji:
A
Br ie f Review*
In r ec en t years there have been va rious re search
on
fac tors a ff ec ti n g
R e se ar c h
ed uc at ion al
on e du ca tio n
differences
in
Fiji
in a c h i e v e m e nt
ach ie ve me nt
invariably
between the tuo
problem*,
c o m p a r i s o n to
since
Indians,
as well
it
as
is an
as a c ad em ic
work of Kishor,
Steuart,
have a ps yc ho lo gi ca l
sociological
ethnic
dis pa ri ti es
valuable
for their depth
as a basis
Research
In-depth
feu.
studies
urote e x t e n s i v e l y on Fi ji an educ at io n
Fijian
pursue
a
na r r o u
academic,
1980s.
rather
specialization.
in the c o n te xt of Fiji education,
its so m e u h a t
to
link
Research
loose methodology,
is one of the
its findings to educa ti on al
overall
has t e n d e d to be
than
N a b u k a ’s
part ic ul ar
so meuhat
spec ia li za ti on s.
- 212
-
and
is
despite
feu studies
policy.
f r a g m e n t e d as various a s p i r i n g aca de mi cs
on th eir
are
used
s t u d y of di ff e r i n g a c h i e v e m e n t s of Form Four stud en ts
oft-quoted
a
uith
be
in the ea rl y
He t e n d e d houever to o u t l i n e research areas
rigo^rously
from
Case st udies
a
the
has te nd ed to
but cannot n e c e s s a r i l y
Baba,
and
as
such as that of Tierney,
for ge neralization.
in
em an at in g
such
Ba sou and Bennett,
dimension,
’Fijian
political
Pacific,
or po licy st ance are
a so c i o - c u l t u r a l
of
interest.
emphasis.
on
u n de r- a c h i e v e r s
area
from the Un i v e r s i t y of the South
Fiji.
major
Th ere has been much atte nt io n paid to the
education
social
in
fo cusses
gr o u p s and seeks to find an ansuer as to uhy
exist.
studies
ad
produce
The
hoc
and
theses
M i n i st ry
of
Education has
it limits
little ca pa ci ty
and So c i o- p sy ch ol og ic al
Kishor has written several
his psycho lo gi ca l
Five students.
art ic les
on
of
His resu lts show
than Fijians.
control*
Fij ians tend
which
co mp a r e d to
holds
personal
s i g n if ic an t
are
and
could
re l a t i n g to academic
provide
"there was a
Indians
had
locus of
have
stronger
a
significant
locus of control
Indians
and
that
aca de mi c
the
in
a
wide
insights
into
locus
as
a
that
range
of
research
His re search shows that
o ri en ta ti on
pe rf ormance"
is
failure
m a in ta in s
than
r e la t i o n s h i p
correlation
soc io - e c o n o m i c status
or
a c hi ev eme nt
in academic tests
internal
Fijians
between
the
of Fijians and Fiji
(1983:302).
between
Kishor
internality
in significant and suggests
and
that
values and beliefs may be more relevant.
(1982)
me as u r i n g
tes te d
Form
internal
Kishor
achievement.
Indians pe rf o r m e d better
B a s o w ’s
to
on
Indian
I n d i a n s ’ ’internal
these variables
cultural
Fiji
as a greater
individual.
claims
(1982,1983,1984)
that
r e s po n s i b i l it y of the
and
and
Research.
locus of c o n t r o l ’, bl am in g su cc es s
luck or fatalism;
be ha viour
res ea rc h
res ea rc h among Fijian and
higher se lf -e st e em as well
’external
in-depth
itself to c o l l e c t i n g qu a n t i t a t i v e statistics.
Psy ch ological
control
for
re search
on s e l f - e s t e e m u si ng a
instrument c o nf ir ms that of Kishor.
work
o r i en t at io n
dif fe re nt ethnic groups
u n i v e r s i t y students.
She
and
in
- 213 -
Basow
competitiveness
Fiji,
found
di ff e r i n g
with
that
Form
Fij ians
Four
also
am on g
and
ou ts co re d
other
groups
in
competit ive ne ss,
imp li cations
both
but
for
fields*
she
work
actual
ac hi ev eme nt are
Basou claims nev ert he le ss
mo t i v a t i o n
and s el f - e s t e e m
for
tr u s t w o r t h i n e s s am ong ad ol e s ce nt s
that
understanding
for u n d e r s t a n d i n g
social
and St ewart et al. (1980)
pl a nn in g
(sic).
tested beliefs
in Fiji
Indians have s i g n i f i c a n t l y higher
"The
not clear"
that
is important
a ch i e v e m e n t pa tterns and also
(1982)
and
c a u t i o us ly co nc lu de d
(1982*90).
Ste wart
or ie n t at io n
and
d i sc o v e r e d
levels
of
belief
in the t ru st wo r t h i n e s s of people co m p a r e d to Fijians.
i mp lication
is,
"Particularly for
may be that people p e r c ei v e d
family and village)
may
be
than peo pl e at a distance"
Maas
(1986)
as
trus ted
She
per ce nt ag e
Fiji
found that
(31%)
to find such a
2, 50 0
"there appears to
of d iv erg en t
th inkers
thinkers
since Fiji
(M a a s ,1986:104).
high
more
to
test
(divergence as op p o s e d to
She
pro po rt io n
of
Fifth
be
in
(22%)
larger p er cen ta ge of st u d en ts who fall
(47%)"
schools
am ong some
sch ools than con ver ge nt
c at eg or y
(extended
su bs ta n t i a l l y
in Fiji
the extent of cr eative t h i n k i n g
students.
close
it
(1980:127).
con du ct e d r es ea rc h
less cre at iv e convergence)
The
indigenous Fijians,
be ing
in
larger
the
and
into the
found
a
it
div ergent
Form
sa mp led
a
still
’neither*
su r pr is in g
thinkers
schools are u s ua ll y thought to be con ventional
and ex am i n a t i o n oriented.
Form Five students
in Fiji
Maas
re co g n i z e d
ho wever
that
could be e xp ec te d to be
above
average ab il it y as they had by that time sat up to
three
external
exa min at io ns
which are st r on gl y selective.
suggest s
that F i j i ’s mu lt i- cul tur al
- 214 -
env ir on me nt
Maas
may be
a
factor
in e n c o u r a g i n g people to think more
flexibly,
e s p e c i a l l y since most Fiji
or tr il ingual.
background
H a a s ’s st udy
thinkers,
except
for
ma les wh os e p a r e n t s ’ e du ca ti on
This
fin di ng
implies
account
of
Fiji
uas
Indian
the
self-perpetuating
Fijian
with
u n e d u c a t e d pa rental
class’
re l a t iv el y
for
social
and
b e co mi ng
mob il it y
b a c k gr ou nd s co m p a r e d uith
u s i ng edu ca t io n
lower.
(1975)
is
less
more
divergent
si gn if i c a n t l y
’middle
the
that
groups pro du ce d
is co n s i s te n t with that of Harris
that
are still
took
and oc cu pa ti on al
and
people are bilingual
factors of studen ts teste d and she found
hi g h e r e d u c a t i o n a l
divergent
also
fluently
from
Indians uho
and
oc cu pat io nal
explain
a c h i e v e me nt
m o b i 1 ity.
While
such
res ear ch
differentials
may
to a certain extent,
into e d u c a t i on al
po licy or
co u l d be s u g g e s t e d that
’typical
Fijian*
ha v i n g
low
find people
useful
if
a t t e m p t e d to dis co ve r
affected
e du ca t io na l
dichotomizing
not
co uld
clear.
emerge:
or
uould
the
outs id ers
hold
It
himself
have
high
may
have
Basow et
al.
had
which cultural
values
and
beliefs
performance,
rather
than
me rely
Indians. The
t h e or ie s
been c r i t i c i z e d by Little,
that
Haas,
It
failure,
finding
trustworthy.
Kishor,
Fij ian s and
such p s y c h o l o g i c a l
co nt ex t
Indian*
tr an sm u t e d
for his or her success or failure,
s e l f - e s t e e m and
been more
is
for success
and
’typical
it
is
s t er eot ype s
b la mi ng others
The
how
pr actice
se lf - e s t e e m
u nt ru s t w o r t hy .
responsible
help
in de ve lo p i n g
who w ro te: "T he
ap pli cat ion
co unt rie s
has
soc io -e co no mi c
gave rise to at tr ibu tio n t he or y and
- 215 -
of
its main
experimental
base
is
p r e d o m i n a n t l y Ame ri ca n
(1988:13).
within
Western,
and,
industrialized,
until quite recently,
She sugge sts that such research sh ou l d be
the social
and cultural
values of
a
that an a n a l y s i s of how di ff e r en t cultural
educational
p e r f o r m a n ce
A methodological
of
intake.
and
ex ten t
to which rel iab le co nc lu si on s
policy
im pli cat io ns can be
variation,
this
Pacific,
can
construed.
that of
p sy c h o l o g i c a l
factors
the most critical.
up their
s el f- es te em ,
in education,
and personal
es p e c i a l l y
of
(1974)
educational
school
performance
in Fiji
"Where there
and
in
his
Un iv er s it y
behaviour.
organizations.
and
latter co uld
be
teachers to
build
to enhance
individual
variables
in these
-
216
-
to
(1983,1984).
diversity
student.
the
and
found wide v ar ia ti on s
is
of
research as
in
as much
on the cr it e r i o n as a pred ic tor
some a t t r i b u t e of an
the si tu a t i o n a l
drawn
students,
q u a l i t y t he y can co nt ri b u t e
to the v a r i a n c e
the
study of p re dic to rs and de t e r mi na nt s
situations.
and t e a c h e r
the
skills,
Fijian
of
s o c io -c ul tu ra l
He exhorts
p o s i t i v e l y r ei nf o rc e de sir ab le
B e n n e t t ’s
be
a
limit
Stewart,
teacher
institutional,
(1983:3).
pe da g og ic a l
to
with
diversity
has used his psy chological
for nu mer ous spe ech es
He m a i n t a i n s
is that much
could
c a p a c i t y as p ro fe s so r of educ at io n at the
a ba si s
beliefs affect
sc hools
In a co un tr y with such a
social
the So uth
so
co uld be effected.
in urban schools or
ec on om i c
set
country,
limitation of this research
it was c o n d u c t e d
se l e c t i v e
adult"
instances
more
based
be
go
in
school
or
It may
of
on
that
beyond
c on ta m i n a t i n g
the
supersede them"
individual
(1974:10).
va ri ables
As me nt i o n e d
Ben nett expr es se s co ncern with
the
in
to, in
fact,
Ch apter
5.2,
danger
of
as su min g
that tests or exa mi na ti on s measure the
same
factors
in
soci eti es with
environments.
He
dr as t i c a l l y
dif fe ri ng
suggests that ob jec tiv e tests of co gni tiv e c a p a c i t y which
are
independent of home ba c k g r o u nd or school
inappropriate
terms,
for such a soc iety as
al though
dif ferent
country,
it
wou ld
exa min at io n s
not
for
urban bias which exists
Fiji.
be
In practical
p os si bl e
dif ferent
there could be more done
st a nd ar d are
to
pa rts
av oi d
of
the
hidden
in Fiji.
there
She
found
was
a
of the
that
large
independent varia ble s which
were re lated
psychol ogi cal
of
env ir on me nt
r es ea rch ers such as Harris,
the
the
family.
she
found
s o ci o - e c o n o m i c
and ach i ev eme nt
Sofi eld
re por ted
although all par ents st re s s e d the
in
order
to
get
a
good
job.
c on cl usi ons were tentative,
parents
a
Al th oug h
environment.
who on the whole
a
higher
and
educational
- 217 -
low
S o f i e l d ’s
there
group
had
very
importance of s c h o o l i ng
re la ti o n s h i p between ethnic
educated,
status
and children,
she found that
Indian parents,
social
other
Nabuka and Kishor,
between
by
Like
between
com mun ic at io n
in
for
a lack of c o r re sp on de nc e
in Fiji.
both
vari anc e
to
to
two
for
aca demic ach iev eme nt that could not be ac c o u n t e d
level of
the
per sp ec ti ve
explain the d is pa ri t y between the ac hi ev em en t
ethnic groups sampled,
have
in many examinations.
S o f i e l d ’s study used a so c i o -p sy ch ol og ic al
major ethnic groups
to
fa mi ly
pr ess
was
a
learning
were
(sic)
less
for
succ ess and
held
a s p i ra t i o ns
Fr o m
a
higher
educational
and
oc cupational
for their children.
s oc io - 1 i n g u i s t i c
arg ue s that
perspective,
Gri ff in
"in ethnic Fijian so ciety the use
(1983)
of
speech
p r e s c r i b e d by cu lture makes,
in a ra pi dly c h an g i n g uorld,
for
of
an
increasing
(1983:1).
amount
’cultural
He claims that traditional
deprivation’"
Fijian
soc ia li za ti on
pl aces a p re mi um on sil ence and c o nf o r m i t y and
c ur i o s i t y and
innovation.
off
ed uc ation
in formal
their
cu l t u ra l ly
pro c e s s e s
by
G r i f f i n ’s
an
c h a n g i n g to adapt to
ch i ld re n do
of
on
co gnitive
or i e n t e d
language
languages,
the
and
levels,
the
first
Fijian
students excel
sciences.
G r i f f i n ’s
ben efit to the e d uc at io n
language
Host
is
Fijian
language
and
at
and
language
in
of
mat he ma ti cs
’cultural
little c o n s t r u c t i v e
debate.
S o c io -c ul tu ra l
Ed uc ational
S o c io -c ul tu ra l
factors h ig hl ig ht
Research*
sy stem which em p h as iz es
a cultural
are
At se co n d a r y
concept
is of
system.
cu lt ure
world.
four years.
d e p r i v a t i o n ’ is ill-d ef in ed and
school
de ve l o p m e n t
the Fijian
ch a n g i n g
as
thought
school
arts su bjects and tend to p e rf o r m po orly
and
and
in fact at te nd schools where Fijian
is the me di um for the
ter t i a r y
type
language
academically
Like all
st a rt in g
from a d i s a d v a n t a g e d p o s it io n
the
a ss er ti on s
contentious.
leads to Fi ji ans
p re sc r i b e d
inhibit
favo ur ed
This
sa nctions
the co nf lic t
individual
syste m based on cooperation.
- 218 -
between
a
ac hi ev em en t and
Baba
also
found
Fijians more su sc ept ibl e to peer group and
pressures:
"The higher he goes
more he becomes a l i e n a t ed
(1979:5).
in the school
from his peers
The fact that there
is no
aca dem ic trad iti on am ongst Fijians
an
other
social
system,
in the
str on g
the
village"
literary
is also put
or
foruard as
inhibiting factor.
Harris
(1975)
educat ion al
st ud ie d the s o c i o - d e m o g r ap hi c co rr el at es of
at tai nm ent
in the Fiji sixth
a co mp lex set of r e l a t i on s h i p s
and soc io -e co no mi c
status and
strata:
gener all y
performance.
were ov e r - r e p r e s e n t e d
Fijians,
between school
isolated geo gra ph ic
poor educational
due
in
Harris
pe rf orm an ce
that
form
largely to high wastage
rates
parents
parents,
both mothers and
better ed uca ted
than
c o n fi rm ed H a r r i s ’s hy po th es is
higher educational
of
the
levels,
fact that 25% of
where neither parent
school
still
showed that
being
Indian
had
greater
the
rel at iv el y open.
Sixth
and
better
with
Fijian
rel ative
than
alt hough she
students
att en de d
Fijians
counterparts.
that the
This
chances
status and
those
from
co nc e d e d
that
came
more
to
sig nif ic an tl y
from
than
life-chances at that time
home ba ck gro und of the
very
whole,
Indian
Indians
for
in higher occ upa tio nal
levels are
lower s o c io -e co no mi c
a
fathers,
their
of o f f s pr in g of persons
as
with
c o mp ar ed
formers were of higher so ci o- ec on om ic status
ed uca ted than the pop ul at io n
found
correlated
found
Sixth
The
She
lower soc io- ec on om ic
origins
the
between Forms Three and Six.
form.
3
(1973)
homes
years
were
H a r r i s ’s study c o nc en t r a t e s on the
stu dents
little weight on the
the mse lv es
influence of
- 219 -
school
and
places
var iables
in de t e r mi n i ng achievement.
N a b u k a ’s
(1983)
p e r f o r m a n c e of
st udy
e x am in ed
Fijian
st udents
e s p e c i a l l y at Form Four
students.
results,
In
an
level,
a na lys is
in
in
of
Na buka found that
rea so ns
in school.
less than
The
Fiji
Indians achieve
in ter vie wed
am bi ti o n s
about
their
10%
as pi r i n g
co n c l u d e s
that
school
for
school
to
inputs
achievement,
v ar ia b l e s do not bear si gn i f i c a nt
methodology
postal
and
schools.
is
subject
to
ad m i n i s t e r e d
It was
thus
as
as
home
te achers
in
visible
inputs such as tex tb oo ks and o m i tt ed the
of t e a c h e r - p u p i 1 interaction,
general
match
school
environment.
specific
test
or
school
with
Na buka
te xtb ook s
are
background
differences.
to
high
jobs.
His
limited
stu de nt s
field,
criticism.
by
showed
r e vea le d
collar
such
that
t ex tbo ok s
Most
technical
blue
found
educ at io n
however.
or
Indian
better results
fewer
as pi rat io ns
in the pr ofe ss io na l
schools,
Ce rt if ic at e
His survey
f a t h e r ’s
between races
less than
critical
of
poor
to
Junior
Indians and have
var ia bl e
little d if fe re nce
secondary
com pa ri so n
in every subject except Geography.
Fij ia ns read
for
N a b u k a ’s
su rvey
was
r es po nd en t
qu an t i t a t i ve
critical
m an ag em en t
areas
and
the
The study did not attempt
exami na tio n
results
to
to
the
stud en ts
who had r e s p o n d e d to the survey,
thus he had one
set
student
results
of
di ff e r e n t
data
for
e xa min at ion
and
a
set for s o c i o- e c o no mi c variables.
Ot her resear ch by Na bu k a under the aegis of
on Fijian Education
Ac hi eve me nt
-
220
(1982)
-
found
the
that
Project
in
a
sa m p l e
were
of 43 se co nd ar y schools,
43%
located more than 40 miles
from
w h e re a s
u rba n
89% of
centre.
Indian sc hools
Of the school
Fijian
the
pri ncipals
in
an
in the sample,
60%
job
for
than
two years,
with
less than two years ex pe ri e n c e as principals.
s c h o o l s were worse off
libraries,
school
Indian
in regar d to science
fur niture and school
Home
ba ck gro und
office
equipment.
was
va ria ble s
st u d en t s have a less ad va nt ag ed home
with more a t t e n d i n g bo a r d i n g schools or
parents
with
re la tives
or friends.
in this report c e r t a i n ly suggests
are
disadvantaged
particularly
the
s t a n d a r d i z e d set
i d e n t i f i ca t i on
both
in
former,
the
of
mea sured
of
gener all y
living away
that
Fijian
schools
factors
results
which
from
information
students
and
homes,
lack of co rr ela tio n
ac hi eve men t
that
environment,
While the
their
Fijian
laboratories,
from a s u r v e y of some 3, 000 pupils sh ow ed that
Fij i a n
less
pri ncipals
The o n l y pos si bl e ad van t a ge Fijian schools had
of s m a l l e r classes.
town,
10 miles of
the
to 22% of
schools
nearest
were within
of the Fijian pri nci pa l s had been
in contr ast
of
with
p r ev en ts
a
the
d i re ct ly
affect
influential.
After
achievement.
B a b a ’s and N a b u k a ’s re se ar ch has been
h i g h l i g h t i n g the r e l ati ve
schools,
especially
rural
s u b s e q u e n t l y di re c t e d
books and e q ui pm ent
was seen
in the
material
d e pr iva tio n
schools,
the
large sums of money
for these schools.
field sur vey d e sc ri be d
A st ud y of a p ri mar y school
in
- 221
rural
-
in
Fijian
go ve rnment
into pu r c h a s i ng
Ev idence
of
this
in Chap ter Six.
Fiji
by
Tie rney
(1971)
h i g hl ig h t ed a number of we akn ess es as so ci a t e d uith
rural
edu cation
running
and
schools
regulations.
financial
He
with
under
the
the
found
that
for
r u n ni ng
su pport
areas co uld not com pe te uith
schools of quality.
Seven and
Eight
would
ex am i n a t i o n
with
t e s ti ng the normal
fail
Class s even to
that
career
very
school,
areas
be
s i t ti ng
in
Class
rote
learning
practices.
If ch ildren
to
see
head
high
inferior teachers:
glory
ethnic
were
which
trial
to
Tie rn ey
claimed
have
thus
their
they
from
are
their
rural
’c o un tr y
to
repeat
schools
service*
rural
Tie rn ey
c l a s s r o o m p e r f or ma nc e takes
wo ul d
place
approaches
Fijian s t u d e n t ’s dilemma;
the
him
very
the educational
the Fijian race"
(1971:62).
conformity,
lack
of
The
high
co mp et it io n
-
222
-
on
is ap p r e h e n s i ve to
into co n f l i c t with the cultural
the
the
likely
differences,
the Fijian student
p e e r s ....this point
come
found
and
rates
many d oi ng
On
individual
a co mp e t i t i v e tone,
any
He
for poor te a ch in g per fo rm an ce or as
a d i s c i p l i n a r y measure.
"When
Se co n d a r y
pa s s i n g
teachers,
pass
Cl asses
increments and others be ing sent to
areas as a puni sh me nt
obs e r v e d
in
they would be held back
chances.
rural
fi na ncing
Eight.
Tie rn ey m a i n t a i n e d however that
to gain sa lary
poor
the
drilling,
their
parental
in
to wa rd
especially
motivated
receive
school
the
judged on e x a m i n a t i o n pass rates,
students.
grasp
on
re ly ing
to ta ll y
improve
teachers,
when
geared
the examination,
of
Grant-in-Aid
T i e r n e y s t ud ie d ch ild ren
who
was
system*
G o v e r n m e n t ’s
urban
Sch oo ls Entran ce Ex am i n a t i o n
that t e ac hi ng
’commi tte e
above
core
of
the
goals
of
the
at tr ib u t e s of
value
and
his
pl aced
the
on
cl ea rl y
de fi ne d social
roles
it more d if fi cul t
e du cat ion
gre ater
These soc io -c ul tur al
parental
society
to
c o m p ar ed
based
to
pa ra met er s of the rural
school
which
in
their
pre ss ur e
school
make
achieve
to
a
Indian
achieve.
factors c o m b in ed with rural
and a rigid exa mi na ti o n
focal
Fijian
for Fijian ch ildren
Western syste m of
peers uho have
in traditional
sy st em
p o v er ty
form
the
is n e v e r t he le ss
"the
point of the c o m m u n i t y and a great source of pride"
( 1971:55).
In the
late
1970s,
the
M i n i st ry
of
Edu cation
in
Fiji
r e q u e s t e d the U n i v e r s i t y of the South Pacific and the New
Zeal and g ove rn men t
for a ss is ta nc e
s t a nd ar di ze d tests.
many external
in d e ve lo pi ng a set
It was re co gn i ze d
examinations,
there
that
e x is te d
di agn ost ic means within the ed uc ation
be ev alu ate d and the res ul ts used to
learning
in schools.
and trial
The
Elley,
feu
any
if
of
dev el op me nt
uas c o m p l et ed
and c o n s u l ta nt to the project,
inter es ti ng conclusions.
in
tests
Very
little
external
finding
dif fe re nc e
was
is most s i gn ifi can t
exa mi na t io n res ult s sat
found
When d i s a g g r e g a t e d
- 223 -
when
in the
of sch oo li ng where m a r ke d d i ff ere nce s
gr oups emerge.
and
which
They found for example
p er f o r m a n ce of d if fe re n t ethnic groups.
of this
be
1980.
Achal
that girls c o n s i s t e n t l y p e r f o r m e d better than boys
tests.
co uld
improve t ea ch in g and
have p u b l is h ed re sults of their trial
show some
the
uhich were d e v is ed to
a d m i n i s t e r e d to Class Six pupils,
The co or d i n a t or
despite
sy stem which
lengthy pro cess
test ing of the tests,
of
The
in
in the
the
implication
com pa re d
se co nd ar y
between the
into geogr ap hi ca l
uith
years
ethnic
areas
of
large urban area,
that pupils
advan ta ge
from
town
They
large
ch ild ren
pupils
areas,
urban
in
gained
area
had
Ma th ema tic s
"In
all
higher
and the margin was similar
and A c h a l , 1 9 8 1 : 2 9 ) . This
it was
purposes,
Although
the re sults
of
for
the
Intermediate
pupils
both
had
sat
co rr el a t i o n s were positive
d e v e lo pe rs claim
and
means
to
the
in
rural
(Elley
favour
urban
different
tests
Entran ce
same
a v e ra gi ng 0.70,
the
assertion
c o mp l e t e l y
the
do
Social
than
st an da r d i z e d
co m pa re d with those of
who
marked
in each case"
lends weight
d es i g n e d
a
subjects,
that the educ ati on sys te m and e x a m i n a t io ns
children.
found
but that they did not
found how eve r that
city and town
children,
the
in all Eng lish tests,
better than
Studies.
towns and rural
were
for
those
year.
The
which the test
indicates val id it y of both the tests and
the Entran ce examination.
As
indicated earlier,
has
little c a p ac it y
the Min istry of Educ at ion
for
research.
Educat io n Officer re sp o ns ib le
part
of
her
brief
is
for
There
Fijian
research.
co nti nu ou sl y o cc up i ed with
affairs
weekly
radio
as p r e p a r i n g
programmes.
and
is
a
is
Senior
immediate
stud en ts
presenting
and
however
demanding
(Personal
Fiji
Edu cation
She
at te nt io n such as c o u n s e l l i n g and a d v i s i n g
parents as well
in
daily
interview,
and
and
Suva,
1987).
There has been a s t r o ng t ra dit io n since colonial
gathering
q u a n ti t at iv e
data,
culminating
Re ports of the M i n is tr y of Education.
- 224 -
in
These offer
times of
Annual
fairly
de ta i l e d
d e s c r i p t i ve
f re qu en ci es
t ra i ni n g
st at is t ic s
r e la ti n g
and
to
uhich
en ro ll m en t
e xa mi n a t i o n
pass
p r e se n t e d
the same
inferences drawn.
in the Annual
format
a general
for some
not how ever unique to Fiji.
in Chile:
the
effort
Sta ti s t i cs
and
costs
are
used
a d m in is t r a ti ve
sup er vi si on or
include
in Fiji
is used.
by
the
are
da ta
is
have
had
Apart
from giving
at a
almost
given
time,
This si tu at io n
the re sults
in
data
central
on
in
The
the
terms
planne rs
efficiency
does
or
of
to
and
utilized
sy st em
indicators
is
collection.
but they are not
schools.
effectiveness
in
not
attainment
the
education
(1989:10).
There has been
res earch
on
possibly
for
little ap pa re nt c o o r d i na ti on
edu ca ti on a l
the
research ci ted
pe rf o r ma nc e
ps yc ho l o gi ca l
U n iv er s i ty of the South
in
Fiji,
re se arc h
of
Much
the
except
the
the
of
the
in this sec tio n was ca rr ied out as part of
it is thus so mew hat
It is evident that the di ff er en t
Indians has been
a ssu mpt ion
bet ween
Pacific academics.
p os t- g r a du at e stu die s and
and
nor
Es p in ol a has wri tten
implied
m e a s u r e m e nt s to judge the
system"
causal
information are poor c o m p a r e d
authorities,
in
which
"In the end,
of the use given to the
No
suggested,
fifteen years.
it is not clear how this data
teacher
q u a l i ta ti ve
Reports,
picture of e du c a ti on
same subject
No
mainly
details,
rates.
r e l a t io n s h i ps be tween var i a b le s are
stati st ic al
are
a
major
pe rf o r ma nc e
field
of
fragmented.
of
research.
has ten de d to be that e t h n i c i t y per se
- 225 -
Fijians
The
is the
critical
factor.
r ef err ed to
hou
they
The c o m m o n a l i t y
in most of the
research
is its emph asi s on stu dy in g the student s
fare
in
the
ed uc ation
system,
variable.
research,
light on the var iou s
thought
rea ctions of the main
ethnic
pa tte rns and so cio -cu ltu ral
gr oups
in Fiji,
schools:
the
e xa mi na ti on
t e ac hi ng
system and
and
its
factors
Se ek in g
the
learning
but
this
influence
make
a
elusive
process,
on
a
close
study
of
difference
concept
schools.
- 226 -
the
the
tea ch in g
qu al ity needs not only a study of qu an t i t a t i v e
outputs,
of
it may be timely to have some research on
learning and what
achievement.
view
is
imp licitly seen as a fixed
which throws some
In
uhich
and
in
of
and
pupil
school
inputs and
pr oc es se s
within
C H A PT ER SIX
6,1
THE FI ELD ST UDY - THE S C H O O L S
The role of Management.
Given the nature of school
in
Fiji
-
largely
intervention
ma na gement and
decentralized
administration
with
only
minimal
from M i n i s t r y he ad qu a r t e r s - the role of the
management
of
individual
importance.
The
fieldwork
schools
study
as su me s
of
very
individual
great
sch oo ls
bears out this contention.
The case of Dua School
cor ru pt
school
ma na gement
can
was e s t a b l i s h e d
Located
clearly
illustrates how
almost
in
in western Viti
d e s tr oy
1970
Levu,
by
a
a
initially that
Fijian
community
was
the
school.
intervened.
th e m s e l v e s
in an area where there
c o m m i t t e e - r u n school,
this
The c h i e f l y
firmly
for
wh er eb y the
electing
case
however,
family of
a
committee
itself,
the
teachers,
st udents
and
over
area
of
the
everybody
principal,
resources.
in cr eased over
the
p r e p a r e d to ch al l e n g e the chief or his
- 227 -
local
m a n a ge me nt
ru n n i n g of
Fijian
the
in the m a na ge me nt
authority
d i s c o n t e n t which
are
there were high
in turn co n t r o l l e d the general
In
they soon had
community.
in western Fiji.
responsible
c o m m i t t e e which
This
it would become the most p r e s t i g i o u s
s e c o n d a r y school
It was a typical
and
school.
Fijian
no other purely Fijian s e c o n d a r y schools,
hopes
weak
cu lture
established
school
and
including
the
clerical
Des pi te
years,
staff,
wi d e s p r e a d
n o b o dy
family be cause
was
in
Fij ian tr ad it i on
chief
the chief
in qu e s t i o n
uas
has
the
ulti nat e
indeed from a
say.
high-ranking
The
family
of great status.
The c h i e f ' s d a u gh te r
became
t r u s t e e of the school
and as such,
the school,
whether
tr o m the M i n i s t r y
in the
in
Suva,
school
in
of school
1970 to mid
The s i t u a t i o n
was
complain.
chi l d r e n
wi de l y
from
known,
The pa rental
the roll
had a roll
had
1988:
school
stu de nt s
village.
given
up
weekends
100.
of
her
did
not
send
the
direct
itself.
it
Very
fell
c o nd it io ns
lacked
m i s s i n g w i n do ws and a number
locks
had
and
The physical
many
smashed
to
the
ousted.
people
by
than
of
was
their
1970 when
mid
1980s,
Pa re nt s
feelings by voting
on the school
the
disrepair.
start
a
and
proverbially
feet.
consequences
into
father,
less
hands.
because
response was
This un iq ue ma na ge m e n t style
put
but
by
st a r t e d
From the o p t im is m of
to
st u d e n t s e x p r e s s e d their
with their
the
of ar ou nd 500,
fallen
and
grants
her
thus
1987 when this person
to other schools.
the school
fees or
through
informants,
funds,
tr ea su re r
all mo ney r e c e i v e d
pa ssed
c h i e f l y st at us and that of her
dare
clerk,
form of school
A c c o r d i n g to very r e li ab le
gr oss mi su se
the
were
doors
from r e p e a t e d bu r g l a r i e s
a
locks.
it was c o m m o n p l a c e
As
a
to find
- 228 -
of
poor
by
there
were
had
broken
from the
many
and
adjacent
they
consequence,
mis si ng
was
state
very
Br ea k - i n s had become so num er ou s that
replacing
immediate
little mo ney
into
chairs,
of
and
chairs
had
after
and
desks.
Although the school
the benefit of urban
water,
is next to a town and thus has
in frastructure such as
te le phone and tran sp or t services,
in-school
facilities.
There was no
electricity,
there
were
du pl i c a t i n g
few
machine,
so ex am in a t i o ns co uld not be set.
The
domineering
style
of
mana ge me nt
u n d e r m in ed
the
co n f i d e n c e of su cc es s iv e princ ip als who rarel y
lasted for
more than a year or two.
and
Staff morale was
were
frequent transfers.
Teacher
poor
in this environment.
pe rf o r ma nc e
Teachers
told
a c c u s t o m e d to the poor
co nd it i on s
and
useless
they
their
to
te a c h i n g
complain,
and
learning
kept
process
sca r c i t y of res ou rc es and the
any
at tempts
principal
to
bri gh te n
of this school
into the school
low
was
how
kn ow ing
there
was
very
they
got
it
was
silence.
af f ec te d
The
by
the
inevitable va nd a l i z a t i on of
up
classrooms.
told how the
u n a n n o u n c e d and
chief
interrupt
A
former
would
walk
lessons,
call
sudden a s se mb l i e s and ove rru le teachers and the principal
in front of the students.
G r a d u a l l y the school
became a school
who could not
a dm is si on
gain
ex p e c t a t i o n s were very
the school
involvement
Fiji
and ga i n e d
little.
in the school.
children
anywhere
else.
Parental
expected
little
There was minimal
Ex am in at io n
were
(See Table 6.1.1)
become roote d
those
low - they
Jun ior C e r t i f i c a t e
country,
for
am ong
the
and the school
in a cycle of decline.
- 229 -
from
parental
results
in
the
worst
in
the
se emed to
have
Table 6.1.1
Fiji
Junior
Rates
for Sch oo ls
1983 -
1988.
Certi fi ca te
in Field
Ex am in at io n
Survey
*
Pass Rate
School
(Percent)
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
Dua
46
18
42
50
69
44
Rua
41
39
69
56
62
55
Tolu
41
52
65
76
82
80
Va
57
26
57
59
30
42
Lima
30
36
50
71
81
69
Ono
60
62
98
85
88
79
Vitu
57
49
84
85
78
75
Walu
93
50
89
93
90
100
Ciua
93
95
100
100
100
100
Tini
47
47
69
54
82
65
Tin ikadua
48
39
83
71
64
62
names of schools.
pass rates
1983 -
CD
CD
* Not actual
1984 - 6 1 .9%
1985 - 80. 1%
1986 - 7 9 . 5 %
1987 - 80. 1%
1988 - 8 0 .0%
- 230 -
Pass
There are however brighter
to change
in management.
chief died.
ous ted
prospects
In
1987,
for Du a
daughter,
whose
power
was
wea ke ne d by the demise of her
father.
the ch ie fly title,
a
former chief,
alth ou gh
Slowly,
new
repair.
ones
su bs ta n t i a l l y
holder
close r el at iv e
the
involv eme nt
in the
time.
a pp oi nt ed a new principal
to the
is
recovering,
take time and
Re put ati ons
take
fall
In
of
of
the school
but the many years of decl ine will
deal of mon ey to
principal
The new
did not wish to have any
run nin g of the school.
due
the a f o r e m e n t i o n e d high
A well qu a l i f i e d and st rong m i n d e d
his
bu ild ing
School
1988
good
eas il y
the
school.
a
This
but
Mini str y
man
was
rec al le d from ret ir em em t after a long t e a c h i n g career and
he
is
op tim ist ic
for
the
future, w o r k i n g
with
a
suppo rti ve committee.
The manag eme nt prob lem s
of Dua School
for seventeen years.
was
impossible
in such a
situation,
function no rma lly
It
o ve rr od e all
for the school
became known as one of the worst schools
Fortunately,
others of
of those
this par tic ul ar pr ob lem
its mak ing
left
in the
remain,
and
else
is
and
it
to
rapidly
in the
country.
over,
although
it is the dif fi cu lt
c o m mu ni ty and the school
to
task
rebuild
the sha tt er ed dream.
Vitu School
is
another
school
man age me nt problems,
and
them.
of the outer
Loc ated on one
which
is str ugg li ng to
group,
Vitu
It was
first r e gi st er ed as a school
had
severe
recover
from
islands of
is one of the oldest schools
- 231 -
has
in
the
in the
1858
and
Fiji
country.
was
a
prominent Me thodist mission station
was a primary school
second ary school.
Methodist Church
for
a
long
Alt ho ug h
in Fiji,
com mittee which cons ist s of
Me thodist minister.
The
many
time,
under
the
for
the
years.
but
now
um b re ll a
school
is
is
of
m a n ag ed
makes
aff ec ti ng the ru nn ing of the school,
all
a
the
by
local r e si de nt s and the
com mittee
It
a
local
decisions
in co ns ul ta ti on
with
the principal.
Prob lem s arose
in
aro und F$80, 00 0
1980 when the then
from
a
com mi tt ee
commercial
co ns tru cti on of a new school
bank
building.
the school
in
of F$72,000.
of the
1982,
When
of
been
Whereas
Thus
came
to
debt
financial
pr obl ems
has been raised,
other
as
en dless
to repay the
seek
out
ap pro pri at e
s o c ie ty
an
no
so cieties
to
dee me d
Fijian
that
face
in the
the
1980s.
loan,
school
Any
has been used to repay the
1988 had d e c r e a s e d to a debt of
therefore
in
was
a
rule
round
of
with
its
interest.
m an ag em en t c o n s i d e r a t i o n s
has
interest
there
investigation
began
in an at tempt
increasing
as
it was not
church school.
conflict.
fun d- r a i s i ng
by
simply
faced with a
misused,
its proper use.
in this rural
The
the
It was appa re nt that quite a high pr op ortion
any pos si bl e wrong-doers,
ever
loan and
immediately
there may have been a police
avoids
fund
the present principal
he was
loan money had
evidence
to
The school
did not have the ca pa c i t y to repay the
star ted accumulating.
borr owe d
suffered
a
lack
- 232 -
$34,000.
of
basic
dom in at ed
money
loan,
The
that
which
school
resources,
essential
for
teaching
su bs eq u e n t l y a ff e c t e d
and
te acher
learning.
and
eve nt ua ll y a ff ec te d ex am in at ion
results.
has been so pr eo c c u p i e d with the
the school
issues
co mmi tte e
hard-working,
is
the misd eed s
School
has
Although
situation,
of
which
Alt hough
It
may
cu r r e n t l y
w e ak en ed
over
by
its
links
infrastructure,
were well
almost
se m i - s u b s i s te nc e
the
and
take
a
Although
the
church
in
poor
before
all
the
farmers,
the
sons
School
financial
because of
with
although
in place
Dua
its
Fiji.
The
pe rhaps
by
the
present
strength
chil dre n
and
its
Methodist
the
This s t a b i l it y has given the school
are
time
from this setback.
advant age s
to cope with the crisis.
school
as a whole.
is the main Christian
urban standards,
much
of
its pr e d e ce ss or s have taken
it is b a s i c a l l y a stron g school
b u il di ng s and
crisis.
principal
d e d ic at ed
cer tain
es t a b l i s h e d hi st or y and
Church,
and
pr oblems
school.
ap pa re nt ly
decade or more to recover
however.
morale
The
financial
facing the
a severe toll on the school
Vitu
has
that he has not been able to sp en d
on profes sio nal
pre sent
st ud en t
This
in
the
dau gh te rs
of
they are op t im is ti c about their
ab il ity to raise the n e c e s s a r y money to re pa y their debt.
Financial
schools
pro blems tend to be the plague of co mm it t e e -r un
and
disasters.
located
Rua
these
are
School,
often
a
exacerbated
p r e d om in an tl y
in the cane area of western Viti
Indian
Levu,
the usual pro ble ms of a co mm i t te e- ru n school
h ur ric an e sev ere ly d a m a g e d the
school
- 233 -
by
in
natural
school
has
but
1984
faced
when
it
a
was
indeed a major setback.
main buildings,
The roof was blown off one of the
d e s t r o y i n g all
the equi pm en t
Due to a bur eau cr at i c oversight,
had
not
been
paid,
thus
compensation.
The school
time
lent by
in tents
com mi tt ee
the
there
insurance
was
the
army,
to
until
repair
the
M in ist ry of Educa tio n ap pa r e n t l y gave
In
1988
it was
co mmi tte e
is
is still
the school.
problems,
in
a
he av ily
in
debt
poor
for
some
eventually
the
buildings.
The
relatively
there
for the basic
fell,
premium
insurance
physical
and
As with other schools,
the roll
it.
little
trying to repair the damage.
still
fu nd ra is in g just to pay
no
co nt in ue d to function
raised a loan
help and the school
inside
morale
state.
is
constant
ru nn ing
once
fell and
The
costs
it
faced
it
became
of
major
even
more di ffi cul t to recover.
A com bin ati on of financial
been the bane of
Valley,
Va
located
Public
unreliable.
Works
Pit
which
Some water
is un pl ea sa nt
The manag eme nt committee,
has
in
Si gat oka
the
of
the
to
for
but
be
this
used
students
co mp ri si ng of
fieldwork,
in
local
it
was
electricity
to
no
six
pump
- 234 -
the
dry
people,
has
alt hough
at
with
which
The
the
is
teachers.
active
su b s i d i z e d by the Mi ni s t r y of Education.
need
to
sup ply
and
intention of trying to get a bor eho le- wel l
however
has
lasts up
not been able to res olv e the water problem,
the time
also
is d e l i ve re d to the school
Department,
latrines have
proble ms
This school
in the dry season which
months of the year.
season,
School,
in the dry zone of Viti Levu.
source of water
by the
and physical
would be
well
water
the
would
to
the
surface*
and that raises another set of
school
has no e l e c t r i c i t y
and
being
co nn ec te d
national
to
pr oblems ari sin g
tea ch in g and
tire of
the
from
the
learning at
living
lack
the
little
of
five pri nci pa ls
The roll had fallen
from
145
it is
a
for
transfers.
five
to
school,
the
qu ic kly
88
years.
in
below the national
co mm it t e e - r u n
of
physical
Te ach ers
1973
the
affects
in the past
in
Ex ami nat ion res ults are well
The
water
school.
as
prospect
grid.
in such a sett ing and ask
There have been
Because
has
issues*
1988.
average.
ul ti m a t e l y
the
co mmi tte e stands responsible.
Urban schools wit hout ov er wh e l m i n g physical
have prob lem s
the capital
cater
if man age me nt
city,
Suva,
is weak.
Like many other schools,
s ec on da ry school
The school
sepa rat e
from
often ret ired or older people
or
g en er al ly
a
are
and
local
few
of
inactive
innovative.
’low
committee,
and
level
He
of
consequently
and
thinking*.
in
areas.
a
full
who
have
this
ill-will
- 235 -
they
them
The
of
had
are
a
most
of
are
not
having
principal
ignorance always
deali ngs
af fects
Co nfl ict s between
inevitably create
to
school,
is now
whom
ac cu sed
and d i f f ic ul ti es
r u n ni ng of the school.
pr inc ipa ls
rural
people
co mp l a i n e d that p e r s o n a l i t y pro blems and
cause conflicts
1950s
Ac c o r d i n g to the principal,
the com mittee mem bers
en erg eti c
from
in
its parent pr im ary school.
co mmi tte e co nsi sts of
s e c on da ry education.
in the
it started as a pr im ary
then added a junior se co nd ar y school,
also
T i n i ka du a School
was es ta bl is he d
for Fijians mov in g to the city
problem s
with
the
the
smooth
m a na gem ent
and
within sch oo ls
and
communities*
This school
and such s i t u a t i o n s are not uncommmon.
has had a hi st or y of bad man age me nt
had some serious
financial
problems.
There
and
has
have
been
instances of tr e a su re r s a b s c on di ng with school
funds.
times
has
the
water
disconnected
by
sup pl y
the
money co uld be
the
Public
n o n - pa ym en t of bills,
until
to
Works
found to
a c q u i s i t i o n of other
pay
items
con stant
ro und
of
proves
small
amount
where
food
to
wear
is sold and,
in Fiji,
fun d ra is in g
t y p ic al ly con sist of mufti
Fijian
the
bill.
a
r e g ar de d
Like many scho ol s
days,
as
non-essential,
is out of
activities.
where
pay
se con d ar y
encouraged.
on a larger
scale,
a
families
the
ty pic all y
This school
in
1971,
sc hools
in
the
roll
was
pr o b l e m s of r u n ni ng a school
its creation.
in
.
a
This
short
concerned,
same
group.
island
was
most
as
Vitu
es ta b l i s h e d
by
when the es ta bl is hm en t of
rural
There was great o p ti mi sm
initially
a
’tuck-shops*
Kadavu,
council
has
dress;
At the other end of
the provincial
the
These
ch ildren
lower so ci o- ec on om ic
and
problem,
n o n - u ni fo rm
it is a drain on the
is Walu School.
the
T i n i k a d u a School
of whom are from the
School,
to
When
form of direct public donati on calle d soli
but
junior
due
major
is a very fast way of r a i s i n g a large amount
time,
been
has had to be closed
library books and other equipment,
question.
a
De p ar tm en t
and the school
pa ym en t of r ec ur re nt expe ns es
such as
school
At
over
areas
about
100
have become
From a very d e pr es se d
- 236 -
was
its
being
future,
students.
ma nifest
positio n
in
The
since
around
1980.T
the school
a small
rural
has since be coIme
junior
in
1979
f un d r a i s i n g
little
left to go
to other
par en t body
to a c h ie ve
can achieve,
The c o m m u n i t y was
for
rebuilding,
was done.
In
schools.
committee.
the
Alt ho ug h
be came
The
not ed u c a t e d
to
of
aid,
recovered.
Due to
its
links with the
the school
has no
pr es s i n g
results,
2 with
on
p a s s e d the Fiji
In
and
11
Junior
with
rural
school
present
and
it
terms
of
which
it
can
- 23 7 -
is
its
All
of
Ce rt i f i c a t e
in
*B* grade.
se co nd ar y
ca nnot take all
it has he l p e d to give the school
within
the
it is a m a z i n g l y successful.
O b v i o u s l y st r o n g m an ag e m e n t
environment
The
Provincial Council,
its roll
school.
re s ul ts s u p e r s ed e by far most
but
and
its mo ney wisely.
small
'A* grade
the
go ve rnment
financial pr oblems at
has on ly 60 st ude nts
a
local
principal
gr adu all y
a
the
the school.
sou rce s
d e s t i n e d to remain
saw
sense,
innovative about pr oc u r in g
and the c o m m i t t e e has used
and
difficult
formal
rebuild
and
some
robust
the
and other
18 c a n d i d a t e s
was
a
in the
was very
examination
for
1980s
and
pr incipal
Walu School
it
mid
in p a r t n e r s h i p with
determined
and
meantime, students
in a poor community,
of a d y n a m i c pr incipal
c o m m i t t e e wo rk e d
1988,
and
di sc o u r a g e d
With a d e c l i n i ng roll
re sul ts of any kind.
appointment
its
uhat
has been critical.
(Hurricane Meli).
years ve ry
they
of
was al mos t c o m p l e t e l y d e s t r o y e d by a hurricane
by c o ns ta n t
small
a model
s e c o n d a r y school
the role of man ag em en t
The school
almost
the
a stable and
function,
These
schools.
credit,
secure
without
c o n s t a n t l y r e c u r r i n g financial
Tolu School,
in the
cane
st ar te d
in
typical
co mm i tt ee school
es pe ci a l l y
western
Indian
people
as
do well.
they
The school
al though the
some
does
not
It
have
is
they are
not
m o s t ly
in
start
financial
fees are not higher than other
cane
seeing
mem ber s
the
a
of
interested
since
Levu,
co mmi tte e
are
Many of the com mittee
years,
Viti
roll.
the principal,
but they are d e d i c a t e d and
for many
school.
of
with a m an age me nt
Ac c o r d i n g to
educated
the school
served
area
1977 and has a ma in ly
local people.
farmers,
problems*
of
have
the
problems,
schools.
The
comm itt ee has been able to supply most of the req ue st s of
the principal,
for ex ample
for
te xt -b o ok s
for video equipment.
The school
has a
help with rec urr en t
expenses,
but
small
has
engage
in any extra fu nd -r a i s i n g
for
school
is
well
h arm oni ous
co mmittee
unquestionably
very
relationship
between the
has
p ro v i d e d
school
to
School
have ste ad il y
The well
prosper
in.
Ciwa School
in Suva
Mu sl im League.
nee de d
to
years.
managed, and
past
the
and
e n v i ro nm en t for
resu lts
This
from
six
the
Tolu
years.
or ga ni ze d nature of the school
in part to this.
is run by the Suva branch of the Fiji
as the de ma nd
It st ar ted as a
who co uld not
stable
As with other schools,
a pri ma ry school
to
principal
Ex am ina tio n
e q u ip pe d and well
c a n te en
not
some
improved over the
must have c o n t r i b u t e d
grew.
a
and rec en tly
’school
find places
for
it has e m e r g e d from
secondary
for drop-outs*
in any
- 238 -
other
education
-
school,
children
usually
be ca use of ac ademic weakness.
Due to the p e rs ev er en ce
the pr evious principal,
C iw a School
most successful
in Fiji,
su c c e s s and
sc hools
has become one of the
in
terms
of
The
role
in other sp heres as well.
c o m m i t t e e has been to give the principal
the school
support.
The
prin ci pa l
school.
as
he
chooses,
lack
of
while
con fl ict
academic
go a l s to pursue,
school,
pr o v i d i n g
between
which
may
there
have
of
the
free rein to run
financial
man age me nt
has o b v i o u s l y been a positive element
As a r e li gi ous
of
are
in
certain
given
and
unity
this
moral
to
the
s c h o o 1.
The ex ception to sch oo ls run by c om mit te es
organizations
139
is go v e r n m e n t schools.
secondary
Management
sc hools
the
coming
M i n is tr y
from
is
principals,
hi gh ly
u s u a l l y works
ca us e
Fiji
in go v e r n m e n t schools
the hands of
normally
in
out
p r ob le ms
underperforming
is
preferred
by
however,
in any way,
if
as
not
unchecked
have
ar isen
or
in a co mm it te e school.
been sexu al ly ha r r a s s i n g girls
The principal
principals,
It
can
is
There
and
pot en ti al ly
principal
allo wed
no
is
immediate
school
in
that
pr obably
to
continue
were allegations,
that the principal
in se ni or
forms.
had
Although
no t h i n g was done about
was seen as the ul timate au th or it y
- 239 -
in
si tu ation
pro bl em
it was widely known and discussed,
it.
en t ir el y
gove rn men t
fr ee ly a d m i t t e d to the researcher,
status.
This
there
been
the
d ir ec ti ve s
the
The
of
general
the
satisfactorily.
fieldwork sample had a small
wo u l d
this
ve sted
with
religious
11 out
enjoy
headquarters.
a u t h o r i t y to check a problem.
the
Only
or
and
it uas felt
(albeit mistakenly)
by
the
community
that
there uas no higher au th or it y to whom com pla in ts could be
addressed.
Of the
139 se co nd ar y sch ools
sol el y by com mit te es
reli gio us bodies.
have
the
of
in
Fiji,
financial
nature.
ther efo re
isolated,
problems,
Com mi tt ee
es p e c i a l l y
schools are
located
those
com mu ni ty
small,
they
for support.
of
of
a
and
national
have.
in rural areas,
a fact
as they
have
de pe nd
Many
en t ir el y
on
the
commi tte e sch ools
is a small
local
are
parent
very
body from
uhich to raise the n e c e ss ar y
funds to run the school,
in rural
often
are
very
poor.
A
Com mit te es
often comp ris e people with
if any tr ain ing or ex pe ri en ce
and cases of financial
st ate d earlier.
in Fiji
mi sm an a ge me nt
1979,
poor
little
in ru nn in g an organization,
are
frequent,
Pre vi ou s research and reports on
(such as Hopkin
and
major
pr ob lem of many co mm it t e e - r u n schools appears to be
management.
to
in frastructure such as the case
uhich means that there
areas par ents
a
bodies
which tends to mul ti pl y their problems,
cope with a lack of basic
schools
independent
lacking the u m br el la
Many com mittee sch ools are
and
man aged
co mm it te e
or gan iz at io n that sch ool s run by re lig iou s
of Va School,
are
local resi de nt s and 53 by various
It is appa ren t that
gre atest
72
Royal
also ass er te d that poor manage men t
Co mmi ssi on
has
as
schools
1969)
have
h a n d ic ap pe d
the
dev el op me nt of education.
Pa rt ic u l a r l y
in
rural
communities,
reflect the c o m m un it y they serve.
- 240 -
school
D i vi si on s
co mmi tte es
in c om mit te es
te nd to be r e f l e c t i on s of di vi s i on s
local
pre ss
in
communities.
fr e q ue n tl y reports rows and co nf li ct s
school
committees
school
closure,
which
so metime
b oy cot ts
or
result
strikes.
in
Such
Ed u c a t i o n
invo lvi ng
princ ipa ls ,
between
As d e s c r i b e d
the
d i sr upt ion s
the
Chapter
s u b s ta nt ia l
expanding
costs.
schools
civil
schools.
portion
The
of capital
facilities;
and
they
the
committees
feel
staff
to
over
meet
bui ld in gs
bear
G o v e r n m e n t co nt ri bu te s substantial
s e r va nt
Grant-in-aid
control
for
also
meet their op e r a t i n g costs.
am bi guous
th em se lv es
costs
or
no n- go ve rn me nt
indirect
schools
of
t e ac he rs
and
3,
Disputes
M i ni s t r y
of
Mi n is tr y
in
the
som ew hat
s y s t e m gi ves the go ve rnm ent o nl y
non-government
by
transfer
r e fl e ct in g
relationship
schools.
the
made
within
t e m p o r a ry
must a ff ec t the morale of te achers and students.
oft en ari se out of d e c is io n s
The
a
and
ma in t e na nc e
grants to
help
The min is tr y appoints
non -go ve rn me nt
that they have the
right
schools,
to
but
veto
such
st aff appoint men ts.
In F e b r u a r y
1988 for example,
the Fiji
Times
dispute
in the Lab as a Mus li m High
d i s pu te
was over the m i n i s t r y ’s ap po int men t
B a s h a as school
and s t u d e n t s
principal.
This was
B a s h a ’s a p p o i n t m e n t
failed."
initial
Mr
by
Noor
parents
be
The mi ni str y had to revoke
Mr
Times,
c o n c e r n e d was clo se d for several
different
of
a
to
after att empts
(Fiji
"The
op po se d
who had wan ted the act ing
c o n f i r m e d to the position.
dispute
School.
reported
factions had taken
to try and
1/3/88).
solve
the
The
school
days and brawls
between
place.
- 241 -
principal
This
typical
case
indicates hou schools,
often the base
When a school
spiral
of
turnover,
for
es pe ci a l l y
de cline
uith
would clea rly take a very
and
forced
to
close
high
are
Schools
lo ng-ter m
in Fiji
show
pe rm a n e n t l y
s c ho ol s
because
of
it
case
financial
uhich
community.
w h er eb y
The
that
c o n s e q ue nc es
staff
results,
long time to recover.
Vitu
isolated cases
rolls,
ex am in at io n
very dam ag in g to the whole school
been
areas,
pr ob lem s and en te re d the
falling
poor morale and poor
mis ma na ge me n t has
rural
local politics.
has had man age me nt
studies of Rua
in
can
be
There
have
have
been
falls
in
enrollment.
It would be wrong to sugg es t
alone can ensure
res ear ch
the
suggest s
precondition.
the global
School
that
su ccess
that
it
of
is
ma na ge men t
study of ed uca ti on al
a
fun ct io ni ng of the
a
but
this
nec es sa ry
is an oft
ignored area
quality.
More
and
as they set the par am et er s
intellectual
mana ge me nt
school,
certainly
sho ul d be paid to the b a c kg ro un d
schools,
ef fe c t i v e
- 242 -
atte nt io n
ad m i n i s t r a t i o n
for the physical
institutions.
in
of
and
6.2
The School
Principal.
The role of school
to have
been
pr in ci pa ls
overlooked
in
ef fe ct i v e n e s s and quality.
is per ce iv ed as one
of
is so ob vi ous that
much
res ea rc h
In Fiji,
high
it seens
on
the role of principal
authority,
and
as
holders of such pos it io n s have much power v e s t e d
In both Fijian and
hold great sway.
Indian cultures,
au tho rit y
proverbial
cap tains
of the ships - they have the ca p ac it y to steer
wa tch es the cha ng in g
weather the storms.
fortunes of
school rep uta tio ns and fortunes
the
So c i e ty
schools
such,
in them.
status and
Pri nc ip al s are the
on a course that will
school
ship
in Fiji
closely.
’go d o w n ’ or
When
’come
up*,
the pri ncipals are n o rm al l y held responsible.
Schools that have had con tin uo us
pro blems
had frequently c h an gi ng principals.
had had five prin ci pa ls
eig hteen years of
its
these
schools
also
d if fi cul tie s and financial
in
to
have
for example
Dua School
every year or
the
Tinikadua
School
has
its
headship.
It
have
suffered
pr oblems but
possible to see which pr oblems are the
two
had
in
existence.
also had frequent cha nges
that
Va School
in as many years.
also had changes of principal
tend
happens
m an age me nt
it is not
cause
and
always
which
are the effect.
Principals are moved for d i f f er in g reasons.
schools,
sometimes the comm it te e
a principal
who
it
feels
Sometimes the pr in ci p a ls
has
com mittee
re quests the transfer of
not
t he mse lv es
- 243 -
In
been
satisfactory.
request
transfers,
especially
if they are
located
in rural
areas
and
they
wish to move to a town or
city due
to
their
personal
cir cumstances.
the
of
the
previous
pri ncipal
This
was
of Va School,
where his wife
wor ked
c h i l d r e n ’s schooling.
case
who
wi sh ed
and
for
to
the
return
sake
to Suva
of
his
own
In the cases of T i n ik ad ua
and
Dua
Sc ho ol s their pre vio us p r i nc ip al s had been we ll -q ua li fi ed
and r e s p e c t e d members
Fiji.
of
the
Th ey had a p p ar e n t l y
e d uca ti on
been
sent
which were known to be di ffi cul t
e x i s t i n g problems.
In both
scho ols
a
for
promoted
only
to
education
more
hierarchy.
p r o g r e s s at these schools,
they
the
they
in
may
lack
of
up’
at
these
were
both
the
have
in
schools
’clean
were
when
posi ti on s
While
these
they
term
senior
to
in order to
cases,
short
frat er nit y
national
made
c o nt in ui ty
some
can
negate the good that may have been done.
Continuity
in p r i n c i p a l s h i p
positive effects.
there
The principal
since the school
cl e a r l y
was
development
very
involved
of the school.
pr e v i o u s prin ci pa ls
for
in
several
app ea rs
of Tolu
School
was e s t a b l i s h e d
with
in
the
of
each
years
the
have
had
been
and
pr o gr es s
school
fieldwork,
had
c o n t i n u o us ly
legacies of strong control.
It was clear
ca ses that the
to
s uc ce ss ors
1977
to
Walu and C iw a Sc hools both
new p r in c ip al s at the time
sch oo ls
ce rt a i n l y
these
but
been
and
at
had
he
and
had
the
the
left
in each of these
str ong
principals
intended to continue the good work of their predecessors.
The
new principal
at Walu School
the pr e v i o u s principal
for aroun d
- 244 -
had been the
de puty
to
five years and was very
familiar with
Although
his
pr ed ec es so r' s
Walu School
pre vious principal
aid.
He had,
is an
style
isolated
had been very
for example,
Mi n i s t r y of Energy,
of
rural
school,
innovative
enl is te d the
and had had a solar
of
assisted
s mo kel ess
stove
uhich
e f f i c i e n t l y using
kerosene
in
means
locally
as before.
He had
rule
principal
in
wood,
living
in
an
electricity.
incentive
He also
which
is the excep tio n
schools.
innovative and
books
laboratory
no
felt that
in store
new
latest
as
exposure,
roads
an
a t t r a c ti ve
work well,
a
life.
or
change
kn ow in g
from
With more
the
direct
he has been able to obtain
This school
to
but
set
up
become
it has
to ob ta in such aid.
- 245 -
Fijian
re as o n a b l y
ex pl oi t a t i o n
o b vi ou sl y
many
a science
Ed uc ation and the
has
e q u i p p e d through the careful
time and effort
immediate
to do other
e qu ip me nt
sources of assistance,
felt
it o f f er ed
from the Mi n i s t r y of
Affairs Board.
his
telephone,
b o a r d i n g school
and
The
the
they had no
He
rather
ne e de d to see some aspects of
effect on the classroom,
library
than
the
for the stud ent s
m o no to ny of rural
an
b o ar di ng
with
that there was a treat
rather
that
to which
area
done
had
has c o n ti n ue d to be
ou tside world,
is
a
the boarders at the school
Fijian
at the school
of
in
idea was to purchase video equipment.
children
system
The Mi n i s t r y
c o o ki ng
taken
the
interest
a r e a s o n a b l y b a la nc ed diet,
the
that
also
of
co n s t r u c t i on
available
nu tri tio n and en su red that
than
the
the
seeking
lighting
little cost to the school.
also
in
interest
installed at very
Ene rg y
operations.
of
well
avai la ble
taken
much
Sural
pri nc ip al s such as those at Va,
Walu Schools,
their normal
Ono,
Vitu and
are r e q u i r ed to pe rform many tasks
outside
profe ssi on al
mandate.
Lima,
Sepairing
and water pumps and pipes are am ong such
principals.
ge ne rators
jobs r e por te d by
All of these schools had b o a r d i n g
facilities
and any pr ob lem s are r e p or te d to the pri ncipal
call 24 hours a day.
to
spend
time
fundraising,
In many cases rural
mustering
as well
Such mul ti p le demands on their
little time
for an acad emi c
The case of Ciwa School
as a se co n da ry school
br an d e d as a school
m e n t i o n e d earlier.
in the
for
in its
the
intake,
from be in g among the
for
for
and
late
1970s,
the
*drop-outs*
who was
and
school
did
not
c o n t e s t s and art co mpetitions.
the school
as
raise
change
become
and
It is clear
that
in
more
improved
schools
speech
in
the
The school
d e ba ti ng
in
this
has been the m o t i v a t i n g force be hind
and his e n t h u s i a s m and d e d i c a t i o n seem to have
imbued pe r se v er an c e and d i li ge nc e
students.
to
r e su lt s
ac hie vin g
quiz,
cl early
highly-motivated
determined
e xa min at ion
lowest
it started
repeaters,
he ra lde d a gradual
has also ex ce lle d at sports,
the principal
leaves
was
c o u nt ry to being one of the highest achievers.
school
school.
en er gy
it
The a pp oin tm ent of a
While
support
s u pe rvi sor y role.
the s t an da rd of the school,
se le ct iv e
time
on
have
is interesting as when
and h a r d - w o r k i n g principal
its fortunes.
support
is
pr i n c i p a l s
co m m u n i t y
as general
who
into both te ach ers
Faci lit ies are not ou ts ta n d i n g l y good
school,
although they are well
large,
often e x c e e d i n g forty or
cared for,
forty-five
- 246 -
in
and
this
and cl as se s are
st udents
per
class.
The
he ad s h i p
c o m b i n a t i on
and
sound
of
ma na ge me nt
s ta b i l i t y and e n a bl ed
it
to
q u a li ty of the e d u ca ti o n
P r in ci pa l s and School
Rutte r
et al.
(1979)
is very
important.
general
atmosphere,
large extent,
several
has
given
the
school
improve
cl a i m that the
If ethos
then
it
’ethos*
is in te rpreted
of
a
to
mean
is the principal,
who
firm
work,
tends
to
a
are
and
inevitably
a
known
general
The
role
and the status and a u t h o r i t y that he
p o s s es se s sets the tone
for
school.
they are very obv ious to vi sitors to schools.
culture,
Hoyle
on school
this
aspe cts
seek to forge a
is ach ie ve d
’mission*
Hoyle
cla ims that
cre at in g
(sic)
contends
di st inc tiv e
by
that
the
ide ographic
who
of
micr opo lit ica l
- 247 -
res ea rc h
pe rsonnel
identity
goals
to
school
He main ta ins
pr inc ipa ls
e n c o m p a s s i n g the
of
elu siv e
of the role.
largely
a
conven tio nal
rather than the more
inspirational
sc ho ols
on
impossible
heads co nc en t r a t e s on manag eme nt
and resources,
and
(1988)
emp hasis
are
such
quantify,
this
atmosp her e
Alth oug h
as
with
and
the
c on ce pt s
In k e e p i n g
ethos
to
prevail.
of slac kne ss takes over the school.
in Fiji
the
d is ci pl in ar ia ns ,
frequ ent ly absent,
in their
school
Where pr in ci p a l s
e n t h u s ia sm
Where pr inc ipa ls are weak,
of pri ncipal
the
Ethos.
an atm osp he r e of general
a t mo sp he re
st ro n g
it offers.
d e t e r m i n e s the ethos.
ineffective
of
s u bs ta n t i a l l y
i ndustrious and ene rg et i c and are
to be
years
the
and
that
that
create
a
school.
dimen sio n
of
leadership has been
ignored,
as
most
models
are
too
al t r u i s t i c and rational.
R e l i g i o u s schools have ce rtain ad v a n ta ge s
as
there
alr ea dy
instruction.
exists
a
fr am ework
Four of the eleven
were run by reli gi ou s bodies
sc hools
and
sc h oo ls ac c e p t ed c hi ld ren of all
pe rsonal
was
in
this
influence on the sch oo ls concerned.
r e l i g io u s activi ti es
in this
had
field,
for
moral
the
sample
a
definite
Al though all of these
faiths,
mandatory.
p a r t ic ip at io n
Despite
this,
qu alities and degree of p r o f e s s i o n a l i s m
p r i n c i p a l s concerned,
still
the
of
create the essential
in
the
ambience
of a school.
S e c o n d only to ex am i n a t i o n passes,
c o m m o n l y regarded as
Pr i n c i p a l s
alt h o u g h
are
this
expected
of his
hallmark
to
be
use corporal
Fijian
firm
schools,
punishment.
a
good
school.
especially
rural
told pr oudly
length of rubber hose pipe which he uses to punish
fruit or coconuts
- w e e di ng
schools,
with
but
Tr ad iti ona l
from school
mache tes
such
trees.
- is
as
floor k ee pi ng their eyes
in
used
urban
schools.
shaming
lowered while
a
to
of
sit
lecture
The new principal
felt that di sc ip l in e
- 248 -
labour
in
rural
involves the
is d e l i ve re d and an a p o l o g y forced out.
of the trou ble d Dua School
taking
Hard physical
co m mo nl y
it is an eve ry da y chore
Fijian r e p r i m a n d i n g
off ences
individuals c o n c e r n ed - st udents may be made
on the
is
di sciplinarians,
One principal
w r on g doers who are caught at
the
of
di s c i p l i n e
is inter pr et ed d i f f er en tl y d e p e nd in g on the
na tu re of the school.
ones,
the
st ro ng
would
be
pro m o t e d by
conducting
daily - before
dismissal.
lessons,
school
after
that rather
for their misdeeds.
than
learning
st u d e n t s seemed to resent
re sp ec t of
while
st udents
and
from
it.
The
sun and
tro uble
makers
It ap p e a r e d
this
however
experience,
the
formula for g a i n i n g the
te achers
w o r k i n g re la ti o n s h i p with them
times
afternoon
in the hot tropical
lectures on b e hav io ur
were sin gle d out
three
lunch and before
The st udents s to od
listened to
as se mb l i e s
while
does
not
developing
appear
to
a
be
e as il y acquired.
This research
study did
found that many of the p ri nci pa ls
in fact have a clear
t hey wished to foster
idea
in their schools,
not use that spe cific terminology.
schools,
traditional
g u i d i n g philosophy,
sentiment
face of modern
the
this
ethos
that
al though t he y did
In the
purely
Fijian
Fijian culture was pe rc e i v e d as
pa rt ic u l a r l y the values
ob ed ie nc e and conformity.
the
of
in
Several
p ri nc ip al s
that such values were
influences and
rein fo r c e them at school.
respect,
ex pr e s s e d
diminishing
it was thus their
In practice,
and co nf or mi ty were g e n e ra ll y
of
respect,
the
in
the
duty
to
obedience
inculcated thr ough
strict,
a u t h or it ar ia n d i s c i pl in e which e m ana te d
largely from
the
principal.
favoure d
the
pr i n c i p a l s
Mil it ar y cadet
of
Ono
and
re i n f o r c e s these critical
of ten
seen to be
tra in in g was
T i ni ka du a
values.
important
in
lessons
C h ris ti an
Fijian
church atten da nc e was a feature of
s c h o o l s and many had
Scho ols
in
n o n - e x a m i n a bl e subject.
- 249 -
all
by
as
values
schools.
Fijian
religion
this
as
were
Regular
bo a r d i n g
an
extra
The
fie ld -s t ud y shows an a p p a r e nt ly
pupil
achiev eme nt
bet ween
str on g
link
principalship.
p rin ci pal s and cl a s s r o o m p e da go gy
to define,
have
and
close
let alone quantify.
structure of schools
doors and windows,
the classroom.
teaching
passes.
in
teaching,
with
to the
th ey take
in
the
influence
appear
of
to
have
also
sc ru tin y
of
of
the
know
that
an yb ody
their
who
interest
on
and
pedagogy.
of
ad mi ni st r a t i v e work to handle and often tend to
stay
in
ha nd in g over other roles such
sup ervision
were acti vel y
s ch ool s
aware
for the
foster a school
tea ch er s
It
is
what
school
was
set
general
The pri nc ip al s
happening
more
culture,
in
cl ea r l y
and
who
their
defi ned
were
life which pr o v i d e d mo tiv ati on
app arent
from
is cl os ely
financial
has a free rein
tends to be a
stable
of
as
able
for
to
both
and students.
m a na ge me nt
When
to their deputies.
tended to be able to
pa ra m e t e r s
a
that
deal
school
have
in
of
interest
effect
schools
open
great
their offices,
larger
but
an
wide
aware
teachers
in the degree
classroom,
the
is little pr iv ac y
Pr in ci pa ls can thus be well
Pri ncipals vary
P r in ci pa ls
Fiji,
means that there
is open
link
While pri nc ip al s gener all y
in their sch ool s and
their tea ching
The
is ho wever hard
little direct con tac t with c l a s s r o o m
phy sical
between
the
case
stu dies
linked to ef fec tiv e
that
sound
principalship.
aff airs are sa ti s f a c t o r y and the principal
in the dai ly runn ing of the school,
relationship
en vir onm ent
for
the
of
trust
ed uca tiv e
- 250 -
which
there
cre at es
proce sse s
a
of
tea ching and
ineffective
ma na gement
school,
learning to take place unimpeded.
leadership from either or both
lead almost
Weak
and
principal
inevitably to a poo rly
within which even the most hi gh ly
or
funct io nin g
mo ti v a te d
and
q u al if ie d teachers cannot teach effectively.
6.3
The Role of Material
Resources.
Various World Bank rep orts on the q u a li ty of e du cat io n
de v e l o p i n g coun tri es
critical
quality.
factor
in
hold that school
determining
The res earch
on
which
suggests that while there
line
for school
is
resources,
and
has
and
infrastructure,
thesis
certainly
a
ef fec tiv e
based
minimal
learning.
the
school
is
they alone are not
less than the absolute
are
improving
this
to ensure effic ien t t ea ch i ng and
a school
r es ou rc es
base
su ff icient
Conversely,
min imu m of
teac hin g
in
if
resources
and
learning
become ex tre mel y difficult.
The con tinuous d i ff ic ul ti es
been
mentioned.
co mpo und ed
by
co mmu nic ati ons
The
the
lack
lack
have all
school
tropical
takes
unless ma int ena nce
school
in
have already
this
e l e c tr ic it y
to
is
bu ild ing s are
a
a
poor
d em or al iz ed
par ents and students.
This
has
bui ldings and gro unds of
the
with
The
its a l te rn at e hot
heavy
kept
school,
and
into a state of deterioration.
climate of Fiji
heavy rainfall
water
of
led to the physical
f alling
of
c o n t ri bu te d
attitude among teachers,
in turn
facing Va School
toll
up,
on
decay
buildings,
is
literally falling apart,
- 251 -
sun
harsh
and
and
rapid.
When
there
is no
incentive to attempt to keep
them
clean
or
neat,
and
little en co ur a g e m e n t to put charts on the wall
as stimuli
for
re as o n a b l y
well
learning.
st oc k e d
Va School
un t i dy
in fact
library due to
Affa irs Board,
was
does
but the room
and
di so rg anization.
dirty
do nat ion s
a
from
the
in which the books
with
The Principal
d o n a t e d books were
have
a
are
general
felt
that
Fijian
kept
air
of
of
the
many
in ap propriate to and too di ff i c u l t
the stu d e nt s at their pa rt icu lar
stage of
for
s c h o o li ng
and
it was hard to en cou r ag e the enjoy men t of re ad ing on such
books.
Similarly,
the
Home
Econ om ic s
r ec e i v e d donat ion s of several
stove,
a kerosen e r e f r i g er at or
A number of these
being used.
es sentia l
ki tchen
The
large
de pa rt m en t
items such as
and some sewing
items were out of order
repairs and
it was
far
from
a
gas
machines.
and
The Home Ec on o m i c s room was badly
had
were
not
in need
being
the
of
model
it was meant to portray.
fact that many Fijian schools
was o b s e r v e d
in the
ea rly
importance of r ea di ng
spent on p ur ch a s i n g
lacked
1980s,
and
in education,
library
books
good
libraries
recognizing
much money
for
the
has
Fijian
been
schools.
Li br ar y books d on at e d by the Fijian Af fairs Board were
ev id enc e
in a number of sch oo ls
was a common
lament that children did not
Most of the books were
language
a va i l a b l e
popular.
in English,
for almost all
in Fijian,
The
in the sample,
pupils,
which
is
but
there
to
read.
the
se co nd
but even where books were
a p p ar e n t l y
r e ad in g
level of d i f f i c ul ty and the
of the books was c r i ti c i z e d
like
in
as
- 252 -
being
them
subject
was
not
matter
inappr op ri at e
to
rural
children.
In many schools,
a pri st in e c o nd it io n
of frequent use.
the d o n a t e d books
in locked rooms with
In one case
the
their p a c k i n g cases as
there
enough
them
time to pro ce ss
e n c o u r a g i n g childr en
for
to read
Fijian
d i sco ur se
com mu nication.
The
not
oral
little
In a cul tu re where c o n f o r mi ty
of
Re a d i ng
value
is
in
been
p r o bl em
is pa rtly cultural.
has
where
still
apparently
is a s o l i t a r y a c t i v i t y which
cu lture
were
use.
in
little evi de nc e
books
had
lay
in
the
the
is
main
valued,
people who read a lot tend to be r i di cu le d or br an de d
as
lazy be c a u se they are not p h y s i c a l l y active.
One
school
which
app ea r e d
pr o m o t i n g r e a din g was Ono
with an e n t i re l y Fijian
islands.
weekl y
read.
The students
The
such as
library
enro ll men t
this
and
of
’The Famous Five*
and
aspects,
may
lack
sight of silent
to
s tu de nts
a c t i v i t y per se
at this school
in the senior
g o ve rn me nt
located
on
re gular
adve nt ure
value
or
a b s o rb ed
It
books
in
appears
are,
is to be fostered.
The
if
While
self-improving
ch eap
The
pap er ba ck
not
to
re a d i n g
English
matter
as
an
teac her s
cl a i me d that by the time the studen ts
forms,
to
st or ies
Boys*.
are
they are su ff ic i e n t l y s e l f - m o t i v a t e d
to enj oy r e a d i n g and to be able to use books
as a tool
a
outer
encouraged
Ha rdy
in
school
an
have
a c ti ve ly
’The
su ccess
inspire a love of reading.
novels bore witness to this.
what the co ntent of the
a
simple
literary
they do appear
some
school
are
is full
these bo oks
have
School,
at
library per io d
to
in their education.
- 253 -
effectively
Ciwa School,
a p re d o m i n a n t l y
had a r e as on ab ly well
Indian
s t o c k ed
urban
and
well
Whereas most sch ools have an English
librarian,
this school
time
op en ed
vo lu n t a r i l y
library
en co ur ag e children
used
to use
on
ad va nt ag e of this ext ra time.
the years that mystery,
library
the
in
library.
was
She
lunch
and
fairy
as
to
also
hours
to
many
took
found
over
sto ri es
were
librarian
rom ance and
able
work.
library,
The
also
teacher do ub l i n g
had a librarian who
spend about half her
the
school,
the most popular and she p u r c ha se d books accordingly.
The
books at Ciwa School
the
library
were
in
good
itself was clean and tidy,
for quiet study.
cond iti on
with an area set aside
This was the only school
by stu dents was di s p l a y e d on the walls,
create an attra cti ve environment.
Ciwa School,
with an
and
where art
which
work
he lp ed
to
It is worth n ot in g that
es se n t i a l l y
n o n - s e l e c t iv e
has e x c e pt io na ll y high ex am in at io n pass rates
intake,
with
very
high grades.
Cl ea rly the mere
pre sence
of
books
reading.
Enc ou ra gi ng
enj oy me nt
in re ad ing can only be
and de di ca te d teaching.
effort requi red
chil dre n
There
to
does
read
and
ac hi eve d
is a great
not
promote
to
by
find
sensi tiv e
deal
of
human
in o r g a n i z i n g a library efficiently,
the schools that had more teacher
library were the ones with better
time
d e v ot ed
libraries and a
to
and
the
better
u ti li za ti on of books by students.
While
extra,
library books are often
textb ook s are essential
r e ga rd ed
for
- 254 -
as
s e c o nd ar y
an
optional
schooling.
The cu rr ic ula
for all sub jects
set out cle ar ly
document.
Host tea ch ers dev iate
which
are
in
effect
Lo c k h e e d has o bs e r v e d
single
(1989:19).
most
little
the
from
o nl y
important
they
are
text bo oks
r e g a r d ed
material"
Sc hools have d i f f e r i n g pol ic ies on
textbooks.
e l i m i n a t e s the pro bl em s
have a book.
When
tex tb oo ks
sc hools
do
In
to
school
Con st an t
pupils
not pr ov ide
the
s t u d e n t s are e x p e c t e d
provid es some.
necessary.
which arise when
d i f f i c u l t i e s can emerge.
buy
tr o u b l e d
fall
Dua
and
parental
impossible
situation.
as the te xtbooks
and are not
in que st io n are
expensive.
Many
for
p r in te d
Indian
bl am ed
the
is
found that this
absolutely
by
upon
dominated
that each
poor
g ov ern me nt
schools
and
is not an area of d i f f i c u l t y
insisted
the
problem,
r e q u i r e their s t u de nt s to buy their own books,
have
of
This c r ea te d
Tea ch er s
attitudes rather than po verty
homework,
18 of the 32
in Form One had no En glish textbooks.
an al mo st
the
because
One
re p o r t e d that
not
School,
arise
behin d the rest of the class.
En g l i s h teachers at Dua School
do
some text bo ok s
problems
This
textbooks,
s t u d e n t s have no books and th er efore cannot do
pu pi ls
as
instructional
M a n y schools pro vi de all the
and they
these
c u r r i c ul um
that "Because
t y p i c a l l y deliver the curriculum,
the
Junior are
in the books which must be co ve red before
the examination.
set texts,
leading to Fiji
they
as
student
it
must
p o s se ss a set of textbooks.
Science
is a c o m p u l s o r y subject up to Form Four
pra ctical
work
the syllabus.
is meant to be an
important
A number of schools had very
- 255 -
level
and
c o mp on en t
of
poor
science
laboratory eq uip me n t and
there was no
the
students
tak ing
an
active
the
al though one was
planned
cases, it
was
apparent
e x p e r i m en ts
without
part.
This
of
the
was
dida cti c
is the norm
laboratory had to double
t ea chi ng space was
short
in
gene ra ll y
sci entific
te ac he r - c e n t r e d
in Fiji.
as
a
Only
charts or
create
an
In
eq uipment on
library
its own
cu r r i c u l u m up
a
few
pr oject
work
at mo sp h er e
of
to
Form
most of the natural
books, exc ellent laboratory
is not sufficient.
Four
des ig ne d to utilize simple
level
has
equi pm en t
environment.
An
The Basic Science
in
while
fact
imaginative
very much up to him or her
whether to
from Walu School
It is interesting
with no
in Fiji Junior Basic
This
is
laboratory did
Science
most
with
a
due
to
likely
rather than an adv oc at e
for
it
ex te nd the
that
the
the
teacher
minimal e q uip me nt and
cur r i c u l u m or not.
been
ma king
can teach e ff ec ti v e ly with
teaching,
if
investigation.
in the case of
70.1%.
some
classroom
the school.
laboratories vi si t ed had
on the walls which would help
As
School*
lack of the nec es s ar y equip men t and chemicals,
approach to t e a c h i n g which
science
Walu
de m o n s t r a t e d
but also a I re fle cti on
cases,
case of
In almost all
te ach ers
because of
the
laboratory at all,
to be constructed.
that
in
basic
children
reasonably
median
the
is
well
score
of
quality
of
t e a c h i ng
science
without a laboratory.
Tini
School
is atypical
in Fiji.
It is funded en t i r e l y by
the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day
- 256 -
Saints
and
does not receive any financial
government.
The school
of Suva and
is set
other schools
is located
in an
in a landscaped
des ig ne d buildings.
in this school
as si st a nc e
The material
in
standard
and
those
suburb
equipment
compared
music
of
Fiji
a rc hit ec t-
re so u r c e s and
The sports
are un do u b t ed ly sup eri or to
the
aff lu ent
garden
are of a very high
in Fiji.
from
facilities
many
schools
in
to
affluent societies.
The school
pr ov ide s all te xtb ook s
st udents and has an
impressive
looking
exa mi na ti on however many books
in
rel ig io us o ri en ta tio n and there was
of
general
equ ip me nt
re ad in g
for vocat io na l
on close
inspection,
out
order.
of
typewriters,
ow ne d
books.
For
not a
school
and technical
example,
large
has
they were
a
number
exc ellent
although
found
of
close
have
courses,
out
were working.
On
library
certain eq uip men t was
only eight
16 computers,
The
library.
the
to
16
to
be
electric
Although the school
locked away as there was no
teacher q ua li fie d to teach computing.
Despite the exce ll en t material
r e so ur ce s of Tini
certain pr oblems pe rv ad e d the school.
were gen erally below national
aspire academically,
spiritual
cha ra ct er
Academic pass rates
averages.
part ic ul ar concern of the school,
as
it
e m p h a s i z i n g rather
building.
achievement.
will
automatically
Di s c i p li n e
This
the
more
not
a
to
cer ta inl y
and
about
better
better
school.
The
students were n o t i c e a b l y noisier and more di sr up t i v e
than
in other schools
visited.
Teachers
- 257 -
in the
not
importance of
it
br in g
is a p r ob le m
was
claimed
How ever
di sp roves the s i m p l i s t i c equation that
resou rc es
School,
c o mp l a i n e d
of
the
s t u d e n t s 1 lack of mo tiv a ti on and
they
home backgr oun ds of the children.
C e r t a i n l y ma ny
children
from
at
settlements,
groups,
Tini
come
of
At the time of the
rugby team uas
’c a m p i n g ’ in the
solid tra ining
in pr ep ar at io n
schools rugby match.
The school
them.
Such
on
for them.
6.4
The Role of Te achers
Ch ildren attend school
a
for
school
week
national
secon dar y
facilities
learn
and
made
to
take
seen
te achers
It
as
are
is
logical
is fundamental
the t e ac hi ng and
Be eby
(1966)
The
field
as
many other t h e o r e t i c i a n s have proposed.
investigated whether te a c h e r s are the
linch-pin
or whether they are but a part of
the
a
the
th erefore that the role of the teacher
learning pr ocess
a
were
app ea re d
di s s e m i n a t o rs of the k n ow led ge they seek.
system,
of
p ro vi de d the team with
ac ti vi t ie s
to
spo rting
school
pr io ri ty over ac ademic pu rsu it s and could be
pr oxy
School.
the
high protein diet and all possible
ava ilable to
peri-urban
field visit,
a
the
soc io- ec on om ic
em pha sis
for
poor
of
is not a pr ob lem unique to Tini
placed a great deal
achievements.
the
large
the m a j o r it y from the poorer
but this
The school
School
bl am e d
to
and
study
of
the
educative
process.
Most
te achers
encountered
in
qu a l i f i e d with a t e a c h i n g d i p l o m a
Despite the recent exodu s of
n ot ed
in Chapter Four,
the
field
and
often
qualified
there was not,
- 258 -
st udy
Indian
a
were
degree.
teachers
at the time of
the
fieldwork a n ot ic eab le sh ortage of teachers.
general
impression
a m o n g teachers
of
d ed ic at ion
in Fiji.
and
There
is
p r o f e s s i o n a li sm
All speak e x cel le nt English,
their subject matter well
a
and have a so und gr a s p
know
of
the
t h e o r y of teaching.
In practice however,
theo rie s
learned
in t e a c h e r - t r a i n i n g
appear to have given way to sa t i s f y i ng the pra cti ca li ti es
of me et in g syllabus d ea dl i n es and te ach ing
p ra gma tic way given the abili tie s of
res ou rc es available and the
the school
concerned.
in most schools,
A
the
the
most
students,
the
leadership and man ag em en t
’laissez-faire*
where tea chers are
their own devices.
in
ap proach
left
very
of
exists
much
to
Pr i n ci p a l s are usu all y too pr eo cc up ie d
with administ rat ion
to be
involved with the
pro fessional
side of teaching and only a few ap p e a r e d to ac t ua ll y know
what was happe nin g
in the cl as sro oms
of
their
schools.
Th ere ap pears to be an
implicit agr eement
that p ri nci pa ls
are
dis ci pl in e
administration,
in
charge
of
and
while teachers con ce nt ra t e on teaching.
There
is a ten dency towards
classroom,
p a rt ic ul ar ly
co nc ept s of
Fijian and
didactic,
aut ho ri ty
formal r e l a t i o n s h i p s
in
and
Indian cultures,
rural
status,
come
with children,
issuing c o mm an ds
for no questioning.
also extends to
important
instruction.
v e rg in g on arro gan t
in a manner
The power and a u t h o r i ty
that
between
principal
- 259 -
the
Traditional
in
into play r e s u l t i n g
te acher- ce nt re d style of
t e n d to be high-handed,
areas.
in
in
both
in a
Te achers
dealings
which
calls
relationship
and
teachers.
Dec isions on po licy come
from the principal.
Bright
from junior staff are d e f i n i t e l y not appreciated.
ideas
Age and
ex pe rience rather than q u a l i f i c a t i o n s and e n t h u s i a s m give
status and au th o ri t y
in most school
situations.
P o ss ib ly because of the con st an t pr essure
syl labus before external
that there
is a general
in teaching.
examinations,
initiative when the principal
were cle ar ly
it
in the
innovative
does not
t h r e a t e n e d by bright
on
in
the
ineffective
there fo re tend
the
the
mai nt ai n
syllabus
to show
it.
Three
in
a
Each
than
p ri nc ip al s
of
usu al ly
classroom.
It
was
can
feel
e s p e c i a l l y when
themselves.
status
most
that
b r i gh tl y
this.
innovative teachers,
than
through
innovation
foster
who was more
younger and better q u a l i f i e d
to
obs er ve d
in their work and their
aware of what was g oi ng
the
field study had te achers
these schools had a principal
that weak and
was
for tea ch ers
d e c o r a t e d cl as srooms were a t e s t i m o n y to
apparent
cover
lack of c r ea ti v i t y and
It is di ff i c u l t however
sc hools en co u n t e r e d
to
Te achers
quo,
pl o dd in g
p ed es tr ia n
manner,
ignoring the sh or tc o m i n g s of the school.
A common method of t e a c h i n g
is gi vi ng
old examination papers.
teacher
School
was
ob s e rv e d
bl a c k b o a r d
to
Exam in at ion
papers.
A
w r i t i ng
q u e st i on s
co p yi ng the answers.
model
English
at
Dua
co pious
ans we rs
on
the
from
previous
lesson
was
Fiji
Junior
whole
lesson
Eng lish
and they were pr a c t i c i n g a n s w e r i n g q u es ti on s on
they had read.
to
of
The stu de nt s spent the
The
ans wers
Q u e s t i o n s such as
- 260 -
*Who was your
literature
a
novel
favourite
cha racter
in the st ory ? Give reasons
’Describe
an
interesting,
incident
and say why you
full by the teacher,
class.
model
that
The teacher,
you
liked
with no
for your a n s w e r 1 and
found
exciting
i t 1 were
ans we re d
input or d i s c u s s i o n
a y oun g
graduate,
ideas.
did poorly at
English
nevertheless,
score of 46.9%
in
The vernacular
languages of
widely used both
Officially,
other
for
pa rt ic ul ar ly
racial
in
to
cover
poor
The chi ld re n at Dua School
achieving
a
mean
1988.
inside and
only English
than
giving
felt the chi ld re n were
at exp res si n g their own
in
from the
jus ti fi ed
answers because of the shor tn es s of time
the syllabus and be cause she
or
Fijian
and
outside
of
is used for
ve rna cul ar
rural
the
and
purposes,
classes.
sch oo ls
the ve rna cul ar
are
classroom.
t e ac h i n g
language
schools
group dominates,
Hi nd ustani
is
But
where
used
a
one
great
deal among students and teachers.
The stabi lit y of a te ac h i n g
staff
ap pe ar s
influence on the morale of a school.
staff
is often a re fle cti on
the school
in
terms
Schools such as Tini
of
pro blems with man age me nt
and successful
terms,
stable
of the overall
ma nag eme nt
and
A
Tolu
and
Scho ols
have
few
staff
constant problems with
requesting
schools
become
known
staff
high
by
turnover
the
- 261 -
other
of
teaching
of
principalship.
changes.
the
an
teac hin g
have
and have p r i n c i p a l s se rv in g
on
a
have
s t a b il it y
which
bel ea gu re d Dua and Va Sch ools
both schools have
to
no
long
Tro ublehand
tra nsfers
teachers.
frate rni ty
have
and
Such
as
unpopular and tend to become blacklisted.
Young g r ad ua te s
who have to do se rvice
f re qu en tl y sent
to rural
in rural
areas are
schools where t he y tend to stay for the
mi n i m u m
time possible.
A lack of re so urces
hinder effective
environment.
the school
and
teaching,
ma na ge m e n t
cre at in g
a
can
is de spe rat e
of Dua and Vitu Sc ho ols
for resources,
the
or ga ni z i ng bazaars to raise
weak
have
study.
act iv el y
funds for
school
and
to
such as the ca ses
field
teachers had rec en tl y been
is
teac her s
in fundraising,
in
s e v e re ly
nega tiv e
S o me tim es where the mana ge men t
take a very active role
cases,
poor
In
both
involved
essential
in
running
costs of the school.
Almost all teachers and p ri nci pa ls e n c o un te re d
general
lack of m o t i v a t io n on the part of
they were universal
this
situation.
pro blems
School
Poo rly
pa rti c ul ar l y
for example
as well
in bl am in g the
as the
disciplined
of
airport,
su ppo rt
and
and
Tea chers
Levu,
in the c a s h - c r o p p i n g
had problems
seasons
and
with
teac he rs
app e a r e d to place a
bac kg ro un d
for
created
areas
a b se n t e e i s m
find
higher
it
- 262 -
of
on
Dua
hotels
a
number
of
felt
that
the
in
Rural
this
schools,
wes tern
during
a n noy in g
prio ri ty
harvest to a tt en d in g school.
large
d is cip li ne
e n v i r on me nt af f e ct e d stude nts negatively.
es p e c i a l l y
and
ch ildren
is close to a number of
international
parental
students,
in urban and peri -u rba n areas.
parents of students work shifts.
lack
home
lamented a
Viti
harvesting
that
pa rents
g a t h e r i ng
the
Tea chers and Attainment.
The end product of t ea c h i n g at se co n d a r y
seen
in terms of e xa mi na t i on
that when c o m pa ri ng
eleven sch ools
the
mean
in the survey,
four co mp ul so ry su bje cts
each school,
It
is
subject
the
is
s ig ni fi ca nt
marks
marks
often
from
the
especially
for
tend to
be
sim ilar
within
range
of
from
to
fal ling within a
p erc ent age points,
(b).
the
results.
level
as can be seen
2
12
in Tables 6 . 4 . 1 . (a) and
This could of course ref lect many things such as the
general
abi lities of the
student s
also suggest that the school
concerned.
sets an
It
implicit
could
level
of
exp ec te d ac hi eve men t and thus a th res hol d
is
e s t a b li sh ed
whe reby marks across the
do
not
widely.
su bject
range
differ
If for exa mple the subject marks of Dua and
Sch ools are compared,
one
sees
within each of these
two
schools
variation.
sch ools
in-takes,
The two scho ols
which
albeit
are
a
vast
to ta ll y
d i ff er en ce
there
in question
is
are
s u g g es te d
that
if
a
Fijian
in
their
t ra ns f e r r e d to Walu School,
very
and
from
Dua
on
similar,
are sli gh tl y higher.
tea cher
less
both
n on -s el ec ti ve
paper the q u a l i f i c a t i o n s of the staff are
but
much
in very d if fer en t environments,
al though those of Dua School
Walu
It
School
is
were
he or she would be forced
improve his or her t e a c h i n g sta nd ar d to
conform
ex pe ct ed norms.
from Walu School
went to Dua,
Conversely,
if a teacher
to
to
the
st and ard s may u n c o n s c i o u s ly d e cl in e to match
the ambience of the school.
- 263 -
When the marks
for
the
four
c o r r e l a t e d with each other
levels of c or re la tio n
Six.
This
implies that
the
a tta inm ent
It
in
subject
in
island of Kadavu,
si milar
within
schools,
of
an
implicit
Fijian
Fijian,
Two
levels
of
which
p l at ea u
chi ld ren
but
the
isolated rural
Lima and Walu,
and 79 . 3 % respectively.
the general
will
marks
of
range of marks
for each school.
were 44.6% and
The means
67 .7 %
for that
In a sub ject
way of equipment or
in the teaching.
The
schools both on the
school
is a th re sh ol d
for English
respectively.
in
quality
the
marks
little
d e t e r m i n e d to a large de gr ee by
t e ach in g
the
and the a t mo s ph er e therein.
- 264 -
with
out
schools
essential
between
the diff er en ce
of
fit
ac hi eve men t
both
But
49.9%
be a r i ng
of
for
which requires
facilities,
this
verna cul ar
ac h i e v e d means of
is the vast d i ff er en ce
two schools.
achieve
for
In both cases the marks
the contention that there
point here
App en di x
the
indicate that native abil ity with the
is not sufficient.
school
signi fi ca nt
cases,
co n t e n ti o n
are
for each school.
in the
sub jec t
school,
most
is often assu med that
well
for each
sub jects
appear as can be seen
s ub ject a chi eve me nt are
su p po rt s
co m pu ls or y
is
leadership
the
in
the
must
1 ie
in
of
turn
the
Table 6.4.1
Fiji
Junior Ce rt if ic at e Subject Marksi
Mean
Pe r c e nt ag e H arks for Fi el dw or k Schools.
(a) Harks
School
for Four C o m p u l s o r y Subjects.
English
Haths.
Basic
Sc ience
Social
Sc ience
Total
No. of
Stu d e n t s
Dua
46.9
( 17.3)*
43.7
(11.5)
4 9. 0
( 14.6)
34.3
( 13.1)
35 2 . 2
(90.7)
33
Rua
48.3
( 16.7)
55 .0
( 15.3)
48.3
( 15.6)
5 6. 2
( 16.4)
3 09 .5
( 100.9)
63
Tolu
62.9
(18.4)
61 .9
( 17.0)
62.5
( 15.9)
60.8
( 12.2)
379 .0
(82.7)
42
Va
45.2
(9.9)
44.9
( 14.3)
41. 1
(11.6)
49.4
( 15.5)
25 1 . 5
(92.9)
23
Lima
50.6
( 15.7)
56 .3
(14.9)
52.0
( 16.0)
62.5
( 14.0)
331.7
(84.7)
13
Ono
51.4
(11.3)
64. 6
( 14.0)
54.2
( 12.4)
63.6
(11.9)
356.9
(60.6)
56
Vitu
44.6
( 14.0)
51. 1
(6.4)
47. 1
(9.7)
47.6
(14.9)
3 28 .3
(57.0)
16
Walu
67.7
(9.7)
61. 1
( 10.8)
70. 1
(9.8)
69.9
(9.8)
41 0. 3
(47.2)
18
Ciua
69.9
(11.5)
82.6
( 10.3)
68.4
( 12.3)
78.5
(11.0)
465. 1
(54.3)
82
Tini
62. 1
(15.7)
50 .8
(14.7)
56.9
(11.8)
60.5
( 15.0)
336 .3
(80.4)
37
Tin ika-- 56.2
dua
( 14.2)
51 .6
( 13.8)
48.7
( 12.0)
44.2
( 14.1)
31 2.4
(75.5)
73
* Numbers in brackets are the st and ard dev ia ti on s
means above each.
for
the
Totals are agg reg at es of marks in English and
best
five
subjects. No subject with a mark
of
less
than
30%
is
included in the aggregate.
- 26 5 -
Table 6.4.1(b)
Marks for optional subjects.
Metal­ Tech.
School Agr ic.
Home
Wood­
Science. Econs. work.
Drawing work.
Accting.
Fiji­ Typ­ Urdi
an.
ing
Dua
Sua
46.0
(16 )*
_
—
Tolu
_
—
Va
—
—
Lima
Ono
55.6
( 13)
—
—
Vitu
-
—
Walu
—
—
Ciwa
-
—
Tini
—
—
Tinikadua-
—
-
56.5
(7)
41. 1
(6)
41. 1
( 10)
62.8
(8)
39.4
( 14)
53.3
(33)
61.2
(27)
_
50.5
( 19)
64.4
( 16)
54.6
(63)
_
_
_
—
—
—
-
65.9
(21)
—
55.6
(21)
67. 1
( 19)
58.8
(42)
-
40.5
( 17)
_
_
43.6
(23)
_
_
—
56.5
(6)
_
—
-
-
-
49.9
( 13)
_
_
-
-
63.0
(24)
66. 1
(35)
_
_
—
-
59.0
(5)
60.3
( 16)
_
_
-
-
79.3
( 18)
_
_
-
-
71. 1
(25)
-
80.7
(12)
_
—
_
—
—
55. 1
(21)
—
63.2
(4)
—
54.7
(11)
—
80.5
(36)
—
71.4
(10)
56.8
(21)
_
—
_
_
52.2
(7)
_
-
41.9
( 13)
_
_
-
-
66.2
(30)
-
51.2
(11)
78.0
(7)
_
65.9
(11)
_
_
-
-
81.8
(49)
77.3
(30)
76.5
(82)
49.8
( 13)
57.2
(9)
58.6
( 13)
65.3
(28)
56. 1
( 19)
56.4
(35)
_
_
—
_
—
57.2
(21)
60.6
(20)
61.0
(37)
* Numbers in brackets refer to number of candidates who
took each option.
(These are the numbers of survey
participants taking each subject which may not be the
same as the total number of candidates per subject
from
each school).
- 266 -
_
-
_
-
—
_
-
-
The teacher
process,
is the main
pr a c t i t io ne r
in
the
but e v id en ce sug ge sts that he or she
part of a wider netw ork of
in the total
school
The
social,
political co ntexts of the school
and
the s e t ti ng for
function.
management
schools
school
are
with
in ti mately
their
Pr in ci pa ls provide
thrive.
Where such
involved
dull,
pedest ri an and morale
is sapped.
power
the
teacher
Poor
looks to the principal
leadership
trans fe rs
to
schools,
the
schools
non-existent,
and
the a u t h o r i t y and
micr o- co mm un it y,
for gui da nc e and
inspires the best teache rs
other
within
uninspiring
Within
school
Fiji,
budgets.
effective,
or
the
providing
their
weak
and
to
in
with
and
is
becomes
of
a
provide
Due
sc ho ol s
is st ro ng and
le ad ership
ge ne rally
structure
economic
lead er sh ip and m ot iv at io n
and where this
on l y
community
the
r e so ur ce s
school,
te a c h i n g
to
situ at io n of many of
co mm un it ie s
is
interactions and p e r s o n a l i t i e s
system.
the
ed uca tio n
and
to
example.
apply
com fo rt s
teachers that they may plod on ma ki n g as
the
the
for
worst
little ef fo rt as
possible.
6.5
The
School
size - does
issue of school
it make a d i f f e r e n c e ?
size g e n e r a l l y
in Fiji
in Chapter Four and
it was no ted that
s e co nd ar y
have
schools
situation has o c c u r r e d
less
than
some
200
thus the number of pupil s
in local
- 267 -
is
d i s c u s s ed
40%
of
pupils.
for va rious reasons.
parts of Fiji the po p u l a t i o n de n s i ty
was
This
In some rural
re l a t i v e l y
sc hools
all
is
low.
low,
In
urban areas
ethnic,
and
more
de ns ely
p o p ul at ed
rural
areas,
rel igious and sectoral d i f f e r e n c e s give rise to a
mu l t i p l i c i t y
of
sc hoo ls
catchments.
The
uith
overlapping
Grant-in-aid
sy st em
g e o g ra ph ic
has
enabled
f ra gm en ta ti on and d u p li c at io n to occur al on g these
In the
fieldwork st udy three schools were very small
less than
bet wee n
100 pupils and
a
further
ca l l e d
into question.
the sur vey were
1970s when
Va School
it was go ve rnm ent
of 88,
close
to
difficulties,
the
which
have
se c o n d a r y schools,
these
af for ded
but
due
to
recent
are
years
a
rural
inferior to
and
sixth
att it ud es
and
daily.
been
that
’f u l l 1 s e c on da ry
forms.
have
have
In all cases of the
if
tr ans por t
has
es p e c i a l l y small ones,
or
them.
from vill age s
field study,
it,
in
Hany children were
Junior
suf fe re d
often
been
very
small
the pri nci pa ls c o n t e n d e d that
stu de nt s would have gone els ew he re
have
in
in
three sch ools
fifth
nega tiv e
in the
be
All
in
r e g a r d e d as sec ond best.
s ch ool s
located
it was not possi ble to travel
junior se con dar y scho ols
from
established
of 60 and Wa lu
isolation.
school,
popular per cep ti on
s ch oo ls
of
sc ho ol s
policy to pro mote
Lima a roll
in de gr ees of
had b o ar di ng facilities.
The
All three very small
All of these schools were
varying
fa irly
rolls
s e c o n d a ry scho ols must
junior sec on da ry schools,
had a roll
of 81.
areas,
had
There are a number of c o m m o na li ti es
that these sch ools share.
roll
two
uith
100 and 200.
The ef fe ct i v e n e s s of very small
the
lines.
they
- 268 -
if their par ents co uld
had
pas se d
their
Intermediate Entrance uith s u f f i c ie nt ly
the case of Va School
for example,
which would
Walu School
Ono School
school
on the
which
of
busfares.
hours
is often p r ef er re d as
is that the schools
t r av el li ng
Chil dre n
island of Kad avu could
known to have super ior
In
in or ar ou nd Si g a t o k a
involve two to three
per day plus the cost
marks*
the opt ion uo ul d be to
a t t e n d one of the s e c o n d a r y schools
town,
high
at te nd in g
have
at ten ded
it is a go ver nme nt
facilities.
The
implication
in q u es ti on are a s e co nd option.
This
has a de mo r al i z i n g effect on tea ch er s and students.
Even without doing a d e t ai le d
it
is
still
schooling
School,
apparent
in
such
small
for example,
teachers.
At a
e xc ee d F$60,000.
equipment,
that
the
estimate,
ex c l u d i n g
textbooks,
library or
this yields a high cost
per
cost,
at
facilities
d i s t i n c t l y sub-standard.
rely
on
b u d g e t a r y needs.
local
is
very
such
This
for
buildings,
expenditure,
this
tend
di rec tly
because
f u n d - r a i s in g
for
rolls,
have
the
high
to
be
to
the
schools
much
there
Lo ca te d
ca pac ity
to
must
of
their
are
in
most parents do not have secure so urces of
and the re f or e do not
Lima
uould
Despite
due
of
sal ar ies
sc ho ol s
p a r en ts to call upon to donate money.
areas,
high.
recu rr en t
is
With very small
student
of 7
grants
capita.
study,
has a staff
staff
nat ur e of the G r a n t - i n - a i d sy st em
still
per
its 60 pupils,
Even
the
cost
schools
with
modest
co st - e f f e c t i v e n e s s
few
rural
income
co ntr ibu te
g e n e r o u s l y to schools.
Singh
(1986)
has put
fo rward a thesis
- 269 -
that
small
rural
schools
in
Fiji,
inefficient,
ex pen siv e
and
p o ssi bl y
often come to s ym bo ll iz e the as pi ra ti on s
the c om mu ni tie s
that
while
in which they are
located.
He
suggests
"rural com mu ni ti es view schools as s a t i s f yi ng
social,
cultural
and
p s y c ho log ica l
ca te ri ng for the e du ca ti on al
needs
needs
of
of
as
their
much
their
as
children"
( 1986:28).
When schools have
very
small
sizes must also be small.
students
Lima School
in its Fourth Form while
With such small class sizes,
must be very
(b).
limited.
for Fiji
Mathematics,
the
Basic
Agricultural
instinctively,
small
ne ces sar ily
exc ee di ng 40.
not appear
Exami nat ion
small
the second
Ce rti fic at e
in
18.
choices
Table
6.4.1
pu rs ued the same seven
sub je ct s
four c o m p u l so ry subj ect s -
English,
and
Technical
Social
Science;
plus
Dr aw in g and Fijian.
While
cla sses may appear an asset,
case.
pass
per for man ce
Ciwa
rates
School
had
Form
ideal,
lowest national
pass rate
(1
13 passes).
’B ’ grades and 5
with
Four
is
its
clas ses
class size did
am ong
P r o b l e m- bes et
with 41.9%.
it
performance.
var ied g r ea tl y
in the survey.
grade passes of the
pass with 4
seen
While this may not be
(1988)
subject
the Form
to hamper e xa mi na ti on
schools
had
stu dents
the
o ut st a n d in gl y high
School
13
Four
Science
Science,
class
for ex ample had
Walu
This can be
They all
Junior:
individual
ob vi ou sl y
In the case of L ima School,
had no options.
not
rolls,
in the
’B ’ grade
the
Va School
Fiji
had
grades of
its 9
- 270 -
had
Junior
and
Lima School
*C*
three
12
a
*C*
69 . 2 %
passes.
Walu School
grades,
had an am az in g
11 *B* grades
students.
100%
and
5
pass
*C*
rate
uith
grades
2
from
The high grades ac h ie ve d by the
Walu
were s u b s t a n t ia ll y better than those of many
'A'
its
18
students
larger
and
better eq ui pp e d schools.
Wa lu Sch ool's ac ademic suc ce ss
very
proves
that
school
in a poor c o m m u n i t y to produce
Klitgard
it is po ssi ble
is
(1975)
ma in t a i n s that
to s t u d y such schools,
writes:
"If
identified,
for a
even
small,
isolated
en v i a b l e
it is of great
which he
u n u s u a ll y
significant.
labels
ef fe ct iv e
if they are rare,
rural
results.
importance
'outliers'
schools
there
It
and
he
can
is
be
hope
that
their su perior p e r f or ma nce can be r e p l i c a t e d e ls ewh er e
the ed uc ational
The
evid en ce
s u g ge st
system"
from
(1975:80).
this,
albeit
therefore that size,
limited
as a single
survey,
factor,
n e c e s s a r i l y affect the e f f i c i e n c y of schools
s t u de nt
performance.
The
issues
le ad er s h i p appear to have a far
school,
d i re ct ly
process,
affecting
than the actual
s c h oo ls have a fragile
lottery.
If
expectation.
m a n ag ed
in
of
and
size of the school
well,
v e r gi ng
they
If m a n a g e d poorly,
in terms
impact
learning
status,
does not
of
m a n a ge me nt
greater
the
uould
on
the
tea ch in g
roll.
on
can
and
Small
that
of
su cc ee d
a
beyond
they can cru mb le
to
the
po int of barely ju s t i f y i n g their existence.
Unlike
schools,
they
re si st a n c e
to
fortunes,
and r e l a t i v e l y
abi li ty
recover
from
efficiency,
they
se ve re problems.
have
little
less
In terms of
ec onomic
- 271 -
to
larger
cha ng in g
u n d o ub te dl y do poorly,
providing
edu ca ti on
number of st udents at high cost both
c o m m un it i es and to the Government.
they pe r fo rm an
important
b r i n g i n g se con d ar y
In
political
ed uc at i o n
to
inacce ssi ble areas of Fiji.
- 272 -
the
to
to
the
terms
and
most
a
small
s u pp ort ing
of
equity,
social
remote
role,
and
C H A P T E R SEVEN
7,1
THE S T U D E N T S
Social,
Eco no mi c
IN THE SCHOOLS,
and
Political
Contextual
Var t a b l e s .
The d i sc u ss io n on ma n a g e me nt
in
schools
sc h oo ls are a mirror of the c o m mu ni ty
the same social,
ec o n o m i c
shape the communities,
their schools.
conflict
and
also have
a
the
Education,
si t u a t i o n s
great
that
serve.
Thus
factors
that
influence
C on fl i ct - r i d d e n co mm u n i t i e s tend to
into the
as
they
political
local
school
situa tio n
of s c h o o l - b a s e d dis pu te s abound.
such
su g g e s t e d
parents,
principal,
te ach ers
Mi ni str y
stud ent s
perceive
within
the gr o u p s of sta keh ol de r s and schools can become
arenas
local
battles.
re l a t i o n s h i p s
bo u n d a r i e s
There
between
of tensions.
have
the
a
complex
di ffe ren t
web
of
s t ak eh ol de rs
and
ill-defined.
n e g o t i a t i on s which
raise
With the G ra n t - i n - a i d sy s t e m
the
Mi ni st r y
inclu di ng principals,
they
is
between them may be
r eq ui re elaborate
example,
There may be
of
factions
for
in diverse ways.
stakeh ol de rs
the
and
bring
and news reports
Di fferent
committee,
on
or
sh o u l d
is
an
of
Ed ucation
but school
have
may
another
set
in
Fiji,
ap p o i n t s
c o m m i t te es
the
Changes
power
staff
feel
to
for
as
veto
if
such
decisions.
Dua School
e x a mp le
c o m m u n i t y where tradi tio na l
of
a
cu stoms
school
and
have had a negative eff ect on the school.
in
a
local
Because
Fijian
politics
it
is
taboo to question the mot ives and actions of high chiefs,
- 273 -
financial
period.
mi sma na g e me nt
The
however,
community
uas
to le r a t e d
sh owed
its
by re m o vi n g chil dr en
fa il in g to give
any
kind
from
of
for
the
fo un de re d and within a decade
became
p r o b le m- be se t schools
country.
indirectly
school
support
the
prolonged
atti tud e
to
W i t ho ut the b a c ki ng of the c o m m u n i t y at
in
a
the
large,
one
and
school.
the school
of
The
the
it had been am ong the
1988,
it was third
lowest
in
its
lowest
pass
Junior,
and
in in the whole of Fiji
with
rate ac hie ver s n a ti on al ly since
in
most
demoralized
state of teachers and st ud en ts has been re f l e c t e d
a c ad em ic achievement:
by
1983 in Fiji
a 44 % pass rate.
Man age me nt
aside,
the general
context of
som ew ha t different to many other pur ely
Dua School
several
is located next
large tourist
international
airport
of western Viti Levu.
rents
from the
Dua
Fijian
to the town of Nadi,
hotels and resorts,
close
and in the heart of
the
The Fijian
lease of their
land to
Fiji.
had
in the area than
The rel ative ease of
for the
in this area,
certification.
o b t a in in g
Dua
other
Within
land
farmers
d i f f er in g
School
Fijian
emplo yme nt
low mot iv at io n to su cc eed
as jobs
the
can el an ds
in regular em pl oy me nt or cash-cropping,
is a high propo rti on co mp a r e d to
re aso n
to
to
in most other parts
The major ity of the chil dre n at
fathers
close
Indian cane
at
is
schools.
land-owners collect
and there are more e m pl oy me nt o pp or tu ni ti es
levels of skills
School
(73%)
which
schools.
could
am on g
of
be
a
chi ldren
can be found with or wit hout school
the co ntext of Fiji,
this are a en joy a degree of rel ative
- 274 -
the Fijians
affluence.
in
It has been ob se r ve d that there
is
ma la ise when t o u r is m
with
culture,
and there
is
mix ed
is evid enc e
a
type
that Fij ian s
cultural
tradit ion al
of this
A M i ni st ry of Health nu tri tio n sur vey
example,
of
Fijian
in the Nadi
in
in the vil lages
area.
1988 found,
a ro un d
Nadi
had very poor nu tr it io n with the women e s p e c i a l l y
very
low levels of haemoglobin.
de gr ee
by the ce ssa tio n
rice are
from
staples.
nature
and
for
cane
an
suffers
alternative
from
wi d e s pr ea d
there were quick to
of
blame
many
for the breakdown
to
of
in family
the
the
life
lack of disci pli ne am on g children at the school.
Va School,
situ ate d
in the
an ot he r case of a school
rural
school
affluence.
had fathers who
This school
fertile
located
su f f er e d
were
maize,
Most of the students,
is
s u c c e e d academically.
of
is
relative
su rv eye d
at
farmers
this
gro wi ng
wat er me lo ns and vegetables.
the
farming
equal
leave school
and there
Valley,
from frequent a b s e n t e e i s m es p e c i a l l y
that parents em ph a s i z e
venture,
in an area
cash-crop
d u r i n g the harvest season and
Indians,
S i g a t o ka
Half of the chi ldren
crops such as tobacco,
and
as
em plo yme nt
s c h o o l c h i l d r e n ’s parents
food pla nt in g
food such as white b re ad and
Dua School
of
having
is leased for sugar
shops
ind iscipline and teach ers
s h if t- wo rk
land
Less nut rit io us
pur ch as ed
tr ad it ion al
as
town
is cau sed to a large
of traditional
s u b s is te nc e co ns ump tio n
cultivation.
This
for
principal
rather
than
co mp la i ne d
schooling.
numbers of whom were
to
join
apparently
Va School
the
little
family
Fijians
farming
mo t i v a t i o n
to
has had a hi st ory of poor
- 275 -
exa mination p er fo rm an ce
na tio nal ly
and
in the overall
in
1988
pass rate
it uas se cond
lowest
for the
Junior
Fiji
Examination with a 42% pass rate.
The three Fijian sc hools on the
a tt end ed by children
from
dif ferent
base.
fathers
economic
were
exi stence
Cash
farmers,
ek ing
for the Ka da vu
people
crops.
students surveyed aim to
employment.
family
is
us ually
They can
then
in the village
with the
by
of
their
island
to escap e
home.
co ns id er ab l y higher exam pass
money
Junior exa min at ion s
Viti
Levu.
Walu had a
The
than the Fijian
the
to
(Ono had a 79% pass rate,
want
can
go
secure
The
provide
pro sp ec ts
the
Vitu
the
their
them.
schools
sch ools
a
r e m a i n i ng
limited
in
of
gain
appears to
three
of
pa rents
and
rates
there
in fact
so that they
from the
These
and
any
technical
ma j o r i t y
support
sen di ng
and
Host
Levu)
help
Althoug h
exce pt io n
The
relative poverty of their en vi r o nm en t
impetus to succeed,
erratic,
itself.
leave Kadavu,
(Viti
an
There are har dl y
their children to s uc cee d at school
island
out
island.
is p rep ari ng them to do so.
main
c h i l d r e n ’s
barren ro cky
most pro fes sio nal
from outside Kadavu,
were
som ewhat
se m i - s u b s i s t e n c e
small number of a ux il l i a r y staff.
the
a
of
is a government station,
to
uith
m a jo ri ty
employment opp or tu n it ie s on Ka da vu
education
Kadavu
The
from surplus yaq on a
staff are
of
com mu ni ti es
from the ru gge d and often
income
derived
island
achi eve d
1988
in
had
Fiji
western
75%
and
100% pass rate).
national
political
ag en da
- 276 -
also
affe cts
schools.
C ha pte rs Three and Four explain hou
long felt m a r g i n a l i z ed and
es ca pe route
political
as
from
have
used
agriculture.
situation
in Fiji
has
optio n
for
many.
Wr iters
situation.
to
terms
as
Fiji
Indians will
Lai
the
face further d i s c r i m i n a t i o n
and their teachers
succeed,
is
likely
that
in
many
t he y are not
example,
t e rt ia ry
basis.
all
The
pupils
mo ti va t i o n
they
to
try,
likely to ac hieve their goals.
fears and u n c e r t a i n t y of
The pre vi ou s principal
who
was
a
p r o f e s s i o n a l , had r e c e n t l y
t e a c h i n g job
for
Indian
large n u m be rs have m i gr at ed or
to migrate.
areas.
b i t t er ne ss
that no matter how hard
Indian teachers share the
pu pi ls and
and
racial
lose
its
have
is that some
apparently
as they feel
a
is
Fiji
sc ho la r s h i p s
an t i t h e s i s to this si tu a t i o n
stress as
in
e s p e c i a l l y over the
on
have
their
u ne as in es s
which are a l l o c a t e d
the
community
life
it
at
of
T h e y have strong feelings of
ed uc a t i o n
or
re al i t i e s
in terms of race,
issue of
uncertain
( 1988)
Indian
Although many as pects of
long been de fined
an
is not a viable
and emotional
with
as
Indians to su cceed
em i g r a t i o n
such
under enormous psycho lo gi ca l
come
for
even though this
s u g g e s t e d that the p o s t - c o u p
m e m be rs
present
have
its ef fects on education,
for pos si bl e
least to study overseas,
in Fiji
educ at io n
The
it provid es a st ro n g moti va ti on
in order to prepare
Indians
of
qualified
left
are
Ciwa
in New Z e a l a n d at the time
intending
School,
and
for a much
their
experienced
lower
of
the
status
survey.
Tea c h e r s of science and m a t h e m a t i c s e s p e c i a l l y have
it re l a t i v e l y easy to ob tain
te a ch in g
- 277 -
for
posts
in
found
nearby
A u s t r a l i a and Neu Zealand.
Science
and
areas where many s e c o nd ar y schools
q u a l i f i e d teachers,
had
such
performance
and
a
s it uat io n
str on g
in
a
does
direct
in Fijian s ch ool s but
attitudes
in Fiji
are
and the r e p e r c u s s i o n s are
The pr ev ai l i n g political
have
ma th em at ic s
number
of
ap pear
on
translated
ethos
Some
Fijian
force
but they felt that this
th ou ght
the
for Fi ji an s to
ideal
into direct action by pupils.
the political sit uation
has
been
the
was not
One
introduction
of
schools,
This
ma n i f e s t a t i o n
of
Fijian
the
schools.
s tr on gl y- fe lt
various
is
nationalism
and the current high status of the army,
seen as a symbol
of Fijian strength.
Two of
intro duc ed
coups of
in both cases the pr in ci pa ls
it was
a
positive
move.
School,
for example,
felt
va lue s of uniformity,
pa rt i c u l a r principal
The
tra in in g
principal
that
cadets
obe di en ce
and
was very much
of
of the
1987 coups.
school
as chief guest
of praise
for
He had
him.
This
since
felt
Ti ni ka du a
’the
principal
This
t e ac hi ng
in
favour
leader to
occas ion
was
and
the
was
bl at an tl y
an ti - I n d i a n and was pro ud to share his op ini ons with
- 278 -
the
that
cooperation.*
invited the cou p
is
schools
in favour of
for a pr omi nen t
amo ng
reinf orc e
Fij ian culture and t r ad it io ns and was cl ea rl y
a
which
the
in the survey had
1987 and
cadet
being
of
into
es pec ial ly
in
effect
’c a d e t s ’, in other words mil it ar y training,
full
pupil
since they had op ted to be the domi na nt race
the country,
F ij ia ns
to
affected
areas.
cou ps sho uld be seen as a m o ti va ti ng
of
inevitable.
influence
pr i n c i p a l s and e d u c a t i o n i s t s said that they
succeed,
short
not
it has
are
his
students*
Und ou bt ed ly
political
situation,
s t r e ng th en i n g and
ex ac e r b a t e d
he
a p p e ar ed
ex er t i n g
important part of school
by
Fijian
life.
the
to
all the Fijian pr i n ci p al s en co u n t e r e d
it was viewed more a g g r e s s i v e l y
feel
cu lt ure
This view
is
was
areas the entire social
scho ols
is
Fijian,
thus
that
a
in the survey,
in the urban areas
and cultural
Fijian
very
sh a r e d
mu lt i - r a c i a l i s m ap pears to be pe rc e i v e d as a
rural
present
by
but
where
threat.
In
context of the
cul tu re
is
pr omoted
intr ins ic al ly rather than as an act of defiance.
It
in
is also apparent that some pa rents percei ve
a
sp eci fi cal ly
Fijian
context
importance to academic excellence.
area,
for example,
S c h oo ls
with
there
ent ir el y
is a
wide
Fijian
fa v o u r e d by Fijian parents,
In
to
Thus,
unlike
se cular education system,
co n s c i o u s l y
s o c io -c ul tu ra l
choose
choice
en ro l l m e n t s
equal
greater
of
Suva
schools.
are
often
low com pa re d
to
in s o ci et ie s with a st ate-run
ethos*
or r e li gi ou s
of
even though their re pu tat ion s
parents
an
be
the
for exami na ti on passes may be r e l a t i v e l y
other schools.
sc ho ol in g
in
Fiji
often
foundations.
- 279 -
are
able
ba sed
to
on
7.2
Parental
Occupations
and Education.
Western so cio l og is t s have str on gl y
favo ure d
the
thesis
that a child's hone b a c k g r ou nd shapes his or
her
future
and s t ro ng l y
influences su ccess or failure at school.
fieldwork survey has a t t e m p t e d
importance of home b a c k g r o u n d
v a r y i n g b ac kg ro und s
in Fiji
Table 7.2.1 shows the mean
examination
students*
to
assess
the
re lative
influence on chil dr en
from
on their school
performance.
scores
Fiji
in
the
for the d i ff er en t oc cu pat io nal
fathers
The
Junior
groups of
the
in the sample.
The hi ghest mean scores were a c hi ev ed by
the
rel ati ve ly
small
run
their
number of ch ildren
businesses.
whose
Ex cl u di n g groups with
the s e co nd highest c a t e go r y
fathers
other
fathers
in pr ofe ssi on al
research and
is
that
careers.
s ug ge st s
less than
of
This
that
five members,
ch ildren
with
is co ns is t e n t
with
aca de mic
suc ce ss
be c o m i n g se lf -p er p e t u a t i n g between the generations.
c at e g o r i e s
workers,
of
white
source of
overall
average.
which
income
all
implies that
could be for material
sco red
ta ngi ble reasons such as
means
wo uld
financial
of
r ea so ns
books and other
skilled
items
success
manual
such
for
values
from parents to children.
- 280 -
as
have
in
for
incentives
the
the
This
ab i l i ty
or
had
secure
school.
the
school
and
above
s ec ur it y
at
is
Other
forces and farmers who
All of these groups
home may be a d et er mi n an t
p ur cha se
workers,
all of the u n i f o r m ed
a no ther
incomes,
collar
own
to
less
passed
Table 7 2.1
Mean
Scores
in
F.J.C E x a m i n a t i o n
by Occ up at i o ns of Fat hers
Father *s
Occupat ion
Mean
Std.
Devn.
362.7
487.0
3 6 5.8
415.5
105.6
5 3.7
7 7.3
333.2
326.3
321.5
3 7 5.2
98.4
98. 1
110.3
(1988)
in Sample,
Number
Percent
of Cases
White Collar
Cler ical
Bank Officer
Ad mi ni st r ati ve
Professional
110.6
28
6 .1%
2
0.4%
5
25
5.5%
1.0 %
Manual
2 .0%
86.6
9
33
38
40
438.4
77.5
20
4.4%
368.2
372.6
387.6
73. 1
63.2
109.8
11
2. 4%
10
3
2 .2%
0.6%
331.6
3 0 5.0
386.7
75.0
110.1
90
77
26
19.7%
16.8%
5.7%
Ret ir ed
Un e m p l o y e d
Dec ea se d
Dont know/not st at ed
5 1 6.0
359.6
397.8
3 6 6.6
00
38.2
66. 3
108.6
1
0 .2%
0 .6%
Overal1
352.2
98.8
Casual labourer
Unsk i1 led
Semi-sk i1 led
Sk il led manual
7.2%
8.3%
8 .8%
Commerce
Bus iness owners
Uni fo rm ed Forces
Army or Navy
Pol icemen
Prison Officers
Farmers
Sem i-s ub is te nc e
Cash crop
Farmers plus other
job
63.9
Other
- 281 -
3
21
4.6%
13
2 .8%
456
100.0%
incomes,
which
implies that
home may be a d e t er mi n an t
co u l d be for material
financial
of
su ccess
re as on s
pur c h a s e books and other
such
items
ta n g i b l e reasons such as
secu ri ty
values
at school.
as the
for
in
This
ability
school
and
the
or
to
for
incentives
less
pa ss ed
from parents to children.
There
are
su bs tantial
d i ff er en ce s
cl a s s i f i c a t i o n of farmers.
have
overall
sc ore d
se mi -s u b s i s t e n c e
worse
farmers.
have another source of
Cash
c ro p
farmers*
than
The
within
the
have
on a par with white collar and other
c h il dr en
c h il dr en
of
farmers
who
chi ld re n of
income as well
the
sc or ed
urban
means
groups.
The
di ff e r e n c e between s em i- s u s b i s t e n c e and c a s h - c r o p
farmers
is su rp ri s i n g as s e m i - s u b s i s t e n ce
have
a
more
incomes,
as
they
p r ec ar io us exi stence with very
sell
only their surplus
needs.
to
low cash
pay
for
This suggests that there
involved.
For example,
many s e m i - s u bs is te nc e
bo ar d at schools.
farmers
must
bec ause of
farmers
their
be
send
their
use
a
e s p e c i a l l y that of teenagers.
cash c ro p areas of Nadi
the
frequent
seasons,
deal
School
of
pass
in
regularly.
It could also
be
s p ec ul at ed
- 282 -
in
the
lamented
ha r v e s t i ng
c o mm en ti ng that parents placed a hi gher
on re ap in g the ha rvest than having chil dre n
crop
labour,
pr i nc ip al s
especially
living
Cash
family
to
rates
ch ild ren
and the S i g a t o k a Va ll ey
absenteeism
factors
c h il dr en
(See Table 7.3.3).
great
basic
necessity,
This sur ve y has shown that
at home or with relatives.
also
other
ge og rap hic
am ong boa rders are higher than those of
farmers
most
priori ty
att end school
that the
very
po v e r t y of the s e m i - s u b s i s t e n c e
to seek a sound e du ca ti o n
their
level of
farmers
for their
living above that of
en co ur a g e s
children,
their
to
them
raise
origin.
This
co m p l i e s with H e y n e m a n ’s thesis.
The t h i r d c a te go ry of farmers uho have
main source of
as truck
or
taxi
farming
fathers*
work,
as
their
income but uho have s u b s i d i a r y means
driving,
wou ld have the grea tes t
in the
fa rm ing
genre.
c hi ld ren
ca n e - c u t t i n g
or
financial s e c u r i t y of
When
a sk ed
to
such
labouring,
all
those
descri be
their
wrote answers such as:
"My father
is a cane
farmer.
He also cuts cane".
"My father
is a cane
farmer and also he
is
a
su ga r- c a n e
truck driver".
"My father works on his
vegetables.
He
farm where he grows many types of
is also a ca rp enter and he
builds
houses
of other p e o p l e s . "
It could be su gge ste d that
work hard
the
fathers*
mo ti va ti on
to
is t r a n sf er re d to his children.
Table 7 . 2 . 2
Wh ite
Major Oc cu pat ion al
Manual
Groups by Race.
Bus iness Un iform Fa rmers Ot hers Tot
Collar
Forces
11.5%
26. 1%
0.3%
6.4%
Indian
13.6%
24 .8%
10.6%
3.5%
Others
25.0%
37.5%
12.5%
6.2%
- 283 -
CO
00
Fi j ian
7. 1%
100%
37.2%
10.3%
100%
12.5%
6 .3%
100%
Table 7 . 2 . 2
Fij ians
shows
that
are
significantly
more
in the un if or me d forces and farming and many more
Indians than Fijians
collar
there
jobs,
in business.
the p r o po rt i o ns
groups were almost the same.
si m i l a r i t y of occup at io na l
of
For
manual
the
two
This
and
major
indicates
b a c k g r ou nd
white
ethnic
an
for urban
overall
dw ellers
re g a r d l e s s of race.
Rural
and semi-rural
who were
farmers,
schools showe d a m a j or it y of fathers
with a
str ong
t en de nc y
fewer years of sc ho ol in g c o m p a r ed to
urban areas,
o c c u pa ti o ns
forces.
most
fathers
- white collar,
The educational
survey dif fer ed
were
levels
urban
in
manual,
to
have
had
fathers.
wage
or
s a l ar ie d
bus iness or un ifo rme d
of
the
little between rural
mothers
in
the
and urban areas.
O c c u pa ti o ns of mothers did not have a st r o n g be ar in g
suc cess
in the
na rro wer
F.J.C.
examination.
occupational
base
for
There
mothers
pr i m a r i l y occupied with do me sti c duties.
however,
and
26% also were
14% had some
s e l li n g goods
involved
informal
from home,
In
was
-
(Of
in farming
oti
a
much
79%
were
this
group
and
fishing,
money e a rn in g ac t iv it y such
as
sewin g or m i nd in g children).
The
pass rate of children of white collar w o r k i n g m o t he rs was
the same as that of mothers who were not e m p l o y e d outside
the home.
cases,
The other oc cu pa ti on al
c a te gor ies
had
that any attempt at d r aw in g c o n c lu si on s
invalid.
- 284 -
so
would
few
be
The education
of both pare nts ap p ea re d to bear re l a t i v e l y
little relation to the suc ce ss of children.
no t i n g however that 62% of Fijians
fathers*
education,
Similarly,
e d u ca ti on
co mp a r e d
to
55% of Fiji ans did
as against 20% of
that ed uca tio n
c o m p a r e d to
is a topic
did
It
not
18%
not
know
Indians.
po ss ib le
to make direct causal
m y ri ad of com ple xit ies
to ed uc ati ona l
qu ant ifiable.
have
Indians.
their
mothers*
in Fijian homes,
emerged,
none
It is dif fi cu lt
com ing
to
achievements.
which
Parents
is
of
There
which
or
is
ac cu r a t e l y
at home.
pr ovide
other
are
a
status
easily
a s sess
the
positive
There may be push
from
poverty,
goals
of
family
re lat ive s
may
provide
r o l e - m o d e l s and p os sib ly guidance.
Cultural
influences may affect a ch ild as much
as
and
ethnic
so ci o - e c o no mi c
It is with cau tion th ere for e that so ci o- ec o n o m i c
factors are taken
into account.
A c h i l d ’s b a ck g r o u n d
d et e r m i n e to some extent how he or she reacts to
it is the
interaction
of
school
ch ild which appears to be critical.
factors
with
Cha pter 8.1
e x p l o ri ng the
intricacies
var i a b l e s .
- 285 -
of
the
may
school,
the
attempts
to draw together the data on b a ck gr ou nd with the data
schools,
not
parental
from parents or the
is given to chil dre n
factors
it
linkages between
factors which motivate chil dre n to escape
but
implied
in re la t i n g so ci o- ec o n o m i c
achievement,
levels of motivation
factors.
their
of
b a c k g r o u n d and a c h i l d ’s success at school.
pull
know
Indian homes.
certain c on ne ct i o ns
or
worth
It c ou ld be
less d i s c u s s e d
Al tho ugh
help that
is
on
interacting
7. 3
Homes and Homeuork.
No clear
r e l a ti o n sh ip
c h i ld re n
in
a
examination.
family
e m er ge d
and
success
hi gh est total
mean score was
were members of
si bl in gs at all
had
of
F.J.C.
in F.J.C.
This (table shows that the
ac hie ved
by
chi ld ren
children
or
Fij ians tend
to
familie s - 57.8% of Fijian chil dre n
m em ber s of families with six or more
have
in
the
who
fol lo we d
and
low passes com pa re d to
in the survey.
Ta ble 7.3.1
number
the
t h r e e - c h i l d families
Families with seven
to 2 3 . 6 % of
in
families with two children,
fiv e- ch il d families,
si zes
the
Table 7.3.1 de ta ils the mean marks
for the di ff er in g family sizes.
families.
between
by
s i x- ch il d
more
or
no
other
family
the
largest
sur vey
children,
were
comp are d
Indian children.
Number of Sib lings and Fiji
Junior
Means
for Field wor k Sample.
Number of Siblings
Hean
Std Deviation
Number of Cases
None
333.2
105. 1
19
(4.2%)
One
341.0
112.3
35
(7.6%)
Two
3 8 0.7
93.6
55
( 12.0%)
Three
3 5 3.4
93.3
92
(20.2%)
Four
346.6
98. 0
92
(20.2%)
Five
367.5
104.4
79
( 17.3%)
Six
347.5
88.4
38
(8.3%)
Seven
312.5
88. 1
20
(4.4%)
Ei ght
3 0 1.7
90. 1
7
(1.5%)
Nine or more
336.0
107.3
19
(4.2%)
Overall
352.2
98. 8
456
(100.00)
mean
- 286 -
Total
Ho mework
is an area which pr esents pr o bl em s to
of school children.
At the Fiji
Junior
level,
can expect to have set ho mework eve ry night.
ch ildren
in the
homework.
su rv ey
Of these,
pro bl em - it was
reported
ha vi ng
of
attributed
the
environment.
This
chil dr en with
children
6 1 . 5 % of the
or was
proble ms
d i f f i c u l t i e s to
their
ho mework
included havin g too
many
a lack of
insufficient books to work with.
chores,
light or
Some children r e po rt ed more
responses
and
I
dont
or
A further 36% c o m p l a i n e d
than
one
homework.
problem,
as
the
indicate:
is di ff icult and some ti me s
to do at home
too
space
that they did not have enough time to do their
"The work
poorly
hom ework
much noise or disturbances,
f o ll ow in g typical
with
itself was the
too dif ficult, too much
41%
number
prob lem s
36% said that the work
understood.
a
have
I ’ve got plent y work
much
time
to
do
my
hom ework 11.
"Sometimes my homework are too di ff icult and
are people
in my home which they
noise an d also not enough
"There
"It
is not a good
always
also
make
too
there
much
light at home".
light and too many
is too ov er c r o w d e d and my brother
jobs to do".
and
cousins
make
too much noise".
"Sometimes
I cant u n d e r s t a n d the q u es ti on s and
s o me ti me s
I have too much job and
lack of time to do my homework".
The children were a s k e d
if
they
had
anybody
co u l d ask to help them with their homework.
shows the result of this question.
- 287 -
who
Table
they
7.3.2
Table
7 * 3,2
Possible
Nob od y to ask
S o urces
of
7%
Mother
11 %
Slbl in gs
52%
Co usins
18%
Te acher
37%
Prefect
0 .2%
Fr iend
3%
some
Help.
10%
for help
Father
(Note:
Homew o r k
re sp o n d e n t s
gave
more
than
one
p o s si bl e
so urce of help)
It is s ig ni fi ca nt that the main source of
the same generation
as
co us in s and friends.
Wh ereas western research
s u g g e s t e d that a
neg at iv e
factor
the
large
school
help
number
in school
source of
likely due
ed uc a t i o n
to
the
of
-
co usins
it
are
help
than
parents.
fact
that
many
from
siblings,
siblin gs
achievement,
this st udy that si blings and
important
ch il d
is
has
often
can
be
ap pears
from
a
much
more
is
most
had
less
This
pa rents
than their c h il dr en and thus they wo uld not
able to help them effectively.
It
also
a
points
to
be
the
degree of alienation be tween pa re nt s and their c h i l d r e n ’s
schoolwork.
It is not usual
mat ters such as school
for Fijian pa re nt s
work with their children.
also an a vo id an ce r e l a t i o n s h i p between Fijian
da u g h t e r s which
It
also
to discuss
There
is
fathers and
is c o m m o n l y observed.
hi gh lights
cultural
importance of age sets,
factors
such
e s p e c i a l l y for Fijian
- 288 -
as
the
teenagers.
Fijians tend
to
have
a
close
siblings and p o ss i bl y
friends
great deal
This
of
time.
gr ou p
with
is
may
also
live
together.
as
the
importance
of
vis -a -v is the
research,
home.
d is cu s se d
that school
teac her s
the
is
achievement.
This
a
S i g n if i c a nt ly
pr of o u n d
more
Indians).
Host
itself,
This
m en ti on e d
tend ed to have an
took more personal
or
failure;
external
c o mm on ly
highlighting
the
This points to
with
and
sc hools
S a h a ’s
where
he
life,
and
influence
on
(1983)
co nc lu de d
sch ool s
a
and
c h i l d ’s
6%
of
Fijians
me nti one d
Indians.
(73% of Fi jians c om pa re d to
Indian
children
pro bl ems
its dif fi cu lt y and
with
K i s h o r ’s
in Cha pte r Five.
internal
locus of
Fi ji an s
tend
about
amount,
whereas
work as well
as other
thesis
environment.
of
locus
He found that
control,
r e s p o n s i b i 1 ity for their
whereas
with
c o m p l a in ed
lack of time and a diff ic ul t
is co ns istent
control,
the
age-set
also
tea ch ers
F ij ians co m p la in e d about the actual
factors such as
a
in the surve y seek help regularly.
home wor k co mp are d to
the homework
home
than
It is worth no ti ng however that only
all the students
39% of
of
co ncurs
to
are
and
s pe nd
Fijian
and home.
in C h a pt er Two,
alien
have
role
they
the
help,
between school
co usins
stro ng er
T e ac he rs
p e r c e i v e d as pos si bl e so urces of
clear d em ar ca ti on
whom
much
western concept of a peer group,
of
to
Indians
i.e.
own
blame
of
they
success
factors
to themselves.
Of the 45 chi ldren who a ch i e v e d
examination,
’A ’ grades
in the
F.J.C.
half said they had no prob le ms with homework
- 289 -
and only one said there
environment.
free
(1)
homework
achievement,
was a p r ob le m uith
It cou ld be co ns tr ue d
e nv ir on men t
is
the
homeuork
a
p r obl em -
that
condu civ e
whereas ave ra ge passes may
be
to
high
a c h i e v ed
in
less than perfect environments.
Fi el d - s u r v e y
facilities
homes
in vestigations
did
reveal
in many Fijian homes were
lacking.
homework
Most
rural
lack ele ctr ic ity which e f fe c t i v e l y pre ve nt s wo rking
after sunset and most homes
privacy.
Equally as
the apparent
and rural,
level.
or
physical
of the n e c e s s it y to allow time
culture,
pr epa rin g
food,
Children
a m eni ti es
is
fetching
water
ya qona
(2)
ext en de d family household.
"The problems
in
a
hard
at
the
the
exte nde d
very
d ri nk in g
Fijian parents
impossi bil ity
lowest
firewood,
be ing
of
want their children to succ eed at school,
is often an
homework.
or
and gener all y
serve and clear away meals.
both urban
e x t r em el y
are often obl ige d to stay up
at night to assist with
do
late
and
to
genu in el y
but quiet
crowded,
study
bu stling
Students c o mm en te d typically:
is that many people make a lot of noise and
is so small."
"The di ff icu lt ie s
people
of
for
work
beck and call of all the older members
the house
form
children are at the
esp ec ia ll y girls,
car ing for younger children
family.
any
lack of u n d e r s t a n d i n g of parents,
Teenagers,
at home,
lack space
important as
In a st at us -co nsc iou s
time
that
live
for do in g my homework
in my home.
Because many Fijian
is
that
plenty
They always d i st ur b me"
pa rents
do
- 290 -
indeed
understand
the
con fl i c t s
between
obligations,
Fijian
the
and
school
boarding scho ol s are fre qu en tl y fav oured for
the pr esu mab ly more
offer.
fa mi ly-life
disciplined
Some of the chi ld re n
island of
Kadavu
e n v i ro nm en t
that
boarding
sc hools
in the
were
in
parents had sent them to boa rd
fact
from
in order to
they
Suva.
on
Their
increase their
chan ces of success.
Alt hough overall
scores were higher
than
chi ldr en
those
relatives,
of
who
in
lived
a fairly high number
of
bo a rd in g
with
parents*
boarde rs
ne ve rt he le ss complain about havin g homewo rk
boa rd in g schools.
were
The
lack of time,
most
too much noise
too much and too di fficult
is scope
for
c o mm on ly
improving
work.
the
of fe red at b oa rdi ng schools,
option,
esp eci al ly
b o a r d i n g schools
abode,
eq ui va l e n t of a
*C* grade pass.
Fiji
at
pro bl em s
and
This su ggests that there
and
ass ist an ce
much-favoured
While the mean scores
were higher than
in Table 7.3.3,
Table 7.3.3
pr oblems
as they are a
as shown
or
did
d i s t u r ba nc es
super vi sio n
for Fijians.
(81%)
re por ted
and
schools
other
ca te go ri es
they are still
only
at
of
the
Junior C e rt ifi cat e Means by Place
of
Abode
Mean
SD
Number
Per cent
L i v i n g with parents
35 3.7
104.0
336
73.6
L i v i n g with relatives
31 8.9
91.7
54
11.8
B o a r d i n g at schools
36 9.8
66.4
65
14.2
Oth er / n o t stated
47 2.0
1
0.2
Total
3 52 .2
456
100.0
- 291 -
98.8
The standa rd de via ti o n s
Ta ble 7.3.3.
(SD)
are
very
The SD for the gr ou p
of
lower at 66.4 than that of stude nts
or parents.
This means that there
a stable and u n i f o rm regime,
en vi ron men tal
To
some
con te xt s
extent
s o ci o- e c o n om ic
which
becomes
a
in
pr oxy
as
less
the
variation
other
c o mpa re d to the
as a total
in the other
school
it is
for
a
total
home
peri ods
in physical
productive.
mutes
c a s s a v a which
e n vi ron men t
background.
and sweet
growing,
F oo d and
school
try to grow as much
fees
low.
it very tiring.
potato
it
food
food as
is
long
gardens
possible
resent
The main crop grown
is
and
Other Fijian root crops such as
yam
more
skill
but con tain more nutrients.
Co mm it te e
co ns i s t i n g mai nly of ca ss a v a
ch ild ren and may
of
100% starch
req uire
Nutri tio n
The
idea
Some stu dents
is a quick grow ing crop of
low nut ritive value.
the
St ud en ts are re qui red to sp end
in order to keep b o a rd in g
this work and find
groups.
is d i sc i p l i n e d but
labour to keep
Scho ols
of
institution.
Life at Fijian bo a r di n g schools
also a harsh regime.
groups.
va r i e ty
ho m o g e n e i t y of bo a r di n g schools st re ngt hen s the
the school
much
levels s t u de nt s out with
b o ar di ng
influence,
is
in
living with re lat ive s
for st udents
the
bo ard ers
is much
within the gro up of boa rde rs than
This shows how a b o a r d i n g school
s ig ni fi ca nt
has
is
and
shown
for boa rd in g
their diets,
is not much ev ide nce
- 292 -
that
for
performance.
has been e n c o ur ag em en t
but there
slower
Rese arc h by the Fiji
u ns uit ab le
inhibit educational
are
schools
to
that
a
diet
growing
There
improve
advice
has been heeded.
Walu School
boarders had some va ria tio n
and tea.
Apart
bo ard ing
uas an exception,
to the usual
from d i sc ip li ne
schools,
Punis hme nts
are
equivalent.
Church
be ing
co nf o r m i t y
no rm a l l y
is
is
choir practice and S un da y School
for ex ample
failure rate
with
students
uni ver si ty .is cau sed by a
coe rcive nature of
and
or
often
en vi r o n m e n t
effects.
can,
It
has
been
(1984),
that
the
high
in their
first
reaction
bo ar d i n g
straps
are also obligatory.
by Veramo
for Fijian
Fijian
mandatory.
co mp u l s o r y
have nega tiv e ed uca tional
suggested,
the
c a s sa va
in
also
The discip lin ed nature of the bo ar din g
however,
diet of
severe
corporal,
a t te nd an ce
where
to
schools,
the
year
of
structured,
as
stud en ts
are
unable to cope with a less st ru ct ur ed situation.
The vast majority
(94%)
lived with their
parents.
Fijians.
of
Indian chidren
This
15% of Fijian ch ildren
23% were boarding at school.
re la tives other than their
of reasons,
esp e c i a l l y outer
at tend school.
(1986)
the
study and
su rvey
with
62%
lived with re la ti ve s
immediate
are
Various studies,
the
ch ildren
family
such
as
with
number
from
that
faced
rural
Davis
Fijian
in
and
no
It is c e r t a i n l y not an en vi r o n m e n t co nd uc iv e
to
v i r t u a l ly
no
free
it is thus not s u r p r i s i n g to see
that the mean
for
ch i l d r e n
living
- 293 -
with
very
to
hard
have
They work
by
by
of
and
live
for a
chi ld re n
di ff ic u l t i e s
living with relatives.
household,
privacy.
the
island areas who come to urban areas
have related
children
comp are s
Fijian
but c o m m o nl y they
in
time
in Table 7.3.3
re la t i v e s
is
s i g n if ic an t l y
lower
than
those
uho
parents or attend b oa rd in g school.
from Fijian students
"There
with
Some typical
their
comments
living with rela ti ve s were:
is not much space at
co mi ng home
live
home
and
too
many
people
for te ll i n g stories."
"Plenty work given by my aunty to do at home"
"Living with my relatives,
have many jobs to do,
we come back
from
school,
then we have not much
time
to
especially
areas,
we
do
our h o m e w o r k . "
Many
Indian children,
work hard at home he lp ing
domes tic
work such
as
ev ident though that
for homework.
in the
with
and
and
It
Indian parents do us ua ll y allow
Ext en de d
As
also
tasks
child-care.
families are som ewhat
has
been
spelt
parents are st r o n g l y m ot iv at ed
su c ce ed academically,
less
to
so a great
from home.
- 294 -
out
for
have
deal
their
of
time
am ong
privacy
already,
is
common
whereas they are the norm
thus there may be more chances
Indian homes.
comes
rural
agricu ltu ral
cook ing
Indian community,
Fijians,
in
in
Indian
children
e n co ur age men t
7.4
The Age Factor.
Go v e r n m e n t policy
is that chil dre n
in Fiji
in the year
in which they will be six
before the
30th
d i sc re ti on
c hi ld re n
June.
In
start
years
practice, a
school
old
on
good deal
or
of
is left to the head tea ch ers to accept yo unger
if they feel that
are places available.
it is a p p r o pr ia te and
if there
Hany ch ildren are t h er ef or e yo unger
than the pre scr ib ed no rm and some c h il dr en are older.
the
field
survey,
only
in te rviewed were within
cohort,
the
cl as se s
edu ca t i o n systems
re pe ti ti on
is
all
age
the
limits
a
typical feature
in d e v el o p i n g countries.
A ut om at ic promotion
in Fiji.
refuse
st and ard s and
schools,
to
or
need
accept
re pu t at io n s
Some
sch ools
of many
One result
to
may
Sc ho ols dif fe re d wid ely
repeat.
be
in
form
age
many
feeling
more
that
by
their
from
other
own numbers.
and were most
in their
Indeed
ta r n i s h e d
were
and
rel at iv el y
re pe at er s
their
3.5% of the stu dents
year older than the norm,
7.4.1 shows.
one
of
is now wi de ly a c c e p t ed
repeaters,
take
po ssi bly to boost
field survey,
that
Since the two pr im ary ex am in a t i o n s
few ch ildren wish to
presence.
for
19.7% were older.
all now have pass rates of a r o u n d 80%,
sc hools
stud en ts
is a w i d e l y - s p r e a d age range within
or year group.
pra ctice
of
set
27 .6% were you nger and
Rep et i t i o n of
F.J.C.
52 .6 %
In
In
than
the
one
likely repeaters.
spr ead s
as
Table
Table 7.4 .2 shows the age patt ern by race.
- 295 -
Table 7.4. 1
School
Age Sp re ad
in Field Studv Schools.
% older than no rm *
% younger than :
Dua
41%
15%
Rua
23%
28%
To lu
14%
31%
Va
12%
21%
Lima
28%
43%
Ono
18%
35%
Vitu
23%
18%
Walu
22%
39%
C iwa
10%
32%
Tini
26%
10%
Tin ikadua
22%
23%
* The
included c hi ld re n born between
’norm*
and 30 June
1973.
Race
July
Older childre n were born before
1972 and younger ones after 30 June
Table 7.4.2
1
1973.
Age Patt ern s by Race.
% older than norm
% younger
than norm
Fij ians
26%
24%
Indians
10%
34%
Others
19%
19%
It
is no tic eab le that re la t i v e l y
than the st and ard age,
This
is
co ns ist ent
parents are
national
few
Indians
with
the
about
ass um pt io n
having
thus they en cou rag e
fig ures
are
older
but a high pr op or t io n are younger.
en th us i a s t i c
su cc eed at school;
The
1
for
age
- 296 -
spread
that
their
an
early
show
Indian
children
start.
similar
tendencies,
Table
as the
7* 4 *3
1986 figures
Age and Race
(At 31 May,
Class One Roll
youn ge r
Aged
in Table 7* 4.3 shou.
in Fiji
Primary Schools
1986.
1986)
Fijian
Indian
Others
24 .7%
37.3%
32.2%
than 6 years
14 and over
at
2.3%
0.89%
0. 7%
P r i m a r y School
Source:
M i n i s t r y of Ed uc ation
Annual
Report
for the
Year
1986
You nger
stu de nt s
examination
as Table
overall
had
success than older ones
7 .4 . 4
Table 7. 4 . 4
Fiji
Junior
Certificate
by Age Group.
Mean
field
sample
for
Field
(Mean of Total
Marks)
Number
Percent
10
older than norm
Means
CO
1 year
in the
better
indicates.
Sample
Over
sig nif ic an tl y
322.31
16
Up to one year older
312.0
74
16.2
Norm age gr ou p
35 3.36
240
52.6
Youn ger
377.39
126
27.6
456
100.0
than norm
Total
Cl e a r l y
older
e s p e c i a l l y well
stu de nt s
do
not
nec es sa r ily
when co m p a r ed to younger
c h a l l e n g e s co m m on l y held
and m a t u r i t y will
students.
’folk w i s d o m ’ in Fiji,
n e c e s s a r i l y bring success.
- 297 -
pe rform
that
This
age
7. 5
The
Wastage.
retention
rate
re l a t i v e l y high
in
F i j i ’s
for a d ev e l o p i n g country.
uho sta rt ed school
in
in
1979,
ten years
later
figures).
The wa stage rate
Form
Four when ex a m i n a t i o n s
su rvey
ed uca tio n
tri ckle of school
Of
the
some 60% were still
Four.
(Ministry
as
at school
of
was
sc re en in g
a
slight
is
cohort
Education
increases m a r k e d l y after
act
found that there
sys te m
Form
devices.
but
The
s i gn ifi can t
leavers throu gho ut the school
year
for
Form Four students.
None of the p ri nc ip als
in te rviewed
in the su rv e y
to have a major pr ob le m with students
the school
year alt hough most
st ud en ts do ge ne r al l y
sc hools
leave
leave
had had one or two
in the
1988 school
was
apparent
re f l e c t i o n
on
that
the
year,
ac kn ow l e d g e d
for
various
Form
Four
throughout
that
one
Form
stu de nts
Three
mainly to help with
it
would be
re g ar de d
principal if
such
a
reasons.
year although Va School
five Form Four pupils and
du r i n g that school
leaving
cl ai med
a
few
Most
al ready
had
pupil
had
leave
farmwork.
as
a
It
poor
pr oblem
was
admitted.
Betw ee n the time of
the surve y in July
and the Fiji Junior ex am i n at io n
same
year,
final
left school.
1988
in early Nov ember of
21 of the 478 s t ud en ts
the study had
and August
These
(4.3%)
who took part
chi ld ren
stages of the two year course
in
in
the
Fiji
Junior
e xa mi na t io n which may be thought of as an unusual
time to
- 298 -
for the
were
the
leave school.
that had
Table 7.5.1 shows
the
sp re ad
of
sch oo ls
’dropouts*.
Table 7.5.1
Stud ent s who
Nov emb er
1988,
Number Fi jians
School
left school
bet ween July and
by s c h o o l , race and sex.
Indians
Girls
Bo;
1
Dua
1
1
-
-
Rua
7
1
6
2
5
Tolu
0
-
-
-
-
Va
1
1
-
-
1
Lima
1
1
-
-
1
-
1
3
-
1
-
4
4
Ono
1
Vitu
1
Walu
0
-
Ciwa
3
2
1
1
2
Tini
2
1
1
1
1
Tin ikadua
1
1
—
—
21
13
8
6
Total
-
-
-
1
15
It is clear
in this sample that more Fijians than
left school
early,
p a r t ic ul ar school.
chil dr en
al t h o u g h not
The r e l a t i v e l y
leaving Rua School
a low-ac hi ev in g school
sur m i s e d that
in large nu mb er s
area and
no reason to stay at school
when they will
their external
as they have
improving their
reflect the
life- ch an ce s anyway.
inverse of the
at t r i b u t e d to
c o mm on ly
Indians.
- 299 -
Indian
Rua School
is
it
be
Indian c h i ld re n who are doi ng
examination,
from any
large number of
is interesting.
in a rural
Indians
co uld
poo rly
feel
probably
fail
little chance of
This s i tua ti on co uld
assumed
mo ti vation
The reason
by school
for e ar ly school
pr inc ip als
o nl y with school
costs
involved
busfares,
leaving most
was that of financial
in k e e p i n g
chil dr en
at
It is likely
A
that
felt sure that they would fail their Fiji
not
other
such
as
lack
of
chil dre n
Junior
may
A number of pr in ci p a l s
saw
chi ldren
leaving to help at home,
farm or,
pa rt i cu la r ly
chores.
of
school
uniforms and the cost of textbooks.
leave before the examination.
cited
problems,
fees but with also the my ri a d
interest was also suggested.
who
c o mm o n l y
family
In urban areas where both pa rents work,
girls may
to
mind
help
the
do mes tic
from school
to
on
with
be withdrawn
for girls,
either
yo ung
children.
re fl ec ts the o p p o r t un i ty costs of education,
the direct costs.
is emigrating,
Chi ld re n
although
leave school
that
if
rather
their
is not a likely
This
than
family
reason
for
most of this sample.
The
fact that many more
po s s i b l y
also
education.
units of
the
Boys aged bet we en
labour,
in the Fiji
refl ect s
boys than girls
left school
op po r t u n i t y
15 and
labouring capacity.
- 300 -
of
17 years are valu abl e
e s p e c i a l l y on family farms
Junior e xa m i n a t i o n wo uld
costs
ea rly
not
and
enhance
success
their
7. 6
A spi rat io ns
The pa rt i ci pa n t s
their
and Per c ep ti on s of Education,
in the surve y were a s ke d que st io ns about
aspirations.
This
information
yield s
strong
indic at io ns of their p e r c e p t i o n s of education.
The o v e r w h e l m i n g career pr e f e r e n c e
jobs,
alt hou gh this
Indians
is sli gh tl y
82% of girls
of teaching,
Parental
for
for
wh it e- c o l l a r
Fijians
Indians and 62%
white
p a r t i c u l a r ly
collar
the
to
manual
jobs
aspirations.
un if or me d
(especially that
Parents*
oc cu pat ion
The
aims
b a c kg ro u n ds aim for jobs with security.
white-collar,
choices.
their
jobs
pr of ess ion s
oc cu p a t i o ns do not affect their childrens*
Se co n d
than
n ur si n g and medicine.
- c hi l dr e n of all
ai me d
less
aim ed
(compared to 45% of boys),
than
for
(58% of Fijians as ag ainst 68% of
of Others).
popu lar
is
of
ships*
or
in
sha pi ng
jobs
than
childrens*
educated
the
were
signif ica nt
their
better
skilled
engineer)
educ at io n was more
chil dre n of
for more secure
forces
c h i ld re n
parents
of
less
ed uc a t e d parents.
Only three res po nd en t s op t ed
occupation.
participants
This
is
very
fa rming
significant,
as
as
a
206
future
of
in the su rv ey were ch ildren of farmers.
p e rc ep ti o n that ed uc at i o n
ti ll er s of the soil
will
raise people
is o b v i o u s l y
Ch i l d r e n of farmers know that
of physical
for
work with
an
still
farming
insecure
- 301 -
above
very
involves
return.
the
The
being
prevalent.
long hours
It
is
not
surprising,
therefore,
that they aspire to secure
earn in g positions with app ar en tl y
greater rewards.
edu ca ti on
impress
people
au th o r it ie s
the
di gn it y
lifestyle and at t e m p t i n g to get
that
se co nda ry
employment,
U ns kil led
work
for
col onial
and
endeavouring
to
Desp ite over a ce nt ur y of
post-colonial
upon
fewer hours*
e du cat ion
the pe rc ept ion
of
rid
leads
is
sa la ry
an
of
ag ri cul tur al
the
to
as su mp t i o n
white
c l ea rl y
still
collar
dominant.
labouring jobs were s i m i l a r l y not sought after,
with only one r es po nd en t ch o os in g that as his aim.
Naturally,
asp ira tio ns are not always realistic.
152 students
there
was
in the sample who
a
wide
sp rea d
failed the F.J.C.
of
aims,
such as truck-driving.
the
aimed
wh ite -co lla r
still
jobs.
failures will most
is that
likely end
up
farming or unemployment.
ski lle d employment,
firm
the
with
for
pr of essional
which could
some
But
even
to wards
ma j or it y
un sk il le d
On the other hand,
*A* grade students ai med
(31.7%),
overwhelmingly
The re al it y
the
including
se mi -s k i l le d o cc up at ion s
failures
Of
all
of
work,
of
the
ca reers
and
indicate that they had
a
idea of their own abilities.
In order to cross check
the r e al it y of their aspirations,
the pa rt ic ipa nt s were as k e d
pr oba bly
will do when you
"What work do
leave school?".
able to answer this hypothe tic al
re pe at ed their aim.
de te rmi nat io n
This could be
to succeed,
you
think you
Not all
were
que stion and many me rely
interp ret ed as
sh ow ing
or a basic m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g
the nature of the question.
On
- 302 -
close
sc r ut in y
of
of
the
responses,
however,
it can be seen
including many of those who
aspirations,
but
that
many
students,
failed their F.J.C.
had
high
in r e a li t y they had a fairly clear
idea
of their destiny,
often nam ing farming or
as their probable
future.
Some
typical
domestic
uork
responses
from
those who failed are:
Aim:
"When
I leave school
my ambition
is
to
uork
I wo ul d be
probably
in
a
become
a
bank".
Pro bable
future:
MI think
cashier of any shop".
Aim:
"I want to be a teacher".
Pr obable
future:
"When
become a house girl
Aim:
"I would
Probable
future:
"I would
Probable
school
I
will
pr obably
for someone else".
like to be a teacher".
"I think
pass my ex ami na tio n
Aim:
I leave
I will
I will
left
school
if
I
not
be he lp ing my mother at home".
like to be a carpenter".
future:
"When
I
leave
school
I
pr o b a b l y
be
f a r m e r ".
The as pi rat io ns
range.
listed were co nfi ned to a fairly
For girls,
nursing,
teaching,
medicine,
and ac co u n t a n c y were most popular and for boys,
u n i f o r m e d forces,
medicine,
e n g i n e e r i n g and
Many of these o c c u p a t i o n s wo uld be
sense that the ch i l d r e n
known people
would most
in these careers.
which they would have
little
se c on d- ch oi ce careers,
or
th em se lv es
known
limited
banking
teaching,
accountancy.
areas
in
the
likely to have seen or
Very few chose c a re er s with
immediate
those
that
in if they did not fulfil
- 303 -
familiarity.
they
might
The
see
their am bi t i o n s were
largely the army,
uork,
teaching,
the tourist
industry,
shop uork or clerical
The a s p i r a ti o ns of the s tu de nt s
clear
insight
De sp ite
'relevent*
of
the o v e r r i d i n g aim
pro fe ss i on a l
curricula
tr ad itional
for
S u bje ct s as such
the
future
system.
- 304 -
offer
sub jects
Drauing,
uh i t e - c o l l ar
It is the end result of p a ss in g
gain cr e de nt ia ls
and
uhich
appear
a
future.
to
bias such as Te ch n i c a l
is for
employment.
offer
their
subjects such as Home E c on om ic s
uith a supp ose d voational
matter.
survey
per ce ive
tailoring
do mestic
uork.
in this
into the uay they
decades
farming,
and
not
to
e x a m i n a t io ns
to
d o min at es
the
7.7
Ethnicityt
Fiji
does
it over rr ide
all el se?
is a very rac ia ll y c o nsc io us society.
race aro us es emotion,
been delivered.
and
much
The
political
issue
rh e t o r i c
Often ho wever the rhet ori c
is
of
has
based
on
s i m p l i s t i c s te re oty pe s and a s su mp ti on s and does not delve
into realities.
o n e ’s race.
O n e ’s eve ry action
This
races
p o l it ici an s and
over dis par it ies
races
in Fiji
in terms of
is ex ac e r b a t e d by the ma rk ed di ff ere nce s
be tw ee n the two major
Academics,
is de fi ne d
in
many
laymen have
in ac hie ve me nt
in
an
consistently
per fo rm
examinations.
In the
facets
effort
less
find
well
life.
long been de b a t i n g
between
to
of
the
out
two
why
than
major
Fijians
Indians
1987 F.J.C ex am i n at io n
for
in
example,
the aggr ega te pass rates were 78.3% for Fi jians and 80 .9%
for
Indians.
pa sse s
This
is not a signif ica nt di ff er e nc e
by grade are more revealing.
ca nd i d a t e s obta ine d an
Fijians;
30% of
Indians ob ta i n e d
especially
with
in an e x a m i n at io n
Predic ti ve studies,
El l e y
(1981),
of an
*A* or
There
are
In higher
a
as
long
are
high
4%
of
that
’C* grade
important,
overall
by
pass
Kishor
and
with the eq ui valent
likely to s u c c e e d
level
Indian
in post
examinations
the
Form
racial
increa si ng ly marked.
ob vi ou sl y
E d u c at io n has
such
grades
show that o nl y stu dents
*B* pass are
against
Indians pas sed with a
The
rate.
all
’B* grade passes against
c o m p a r e d to 47% of Fijians.
di sp a r i t i e s become
of
* A ’ grade pass as
27% of Fijians and 35% of
Four studies.
16%
but the
many
been
diff ere nt
used
- 305 -
as
a
forces
means
at
to
work.
social
mo bi l i t y by
Indians.
Fiji
Indians
places
po s i t i o n and
Indian
The
in
s o ci o- pol iti ca l
an
inc rea sin gl y
it is b e c o m i n g more and
st udents
to
situation
marginalized
more
diffi cul t
gain sc h o l a r s h i ps
for
education,
or to find a career with p r o m i s i n g
Emigration
is the p r e f e r r e d option
for many
sk i l l s and q u a l i f i c a t i o n s are essential
ac c e p t a n c e by other countries.
certainly
increased after the two coups of
have been
leaving Fiji
p r o v i d e s a powerful
for over 20 years.
motivating
force
tertiary
prospects.
and
q u a li fy
for
em ig ra t i o n
has
1987,
This
for
for
Indians,
to
Although
in
Indians
si tu ation
Indian
ch ildren
to su cc ee d at school.
The situa tio n
in Fiji
a c a d e m i c achievers
mi gr ant
with
Indian
is by no
p opu la tio ns
means
in other
ch ild ren
unique.
c o un tr ie s
In the U.S.A.
are s u rp as si ng their peers
gauge"
(Time
in
"almost
31,
P r e s ti gi ou s u n i ve rs it ie s are
a l leg ed ly
Am er ica n
dom ina ti on
students,
group. In Britain,
re su lt s
an
analy sis
by ethnic group,
outstripped
C o m m e n t i n g on
said:
fear ing
r e ve al ed
other
groups
this
result,
"We know that many
in
10 March
1987,
their
1990).
In
- 306 -
both
Asian
one
1987
ethnic
0
level
children
achievements.
D e s mo nd
Indian
for their children.
like
p . 40).
Indian
Pr of essor
them to enter the professions,
in their
educational
of
the
of
used
re je ct in g
that
families
have very high a s p i ra ti on s
(The Times,
of
of
Asian Amer ic ans
ev ery
magazine, August
also
footing
for example,
high
Chi ldren
have
e d u c at io n as a means of g a i ni ng a secure
new homelands.
be ing
law
the
and
Nuttall
bac kgr ou nd
They
want
medicine."
Amer ica n
and
British cases,
the su gg e s t e d
academic perfo rma nc e
parental
of
expectations,
re asons
Asians
high
for
and
the
supe ri or
Indians
was
high
levels of motiv at io n and hard
uork.
Mot ivation alone
succeed.
is not suffi ci ent
In the uea kly
pe rf or ma nc e
o r g an iz ed
in the
F.J.C.
c o m p a r a t i v e l y high
failure
Indian children.
school
factors
This
for
Indian c h i l d r e n to
Rua
and
e x a m in at ion
rates
shows
for
the
uas
str on g
si t ua ti on s
Schools,
poor,
both
Fijian
however,
are both pr ed o m i na n tl y
dr aw in g their pupils
c a n e- fa rm in g backgrounds.
co mmittee
greatly.
schools,
their
Although
pupil
did
and Rua School
they
from
are
ac h i e v e m e n ts
both
differ
Table 7.7.1 det ai ls the c o mp ara tiv e ac hi ev em en ts
of diff er en t ethnic groups
in schools
In all cases of mi x e d - r a c e
schools,
studen ts
of
Even
Indians
Tolu School
rural
and
factors.
gain more passes than Fijians.
Indian,
with
influence
intera cti ng with an te ce d en t
within these d ep ri ved
Va
is lower than that of
than the overall
vary however.
for
For ex ample
marks difference
Tolu School
mean
the
in the
the
mean
field study.
of
Fijian
Indians
and
also
school.
The
d if fe re nc es
in Rua School,
be tween Fijians and
there are only 2
Indians
there are 93 marks difference.
- 307 -
lower
wh ereas
in
Table 7.7. 1
Fiji
Junior C e r t i fi ca te
Sc hools
School
Fi j ian
Dua
274.6
(1988)
in Fi eld Sample,
Indian
Overal1
-
27 4.6
-
T ol u
Va
Lima
31 0.9
(11)
(51)
299.8
392.8
(6)
(36)
212.7
281.3
( 10)
( 13)
( 12)
Ono
(33)
308.7
322. 1
356.9
-
30 9.5
-
( 1)
(63)
379.0
-
(42)
25 1.5
-
(23)
331.7
-
( 1)
( 13)
-
-
35 6. 9
(56)
Vitu
328.3
(56)
-
-
328.3
( 16)
Walu
410.3
( 16)
-
41 0. 3
-
( 18)
Ciua
Tini
Tin ikadua
( 18)
443.2
477. 1
(28)
(52)
(2)
(82)
311.4
395.5
36 3.5
33 6.3
(23)
(6)
(8)
(37)
312.4
-
five s t ud en ts are not
465. 1
-
-
(73)
* N u m b e r of st udents
for
by Race
Other
(33)*
Rua
Means
31 2.4
(73)
in each group.
included.
- 308 -
Groups of
less
than
The reason
Fijians
for
the
r el a t i v e l y
p e rf or ma nc e
in educ ati on has often been thought of as
motivation.
Fij ians
have
education to es tablish
their own
land.
not
is due
In recent years,
partl y
to
the
their own funds.
the
a
use
as they are secure
me n t i o n e d
great
Poor communities,
less able to pro vide
to
poorly-equipped
As
many
schools
system
which
inputs
equipped
in
from
rural
schools.
Chapter Five men ti on ed the res earch by Nab uk a which
d ir ect ly
or
physical
condit ion s
Ob ser va ti on s
indirectly,
from
to
in
the
a
drive
Fijian
to
led,
improve
s e c o nd ar y
fie ld- sur vey
indicate
the
schools.
that
the
inputs of books,
eq uip men t etc have ce rt ai nl y ar ri ve d
Fijian schools,
but
that
uti liz ed effectively.
that
the
rea ding
inappropriate.
for use.
Ec onomics was
Some sch ools
and the
not
always
in
being
found for example
too
a d va nc ed
lack ade quate
library
and
space
insufficient manpower to pro cess
the
for subj ect s such as Home
in some cases
due
inability to a ff or d repairs.
was sent to one school,
in.
are
Cos tly eq uip men t
idle
are
Many schools have
mat er ia ls
for storage or have
books
they
in
previously,
es p e c i a l l y
well-
of
lack of
drive
Grant-in-aid
re quires schools to pr ovide
areas are
had
themselves,
have been the target of blame.
this
poorer
to
malfunctioning
Lab or at or y equip men t
but there was no room to
Ev id en tl y creative man ag em en t and
put
ad m i n s t r a t i o n
it
are
nee ded to maximize the use of equipment.
A
frequently
perform better
schools.
ad dr es se d
ques tio n
is
whether
in s i n g le -r ac e schools or
The data
in Table 7.7.1 does not
- 309 -
in
Fijians
multi- rac ial
give
a
clear
answer to this
issue.
figures are ex a m i n e d
area,
In order to make
in g eo gra ph ic
comparisons,
zones.
In
the
is not clear whether that
ethnic
issue
deprived.
or
is
be cause
because
Dua
of
School
is overall
substantial
Tolu School.
a low
the ov er ri d i n g cultural
in
school;
ethos
of
Tolu
lingua franca of the school.
was also p r e d o m i n a nt ly
Indian,
on
ap pe a r e d
the
staff
difference).
which
The
two
points behind.
School.
conflicting
to
Fijians
in
In
Fijians do poorly c o m p a r e d to
all Fijian,
particularly
Rua
School,
and
a
races
School
Although
make
the
picture.
Suva
favours
Rua School
a
no tic eab le
S i g a to ka
mixed
race
Indians,
in Lima School,
three
Va
schools
While
School,
lagging
which
Fijians
Valley
some
of
Fijians
at
also
at
mul ti- rac ial
exceeds either of those two schools.
69
is vi rt u a l l y
in nearb y
p r e se nt
Tinikadua
a
monoracial
Ti ni k a d u a do m a r g i n a l ly better than at mu lt i- ra ci al
the perfo rm an ce
in
Indian and Hindi
have c o n s i d e r a b l y higher means than
The
very
there was a Fijian teacher
sc hools
present a di fferent picture.
it
it could be su g g e s t e d that
Indian children as all of the staff were
was the
But
pe c u l i a r l y
di ff er e n ce of 93 marks between the
(From o b s e r v a ti on
and
is only a slight
Indians
performing
a
is
It is also not clear why there
diffe re nc e between Fi jians and
Va
Nadi
Fijians pe rf or m e d better at the m ix ed race Rua
Tolu schools than at the pu re ly Fijian Dua School.
which
the
Ci w a
and
Tini,
far
Ciwa
Sc hools are g e o g r a p h i c a l l y only about 500 yards apart and
children
from the same n e i g h b o u r h o o d at te nd both schools.
The data suggests that
family
at t e nd e d
these
if
two
two
ch ildren
dif fe re nt
- 310 -
from
the
schools,
same
their
chan ces of ac hie vin g bett er results would be much
at Ciwa School.
it
It is p r o p os ed that this
is a multi-racial
school,
but because
many other ways e s p e c i a l l y management,
terms of physical
an ethos
facilities.
in Ciwa School
These
to academic achievement.
While
de ny ing
the
c o n t r i b u t o r y factor
two groups,
own
is
this
not
and poorly
in
ar eas
schools,
the
almost
in educational
of concern.
c o m m o na l i t ie s
lead er sh ip and
in
of
issue.
that ch ildren ach ieve well
dif fe re n c e
in
ethnicity
to
and
as
a
of
the
on
its
It
rei nfo rc es
the
in
’good*
su ggests that
co nt en ti on
s u g g e s t e d that
is better
in the d i f f e ri ng per fo rm an ce
sig ni fi ca nt
$bad*
because
factors co nt ribute
importance
information
a
it
not
w hich enc our ag es com pe ti ti on
de di ca ti o n
not
is
higher
race
regar dle ss
of
obse ss ive
theme
schools
race.
a ch iev em ent may
It
of
is
racial
obs cure
other
It may be more co ns tr u c t i v e to seek the
which
may
grades
in
help
improve
school
ef fect i v e n e s s .
Footnotes♦
(1)
Note
on
Ex am ination:
A pass re quires
in English and the best
sub je ct with
less than
five
Fiji
Junior
an aggr eg ate
other
of 300 or
subject
30% is included
480 - 600 (average of at least 80%)
B grade:
390 - 479 (average of 65 - 79%)
C grade:
300 - 389 (average of 50 - 64%)
tr ad itional
of
drink
the
piper
m e t h y s t ic um
in Fiji.
- 311 -
marks.
more
No
in the aggregate.
A grade:
(2) The root
C e rt ifi cat e
which
is
the
CH AP TE R
EIGHT
SC H O O L
EFFECTIVENESS
-
THE
CRITICAL
FACTORS,
8, 1
Br in g in g the Data Together,
In order to assess uhat
school
effectiveness,
factors are vital
it
is nec es sa ry to
in
de te r m i n i n g
bri ng
toge the r
the data on schools and the data on
stu de nt
It
the data as much
is also de sir abl e to d i s ag gre ga te
possible
groups
community.
Table 8.1.1
looks at each
in the sample and breaks down the
(using fathers*
compares
as
in order to see hou one af fects the other within
each school
schools
background.
the
total
occup ati on
mean
Ce rt ifi cat e ex am ina tio n
marks
as the
in
the
of
s o ci o - e c o n o m i c
indicator)
Fiji
for each gr oup to the means
each soc io -e co no mi c group.
- 312 -
the
and
Junior
for
Table 8. 1. 1
School
White
Collar
Mean Harks in Fi 1i Junior Certificate Examination
(1988) for Schoo IS in Field Sanpl e by School
and
Father *s Occupat ion.
Bus i
ness
Manual
Skilled
Dua
(3)
Sua
Tolu
Va
Lisa
Manual Uniform
Unsk.
Forces
Farmer Other Total
247.8
( 12)
(1)
295. 1
( 16)
( 1)
274.6
(33)
*90.7
(1)
(1)
(1)
309.4
( 15)
(1)
285.0
(37)
(7)
309.5
(63)
*100.9
397.8
(6)
(2)
(1)
332.2
(11)
(1)
411.4
( 17)
(4)
379.0
(42)
*82.7
(4)
(1)
236.2
( 17)
( 1)
251.5
(23)
*92.9
-
-
324.8
( 12)
( 1)
331.7
( 13)
*84.7
360.2
(40)
(4)
356.9
(56)
*60.6
-
—
-
-
-
-
Ono
(2)
Vitu
(2)
(3)
(2)
(3)
““
Walu
—
—
Tini
Tini­
kadua
-
402.0
( 16)
( 1)
410.3
( 18)
*47.2
(11)
465. 1
(82)
*54.3
(4)
336.3
(37)
*80.4
285. 1
( 17)
(4)
312.4
(73)
*75.5
192
39
456
482.7
(23)
476.6
( 15)
480.2
(8)
432.9
( 14)
448.6
(6)
411.4
(5)
334.9
(11)
(1)
332.2
(8)
335.4
(7)
334.4
(5)
(1)
359.0
( 13)
283.6
( 18)
361.8
(7)
308.4
( 14)
TOTALS:
60
As X of
total:
13.2
SES group
mean
389.1
-
21
40
4.6
8.8
438.4
375.2
80
17.5
324.8
328.3
( 16)
*57.0
328.0
( 15)
( 1)
Ciwa
•
—
(1)
24
5.3
42.3
372.5
328.4
8. 5 100X
387. 2 352.2
92.9
70.5
72. 5 98.8
107.4
77.5
86.6
102.9
S. .D.
Notes:
* = Standard deviation.
(1) Occupational categories with less than five have been omitted,
(it)’Others’ conmprises deceased, retired, not known responses.
(iii) Lines mark off geographical groupings of schools.
Co m p a r i n g the school
by school
for the soc io -e c on om i c
(SES)
appar ent that the var ia ti o n
greater
s t a n d a rd
pop ul a t i o n - this
range of means
it is immediately
between school
Va
is
the
de vi a t io n
st an d a r d
of manual u n s k i l l e d wo rke rs
for
being
113 ma rks
is the equiva len t
times the p op ula ti on s t a n d a rd deviation.
is illustrated
indexed using the
(where x is the sample mean,
Zero rep re se nt s
meas ure
on
the
population.
school
the
As
means
either
the
The
group
ex treme
438.4.
of
This
only
This
at
1.14
difference
and SES means are
sta nd ard de viation
be
it schools or SES groups)
where
mean,
side
var ia ti o n
indicated,
the
and
of
of
the
sample
the
zero
scatter
of
r e pr es en ts
the
sample
the variation
mean
from
on the
its
basis
of
is wider than that of SES means.
Figure 8. 1. 1 also
(variance)
in school
si tu a t io n
pop ula ti on
of
whole
- popul at io n mean_____
Po pul at i o n
o b s e r v a t i o ns
two
formula:
x
the
of
in Figur e 8.1.1.
In Figur e 8. 1.1 the v a ri at ion
equ als
This
98.8.
lowest
3 2 4 . 8 and the b us ine ss g r o up the highest at
d if fe r e n c e of
school
the
is smaller with
the
much
465.1.
equ iv al en t
(SD)
at
is
lowest
with
de vi ation
for SES groups
means
is the
is the highest
di f f e r e n c e of over 200 marks
the
means uith the mean3
groupings,
than be tween SES groups.
mean at 251.5 and C iwa
times
total
indicates that the s q u ar ed SD of
for SES gro up i ng s
is
1,288 which
- 314 -
is less
means
than
Figure 8.1.1
1.3
Chart S h o w i n g Indices of S p r e a d of School
Weans and S ES Heans from Popu la ti on MeaTTT
SCHOOLS
S E S GROUPS
1.2
.Ciwa
1. 1
1.0
0.9
.Bu siness
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
Walu
.White Collar
.Ot hers
0.4
0.3
0.2
0
.Manual Skilled
.Uniforned Forces
Tolu
.1
.Ono
POP.
MEAN
0
-0. 1
-
0.2
.Tini
.Lima
.Vitu
.Farmers
.Manual
- 0.3
-0.4
Un ski lle d
.Tin ikadua
.Rua
-0.5
-
0.6
-0.7
.Dua
-
0.8
S t a n da rd Dev ia ti on s of Means
Scho ol s - 5 7 . 5 2 (squared 3,308)
SES groups - 3 5 . 9 2 (squared 1,288)
-0.9
-
1.0
.Va
- 315 -
half of the 3 , 3 0 8
This
for the s q u ar ed
school
neans.
further shows that va ria tio n bet ween scho ols
is much
grea ter than between SES groups.
SD
of
The empha sis on
is jus tified also as they are much more
c a te go ri es than SES groupings.
st rict
bou nda ri es
d e f i n i t i v e l y the
So c i o - e c o n o m i c
home
on
SES
status
clearly
It is di ff ic ul t
gro up ing s
influence
of
SES
is a crude
and
on
pr ed i c t o r of aca de mi c achievement.
defined
to
place
to
an
assess
individual.
indicator of
life and cannot be taken as an
schools
a
absolutely
c h i l d ’s
accurate
SES gr ou p i ng s are thus
so m e w h a t ambi gu ou s st ruc tu re s whe reas sch ools are clearly
bounded.
st r o n g
The va riation
influence
of
in school
means
sch ools
as
influence of bo ard ing sc hools
of
day
schools,
as
d o m i n a t i n g every aspect
o v e r r i d i n g the
that the SDs
boar der s
lower
institutions.
is even gre ater
become
total
for
schools
with
Vitu and Walu)
for
day
a
The
than
that
institutions,
of the c h i l d ’s day
influence of SES factors.
(Ono,
than
they
lays stress on the
and
possib ly
It is no ti ceable
high
po pul ati on
of
are ge ne r a l l y si gn ifi ca nt ly
schools,
s t re ss in g
the
imposed
u n i f o r m i t y of the boa rd in g environment.
Am on g and within the scho ol s and
in ter esting
differences.
bet wee n schools
for the various SES
within
ch il dr en
pa rt icu lar
differently
a
de p e n d i n g
schools.
on
SES
which
whe rea s within any one school
gro ups
is less.
group s
Invariably
than di ffe ren ces
of
SES
the
the
are
ot her
group
school
greater
words,
pe rf orm
they
v a ri at io n
Usi ng data from Table 8.1.1,
- 316 -
are
differ enc es
groups
In
there
the
quite
are
in,
among
SES
Table
8.1.2
shows diffe re nc es
in SDs when ho l d i ng
first schools
then
SES groups constant.
Table 8.2.1
(a ) St a n d a r d
D e vi ati ons
Within Schools.
School
of
SES
Groups
(Using FJC Mean Marks)
SD
Tolu
34. 5
Ciwa
2 6.6
Tini
1.2
Tin i k a d u a
34.4
SD of all SES means
35.9
(b ) S t a n d ar d D ev iat io ns of Sch oo ls Within
Groups.
SES group
(Using FJC Mean Marks)
SD
White collar
67. 1
Manual
skilled
64. 3
Manual
un skilled
57.3
Un if or me d forces
48.7
Farmers
57.6
SD of all School
Means
57.5
Table 8 . 1.2 shows that within each SES
wider va ri ations
in pe rf o r m a n ce
resp ec ti ve SDs than there
again
is
indicates the re lative
predictor.
schools
helps to
The
as
within
weakness
gr ou p
indicated
each
the
ethos
of
by
gr o up s
inidividual
’iron o u t ’ d i f fe r e n c es of SES background.
- 317 -
are
their
school.
of using SES
lower va ri a t i o n across SES
implies that
there
This
as
a
within
schools
The
case
of
contention.
var iation
groups.
School
35.9
Tini
Tini
School
School
in a c h ie ve me nt
The SD for
is a low
for the
shows
whole
different
sample.
ethos thus
School.
the school
d im in ish es
power of
as an
groups
to
re fle cts
a
This
do mi na t i n g
large
institutional
degree
the
force
and
the
chi ldren
chil dr en of all
have
a minimal
sc ho ol s with
can
mask
can
farmers*
children,
mean
(equal
positive
the SES groups
score
for
marks
the
the
school
A
high
the
Of
farmers*
to that of Tolu School).
on
tends
to
the
ten
had
means
concerned.
lowest
be ing
for the school,
- 318 -
the
influence
board.
have
highest
how
school
in the school
mean
highest
schools
in Ciwa School
the
236.2
seven
for
far
from
have
likewise a weak
lower than the overall
sample
a
by
differences.
influence across the
the highest actual
potential
e m p h as iz es
SES
exert
groups,
F a r m e r s ’ children
score of all
This
is
the
four that
rates.
lower than the overall
SD
which
The four schools a ch iev in g
school
of
cultures.
for this group are the same
achieving
Mormon
influence
in the sample has means vary ing
influence of school
is
di ffe ren ces
largest group
ac hi evement
and
strong
instruction
farmers*
overall
Tini
influence of Mormon doctrine
e m p h a s i z i n g again
intra-school
of
SES
in
the
The group of
to 411.4.
lack
d i ff er en t
Reli gi ou s
in the school.
bet ween SES groups,
SES
This
d ai ly and co mp u ls or y and the
pervasive
r em ark ab le
this
c o m pa re d to 26.6 for Ciwa School
Mormon ethos of Tini
is all
a
ex em p l if ie s
scores am ong the
the
1.2,
c l ea rl y
a
but
chi ld re n
C i w a ’s
mean
whole
it
is
in
the
mean
for
f a r m e r s 1 children
higher)
than
School,
where
its
is s ig n i f i c a n t l y
again
where the gr oup of
than other groups
this
SES
c h il dr en
in the school.
whereas the
f a r m e r s 1 children,
co mp a r at iv e
rather than
schools have the potential
life.
of
on
c o n j ec tu re d
the
in
school
a
it.
mean
low,
Tinikadua
of
This
factors
shows
influences,
st r on g
farmers1
influence pupil
but
and
lasting
childre n
emerges
un ski lle d workers where there
In all six
is
cases
lower than the
lowest
and
where
mean
varies
this
of
the
children,
with
the
their
in h i g h e r - a c h i e v i n g Ciwa and Tolu
their mean scores are
again apparent that a
the
interact:
As with the case of f a r m e r s 1
whe reas
Ciwa
farmers1
In low-ach iev ing Dua and Ti ni ka du a Schools,
scores are
Schools,
better
di sa dv a n t a g e
the score of uns ki ll ed wor kers chi ldren
school.
be
185 marks between the
highest achie vin g schools.
concerned.
can
in
(1)
with the children of manual
their
exception,
to be powerful
A similar pattern to that of
is a huge difference
is an
o v er co mi ng
factor of SES has
effect on a child's
po or ly
p e rf or me d
ef fects
the va rying ways that SES and
school
It
fares
lack of such an ethos
e mp has iz ed the
gr oup occurs,
marks
a c h i e v e m e n t - o r i e n t e d ethos of
and Tolu Schools had p os it iv e
the antecedent
g ro up
Tolu School
farmers1
that the competitive,
School
(129.2
immediate g eo gr ap hi c n e igh bo ur Ti ni ka du a
compa ri so n to other groups.
children,
higher
str on g
ma rk edl y
school
can
higher.
It
is
sub st an ti al ly
achievement.
Although the aggre gat e
mean
for
- 319 -
the
childr en
of
white
collar workers
the school
is the sec on d highest
by school
ana ly si s shows
in the uhole sample,
important variations.
Four schools have groups of chi ldren
fathers.
white
collar
was
higher
In two cases the mean of this gro up
than the overall
was ma rgi nal ly
mean
for the school,
lower.
It
children of white collar
achievers,
sample.
with
but this
is
In Tolu School
will
in only
for
in two cases
frequ ent ly
workers
is true
and
be
one
example,
assumed
the
that
highest
school
farmers*
it
in
the
chi ld re n
gain higher marks than their white collar couterparts.
In
Tini School,
do
the chi ldren of manual
better than the white collar
the
children
of
manual
fathers ou tst rip the
skil led
white
This reflects the weakn ess
and
col lars
in school
is the only school
a pattern typical
In Ti n i k a d u a
uni fo rm ed
workers*
pattern of ac hie vem ent
force
children.
in the sample which
groups and a clear
within the groups.
with
shows
a
where
the
b a ck gr ou nd
of
This
re fl ect s
in con trast to rural
student s
homogeneous.
- 320 -
is
full
hierarc hic al
how urban schools with high ac hi eve men t rec ord s cater
a widely ra ng ing clientele,
on
achievement.
of a western urban model,
range of s oc io -e oc on om ic
School,
of pla cin g too much weight
SES as a de te rm in in g factor
Ciwa School
group.
u n s k i l l e d wo rkers
much
for
sch ools
more
A Closer Look at School
Effectiveness.
The eff ect iv ene ss of a school
single
of
factor,
develops
importance,
been grouped
their
these
i.e.
a
broad
ach ie ve me n t
on the
and
pa ra me te rs
the schools
into three
levels of
Examination,
d e pe nd
on
any
co mb ina ti on
set the p a ra me te rs within which
its own su b- c u l t u re
order to analyse what
relative
not
rather there appears to be
factors which tog ether
a school
does
from
identity.
are
the
ca te go r i e s
in
the
basis
of
Table 8.1.3 therefore sets outs this
their
sample
have
a c co rd in g
1988
their
and
In
to
Fiji
Junior
total
means.
g r ou pi ng
and
also
shows the ordered ra nk ing by subject marks of each school
in the
four com pul so r y sub jects
in
the
F.J.C.
Group
A
cont ain s the three highest ach ie vi ng schools,
Gr ou p C the
four
in-between.
lowest ac hievers and Group B
the
four
Table 8.1.4 uses these groups to explore common
which coincide with
these
gro upings
ach i e v e m e n t .
- 321 -
ba sed
on
features
student
Table
8. 1 ♦3
Pos it io n of Sc hools
in
Fi eld wor k
Rela tiv e to Each Other
by
Means
S u bj ec ts
Junior
and
C o mp u l s o r y
way
of
C e r t if ic at e Examination,
in d e s c e n d i n g order based on total
F.J.C.
Schoo1
C iua
English
1
examination
Maths.
Sample
Total
in
Fiji
(Placed
mean
in
1988).
Bas ic
Soc ial
Total
Sc ience
Science
Mean
1
2
1
465. 1
(A) Walu
2
4
1
2
410.3
Tolu
3
3
3
5
37 9.0
Ono
7
2
5
3
356.9
Tini
4
9
4
6
33 6.3
(B) Lima
6
5
6
4
331.7
Vitu
11
8
10
9
328.3
Ti nik adu a
5
7
8
10
312.4
Rua
8
6
9
7
30 9.5
(C) Dua
9
11
7
11
274.6
10
10
10
8
251.5
Va
- 322 -
Table 8.1,4
Summary of Critical School Factors bv
in Table 8♦ 1♦3.
Group A
Groups
Group B
Defined
Group C
Principal
Two had long term
principals, two
schools had had
recent changes: new
ones replacing strong
principals who had
been longterm. One
had worked under
predecessor for several
years at that school.
All had principals
who had been at
the school for at
least 3 years.
All had history of
frequently
changing principals
Management
Strong and stable.
1 govt. & 3 cttee.
schools.Cttee schools
gave active support
but left most decisions
to principal.
Generally fairly
laissez-faire
management: not
active or
innovative.
All schools had
history of weak
ineffective
management.
Finances
All reasonably secure
financially.
Finances appeared to
be well managed.
All
had chronic
1 had
severe
financial problems. financial problems.
1 had moderate
financial problems.
1 had no financial
problems.
Physical
Resources.
3 of the 4 schools
had satisfactory
levels of resources.
1 school had no lab
and rather spartan
equipment in other
areas.
Physical
resources in 2 of
the 3 schools
barely adequate.
1 school very well
equipped in every
respect.
Locat ion
of school
and f at hers’
SES.
1 urban: mixed SES.
1 semi-rural: mixed
SES but mainly
farmers or unskilled
manual workers.
2 rural island: mostly
semi-subs istence
farmers.
1 urban: mixed SES. 2 urban: mixed SES,
2 rural (1 island): but many unskilled
manual workers and
mostly
farmers.
farmers.
1 rural: mainly
cash crop farmers.
Schools:
racial
composition.
2 mainly Indian with
substantial minority
Fijians.
2 wholly Fijian.
1 mixed races.
2 Fijian.
- 323 -
Very poor physical
resources.Buildings
furniture,books etc
inadequate and in
poor condition.
1 half Indian, half
Fij ian.
1 mainly Indian,
feu Fijians.
2 Fijian.
Co mm on ali ti es
emerge
in
areas
pr i n c i p a l s h ip and finances and to
resources.
these
some
Cl e a rl y there are st ro ng
factors,
of
extent
but
factor of school et hos which tends to be
groups
(SES)
of
leadership.
s t ud en ts
physical
links between all
and also with the neb ul ou s
from strong ma na ge m e n t and
management,
based
of
important
largely
de rived
The so c i o - e c o n o m i c
on
their
fathers’
oc cu pa ti on s sh o w no c o n s i s t e n c y nor does race or
location
of school.
T e ac he rs
variable
because of
the
schools
were
are
lack
of
fully
T e a c h i n g styles do
not
included
su bs tantial
staffed
with
indeed vary,
Fiji
of
involvement
possibly have
se parate and behin d cl os ed doors.
architecture
more
As n ot ed
in most
Fiji
doors and windows are n o r m a l l y wide open,
verand ah running the
to
length of the school.
vary
and
level
tea ch in g
are
all
his
Tea ch ers
less o p p o r t u n i ty to bu ild a
and their
-
teachers.
principal
classroom.
in countries where c l a s sr oo ms
to the tropical
v a ri at io n
qualified
the
in the actual
su b- culture ar ou n d th e m s e l v es
than
a
but they appear
in response to st an d a rd s set by
level
as
in
of
styles
ph ys ic a ll y
earlier,
due
schools,
the
o p e n i n g on to a
Such verandahs
are public domains and pr i n c i p a l s can be amply
aware
of
cl a s s r o o m proceedings.
The
schools
schools,
at
finances and
exami na ti on
in
least
Group
A
are
in terms of management,
physical
pe rf o r m a n c e
resources.
place
are
principalship,
their
implying that
stable,
effectively.
- 324 -
pr o b l e m - f r ee
Significantly,
is also high,
the st ru ctures of the school
learning can take
g e ne ra ll y
A
when
t e ac hi ng
strong,
and
stable
s tr uc tu r e tends to give rise to a pos it ive
the school
which
is inclined to be mag ni fi ed
The abs tr ac t co ncept of ethos
de fine
ethos
but appears to have
is of
its
itself
roots
vithin
with
time.
difficult
in
pride
of
to
the
su b - c u l t u r e of that school.
The t hr ee Gr oup B schools have v a r yi ng positions.
these
schools
was
worn
down
by
p r o b l e m s which had a f f e c te d both the
in the
school
students .
the Mormon
of
long-term
financial
level
resources
of
and the morale of principal,
One school,
One
te achers
school,
had
and
excellent
fa ci li t i e s but was unable to raise aca de mi c standards.
a p p e a r e d to be
us in g
a c a d e m i c excellence.
moral
t r ain in g
as
The th ir d school
a
in terms of finances and resources,
not on the
point of
this g r o u p
were under the broad umbr el la of
body - the
Church of
Sai nt s
(Mormons),
C a t h o l i c Church.
Jesus
the
Apart
of
of the
Church
but
stability.
their
The
in
e x ist en ce
church
it
is
schools
in
Latter Day
and
t he ms el ve s
but
the
Koman
the
other
the
daily
pr o vi de d
and pos si bl e
G r o u p C schools are
characterized
frequently
pr o b l e m s
lacking
changing
which
p r in ci pa ls
financial
by
and
- 325 -
level
security.
weak
chronic
in turn means that physical
in both q u a li ty and quantity.
a
a d m i n i s t r a ti on s
a p p e a r e d to be a sa fety net which p r ov id ed another
of a d v i s o r y se rvices
is
areligious
from the Mormon school,
involve
r u n n i n g of the school,
All the
Christ
Meth od is t
two ch u r c h e s did not
backdrop
ruin.
for
in this c a t eg or y
also poor,
financial
proxy
It
management,
financial
facilities are
E x a m in at io n results
for this gr oup of sc hoo ls are poor*
It
is
very
obvious
that effective tea ch in g
is ext re me ly di ffi cul t
in schools
su ff er in g from physical
de pr iv at io n and
of
leadership.
It is sig ni fi ca nt
lack
strong
that all of the schools
this group are co mmi tte e sc hools
uith
no
backing
in
from
rel igious or other groups.
The s o c io -e co no mi c ba ck g r o u n d
schools appears to have
with
various
of
little
’clienteles*
the
si g n i fi ca nc e
appear
gro upings as can be c l e arl y seen
in
lowest p e r f o r m i n g six
children
When this
school,
for
the
is seen
managed,
or
factor
in
poor
by
the
families
attending
performance.
end
up
The G r a n t - i n - a i d sy stem
as
have
populations.
o r gan iz ed
lack of
support
Children
sc hools
with
Relative
surve y
urban
in terms of reso ur ces as well
to
schools
however,
the
community.
the
different
in co mb in ati on with a po orly
school
tend
as
the
the result tends to be a general
impoverished
de p r i v e d
schools
largely from rural
at
in Table 8.1.1.
p ov er ty could be a loosely un i f y i n g
the
chi ld re n
from
which
as
being
are
weakly
poor
exami na tio n
in Fiji
exace rb at es
this situation as c om mu ni t i e s are re qui red to fi nan cia lly
sup port their own c o m m u n i t y schools.
limit to the amount of mo ney
com mun iti es
who
have
a
very
that
There
can
low
be
cash
schools e s p e c ia ll y suffer as they have a
parents to call
m i s ma na ge me nt
on
for
fund-raising.
is not uncommon,
further dete rr en t
o rg a n i z e d school
to
m o ne ta ry
which
is a
ra is ed
income.
small
Ch ro ni c
from
Small
body
of
financial
in itself acts as
donations.
When
is part of a poor community,
- 326 -
definite
a
a
well
the effects
of poverty can be to some extent m i t i g a t e d by the
itself
as
in
the
cases
of
Walu
and
Ono
Prin ci pa ls can become c ap tu re rs of resources,
case of Walu School
which
sources
va riety
for a wide
ev idence under li ne s
school
the
Sc hools
of
interaction
in
the
from
many
equipment.
between
This
home
and
the Three Schools on Kadavu.
in the outer
Levu.
isolation
islands of Fiji
Their
Education.
those
When essential
p ri nc ip al s are also
posi ti on s than those
Te achers
and
replenished.
professionally.
in
even
as
more
islands
tend
to
and may
have
no-one
almost
total
With
an
deal
for teachers,
po o r l y
of
have
personal
from the c o m m u n i t y and
island communities,
be
critical
usually
M i n i s t r y to ma intain a w e l l - o r g a n i z e d school.
rel ative po verty of
Pr in cipals
they
is a great
island pr i n c i p a l s
lack of support ser vi ce s
few visits
be
p o s si bl y
there
that
there may
to for secon d opinions.
pre ss ur e on
means
su pplies run out,
elsewhere,
lack of supervision,
and
of
r e s p o n s i b i 1 ity for the school
to refer
Levu
Mi n is tr y
are
from
set
the
isolated
island schools are
po sition
These schools re ceive
including
long delays before they
face a diff er ent
islands Viti
ge og raphical
is inevitable.
from outsiders,
total
as
aid
school
issues to those on the two main
Va nua
of
rec ei ve d
Schools.
factors as d e t e r m i n a nt s of c h i l d r e n ’s performance.
8.2 Case Study:
of
had
school
end ow ed
equipment.
- 327 -
and
There
due
to
sch oo ls on
with
books
the
is
a
the
outer
and
Island schools are
isolated
purely geographical.
communities,
wi sdo m
other
L o c a t e d mainly
schools are
largely
in
than
Fijian
e s se n t i a l l y
foreign
language amidst the
h eg em on y of the Fijian way of
life.
educ ati on and the tradit ion al
Fijian
lifestyle
example,
formal
always
complementary.
en cou ra ge s
whe reas
learning
tra ditional
For
thr ough
Fijian
the
in tr ad itional
imparting
in a foreign
senses
cultural
The values of Western
enq ui ry
parents
and
are
not
education
questioning,
often
di sc ourage
e xc ess ive curiosity.
(2) Scho ols are r e qu ir ed to mai ntain
their ext er na ll y -s et
routine rega rd les s of
such as deaths,
marriages,
local
events
harvest and pl a n t i n g
seasons;
all of which str on gl y affect rural communities.
Although
schools are r eg ar de d as
they are still
as
in Fijian
in many res pe ct s alien
is more pr ono unc ed
areas,
important
in the
in the outer
communities,
institutions.
islands
than
This
in
latter many types of foriegn
urban
influences
exist.
Isolation also means that there
other schools,
involvement
drama,
in
thus childre n
act ivi ti es
such
island schools means that
it
such act ivities
within a
single
these
p a ra me te rs
Suva.
is an
island
as
contact
is
size
dif ficult
school.
with
con tacts
debating,
The small
therefore,
s e c o nd ar y schools on Kad avu
Ka da vu
little
lack s p or ti ng
music and quiz contests.
general
is
that
speech,
of
to
It
and
many
organize
is
within
the
three
function.
lying 55 to 60 miles to the south
It is a long nar row
island,
- 328 -
a p p r o x i m a t e l y 36
of
miles
in
length and v a r yi n g
to eight miles as
shown
ex tr e m e l y rugged
do m i n a t i n g
the
in uidth
in
limited
There are no truly
urban
there
is a small
areas
of
on
of
for
prim ar y and s e c o n d a r y
agriculture,
post office,
Vunisea,
and
and
There
a
and
a
island
in each d i re ct io n
While
six to eight hours
expensive.
is frequent
Ono School
by
feu
runs
for
boat,
a
u n i fi ed
it
in
it
is
all)
island
go ve rnment
is an
airport,
small
hospital,
offices
shops.
from
some
is
With regular tran sp or t
for
The
this
miles.
and
only
centre,
There
are
we ek ly
as
boat
against
considerably
links to
a
Suva,
more
travel
for many people.
is located
in
Vunisea.
It
is
School
of
white
a r c h it ec tu re poise d high on
a
gov er n m e n t station and the bay.
in
dates
but t he y
verandahed
hilltop
- 329 -
at
give
colonial
overlooking
The view from the
a
back
for boys was sta rt ed
Many b u il di ng s are more recent,
impression
housed
the oldest of which
1924 when a Provincial
this site.
a
flying takes 30 minutes
c ol le ct io n of buildings,
to
as
administration,
t w i c e - w e e k l y flights to Suva and Nadi,
trips to Suva.
lowland.
(68
gover nm en t
telecommunications
stretch of road on the
hills
culti va tio n
coastal
land
schools,
an
There are 26 primary
ferries,
a p ol ic e- po st
has
In the centre of the
flat
inter- is la nd
yards
vo lcanic
villag es
sta tion has been e s t a b l i s h e d there.
a jetty
It
Kadavu,
periphery.
island.
area
8.2.1.
agricu lt ura l
Fijian
dot te d around the coastal
hun dr ed
st eep
areas
island of
sch ools on the whole
with
Host
takes place on the
es s e n t i a l l y an
Figure
landscape
island.
from a feu
the
school
Figure 8.2.1
Map of
Kadavu - Showing
Schools
Study♦
■o
c °
<s 55
.2 t
Source:
Derrick,
1948.
- 330 -
in
Case
is idyllie*
To the south of Vunisea,
several
vil lages
both the north and south coasts.
Vitu School
about half uay between V u ni se a and the
the
island.
The road from Vu ni se a
area and the normal
are
is
not
tip
reach
is by
on
located
so u t h e r n
does
mode of tr ans por t
found
boat.
of
this
There
is however no re gular se rvice pl yi ng al ong the coast
people
either
boats,
or
re se ar ch er
ch arter
take
in
vi llage
lifts
this
with
case
or
in di vi du al ly
g ov er nm en t
went
to
D e pa rt me nt boat).
to the school
In former times
from
s u r ro un di ng
school
in
the
and
as
it was the first
ea rly
part
of
has historical
Me th odist
the
n in et ee nt h
he ad q u a r t e r s of the church
se co n d a r y school
tropical
paradise.
of travel
and
of
it is g e o g r a p h i c a l l y closer to Suva,
are poor and
it shares a similar
Vitu School.
It
Vunisea,
it is a long voyage and
is
pos s i bl e
to
degree of
travel
the
was
the
present
for this
research,
- 331 -
it
was
to
of
Kadavu,
a
and
co mm un i c a t i o n s
isolation
by
likely to
due to the p r e v a i l i n g c u r re nt s and winds.
the fieldwork
The
in
The
a
in Fiji
b ro ch ur es
is near to the no rthern end
but
is
is located on raise d gr o u n d adjacent
with a v is ta typical
while
st ation
ce n t u r y
walk
island.
for some decades.
the sea,
Walu School
to
importance
Mission
the
Medical
there
we ll -worn network of foot tracks ar ound the
location of Vitu School
(The
in
it was normal
areas
owned
boats.
the
A g r i cu lt ur e D ep ar tm en t boat and re tur ned
and
boat
be
to
from
rough
In the case
of
n e c e s sa ry
to
return to Suva from Vun ise a and travel
stages to reach this school.
infrastructure that
gen erator and a fairly
unit,
no tele pho ne
and
low
err atic
located
It
there
own
power
Suva
to
hills.
of Vitu School,
its
to
next
it is set back am on g sl igh tly swa mpy
It has
s ol ar
t ra nsp or t
rather
is not adj acent
for
tuo
little
itself.
capacity
d ir ec tl y
in
has very
no e l e c tr ic it y except
small
It is not
Walu School
boat
it has not cr ea ted for
its own water supply,
Vunisea.
by
the
or
sea,
va ll eys
to a village but as
and
in the case
is a network of foot paths
in
the
area.
The students who attend these three
all
from the vil lages of Kadavu,
small
number
of
civil
in
Kadavu.
ca tc hme nts
The
from
three
sent
chi ldren
from Viti
schools
vi lla ges
are
almost
with the ex cep tio n
servants*
Vu nis ea and a few child ren
schools
tend
which
are
living
Levu
to
of
to
in
board
draw
close
a
their
to
them
geograph ically.
There are
few
income ea rn ing opp ort un it ie s
in Ka d a v u
the vast major ity of people are s e m i - s u bs is te nc e
and fishermen.
Suva,
Beca use of unc ertain
per ishable crops are not a
Most students
grew yaqona
in the
s u rv ey
trans por t
viable
wrote
(3) as a cash crop.
that
Typical
and
farmers
links
with
income
earner.
their
fathers
res po ns es
were:
Ono School:
"My father
is a villager.
and sometimes he go
So he always do in g fa rm ing work
fishing.
He
is gr ow in g
and v e g e t a b l e s . "
- 332 -
yaqona,
dalo
"My father
is a
villager
or
He
farmer.
cassava,
yaqona and yams.
went out
fishing three times a week. "
He
plants
taro,
is a good fisherman too.
He
Vitu S c h o o l :
"My father has a farm
crops.
in a village.
When these things are ripe,
He pl ants ya qo na
my father
and
sel li ng
it
to Suva to get some m o n e y . "
"My father
village.
is a
farmer.
He also
He
is
is br e e di ng goats
sells them to earn our
g r ow in g
crops
in
the
in the vi llage and
he
living."
Walu Schoo 1:
"My father
is a farmer.
He always plants root crops
c a s s a v a but e s p e c ia ll y yaqona,
in our
family.
He
is also a
which
is source of
shopkeeper
of
the
like
income
village
store. "
"My father
cassava,
fish erm an
Given
is a farmer
dalo,
yams,
in my
green
village,
vegetable,
he
always
and
he
plant
also
a
in my village."
then
backgrounds,
the
si mi l a r i t y
of
their
so ci o- eco nom ic
it is int eresting to examine and compare the
e x a m in at io n res ults
for the three schools on Kadavu.
- 333 -
Table 8.2.1
Fiji Junior Ce rt i f ic at e Subject Means
(1988)
for Ka d a v u Schools.
Tables
6.4.1
(i) Harks
School
(Extract
from
and 6*4.2)
for four c o m pu l s o r y subjects.
English
Maths.
Bas ic
Social
No.
of
Sc ience
Science
Students
54. 2
63. 6
56
Vitu
58.0
51. 1
48.8
48. 1
16
Walu
67.7
70. 1
69.9
18
(ii)
Harks
School
for optional
Home
Tech.
E c o n s . D ra wi ng
Ono
Vitu
Walu
subjects.
Wood­
Acct-
work .
ing.
Fi j i-
Total
an.
55. 1
66.2
-
63.0
66. 1
3 5 6.9
(21)
(30)
-
(24)
(35)
6 0 .6**
63.2
51.2
65.9
59.0
60. 3
328.3
(4)
(11)
(11)
(5)
( 16)
57.0**
54.7
78.0
-
-
7 9.3
41 0.3
(11)
(7)
_
_
( 18)
47 . 2 * *
* Numbers
took
H
i
64. 6
CD
51.4
CO
Ono
each
in b r ac ket s refer to number of
option.
(These are the
pa rt ic i p a nt s taking subject
the total
number of
ca nd id a t e s
numbers
of
survey
which may not be the same
c an di da te s
s c h o o 1).
* * St an da rd deviation.
- 334 -
per
subject
from
who
as
each
In all
but tuo s u b je cts
Walu School
physical
(Mathematics and Home
su rpa ss es the other two schools.
facilities,
Walu
is the worst off,
spartan bui ldings with the most basic
the time of the
science
field
research
laboratory and yet
its
of
Walu
this
school
is
Kad av u Provincial
problems.
Council
sur vi vn g
in
not
This
have
by
and
it
has
financially.
tries to open the eyes of his
world.
ever con sc io us of
from the ma in st re am of
There were also
students
within classes and the school
control
in the
of the school.
di ff ic ul ti es
outpost.
was a
cl ass roo ms
The teachers
attracting
who
had
te a c h i n g English and Social
to find em plo yme nt
in his
degree
Science.
Fiji,
in
each
principal
a
firm
school
were
they
often
there
were
when
this
isolated
for example,
in
the
outside
had
in fact
to
fieldwork
a
The
in this
teachers
of
or ga niz at ion
and
lower q u a li fi ca ti on s
At the time of the
teacher
the
of
as a whole.
not better q u a l i f i ed than elsewhere,
had teachers with
in
informative notice boards
c l a ss ro om which d i s p l a y e d a high degree
was cle arly at home
life
to
no
the
The walls of the cl as sro om s are co ve red with picture s
s c h o o l ’s isolation
in
strong
because
assists the school
a
was
As d e tai le d
is par tly
diverse subjects as the principal,
At
mean
ch a r a c t e r i z e d
ma nag em en t and an en th us i a s t i c principal,
pre ss in g financial
of
Sc ience
well above those of the other two schools.
Chapter Six,
In terms
equipment.
di d
Basic
Economics)
land
there
management
He had not been able
field and was
filling
in
time
teaching.
The well-equipped,
go v e r n m e nt
Ono
- 335 -
School
has
a
fairly
mediocr e
range
of
marks,
averaging
(compared to 5 6 . 1 % for Vitu School
As
a
go ve rn m e n t
school,
r e c r u i t i n g staff as the
that
and 6 8 . 7 %
has
M i n i st ry
its oun schools are
teachers.
Ono
fully
60.5%
an
of
Ed uca tio n
with
g o ve rn me nt
ad v a n t a g e d as books and other eq ui pment
of right.
for
Walu).
ad va n t a g e
st affed
In terms of resources,
overall
are
in
ensures
qualified
sc hools
are
s u pp li ed
as
Whereas p r i n c i p al s of c om mi tt ee -r un sch ools are
bur de ne d with fi ndi ng funds to
govern me nt
schools are
fundraising.
pay
re current
expenses,
freed from the shackl es of endless
Ono School
is not doing badly,
but given
its
/o do
level of
with
inputs,
inspired
pr ob a bl y has the potential
le ad ership and motivation.
of this school
ap p e a r e d
to
rather than
innovative.
Vitu School
is the
pr e v i o u s l y
described,
this
financial
di f f ic ul t ie s
in
aff ec te d the
su bse que nt
students.
be
recent
ef fects
on
the
r ed u c i n g
as
r ep ai ri ng
a ca demic
and
of
water
pipes,
profes si ona l
have
and has had
tea ch er s
has
s c h o o l ’s
been
debt
and
forced
plus
immediate attention,
and
has
matters
apparently
to
As
severe
which
in the school
the
mu lt it ud e of matters r e q u i r i n g
had
years
lead er sh ip of this school
to conce nt rat e on
leadership
on Kadavu.
has
morale
better
laissez-faire
lowest per fo rm in g school
level of r es ou rc es
The
The
so mewhat
school
a lot
take
care
a
such
left
of
themselves.
Table 8.2.1 shows that these schools,
island and
isolated rural schools,
- 336 -
typical
of
outer
are able to offer only
a limited range of subject
reflection
Schools,
of their size,
options.
the
It
is
overwhelming
farmers,
si gn i f i c an t
m a j o r i ty
agr ic u lt ur e
that
of
in
is not of fe red
in Home
are
as
Econo mic s
a
low means
lack of
fa cilities c o m pa r ed to urban schools
items such as ele ct ri c stoves and
may be an
offered.
where
indicator of
se wi n g
such as English,
these subjects.
the
children
of
subject.
The
reflect
the
which
have
machines,
in a mechanical
interest
from
basic
Social
and
from
fashion,
c l a sse s
and
to
of
t e ac hi ng
in
subjects
and
but
through
inspiring
gain
to be c o n c u r r e n t l y
low
re g a r d l e s s
Fijian.
its
low,
of
the
set
perfor man ce
of
teachers.
teach ers
and
re quired
pe rf o r ma nc e
the
of
mo ti vation
better
i nterest on behalf
If ex pe ct a t i o n s are
are
in the marks ranges
it is s u g g e s t e d that the ex tra effort
be made.
subject
t e xt bo ok s
Sc ience
If the school has high ex p e c ta ti on s of
students,
various
q u a li ty
It is poss ibl e to plod
re q u i r e s m o ti va ti on
will
to
the
cou ld
for the
There are s i g n if ic an t d if fe re nc es
and
staff
where
This co uld be pa r t i cu la rl y the case
little eq uipment apart
required,
texts
of
to shops to pur ch as e necessities.
The v a r i a t i o n between the means
passes
Walu
issue of the
sch oo ls
students
a
and
sc hools are able
overall
access
partl y
number
It again raises the
q u a l i t y of educ ati on that very small
offer.
is
in the cases of Vitu
which ob v i o u s l y cu rtails
they are able to employ.
This
tends
tr a i n i n g
or
q u a l i f i c a t i o n s of the tea ch er s concerned.
What
is the
future
for
children
- 337 -
from
Ka da vu
s c ho ol s?
Since schools are t e a ch i ng
k e e pi n g
with
Fijian
traditions,
e d u c at in g chi ldren away
the asp ira ti ons of
8 . 2.5
the
s t ud en ts
Sc hools
Manual
the
not
they
in
are
Cert ai nl y
field
survey
as Table 8. 2 . 5 shows.
Ka da vu
Co 1lar
Ono
in
As pi r a t i on s
S ki ll e d
is
inevitably
Caree r
White
which
from their environment.
ref le ct this contention,
Table
knowl edg e
of
Stu dents
from
in the Fi eldwork Sample.
Unif or m Domestic Total
Farmers
Forces
Dut ies
-
37
7
1
15
Vitu
8
2
1
4
2
17
Walu
14
1
2
1
18
Total
59
5
21
3
95
—
2
Cle ar ly the o v e r w h e l m i n g pr ef er en ce
c ar eers
wh i le
un i formed
forces
is for
were
wh ite
also
cho i c e . For these career opt i o n s , as well
most popular c a t e go r y of sk il led manual
be ne ces sa ry to
2 of the 95
farming.
leave Kadavu.
re sp o n d en t s
This
to
as
the
popular
the
workers,
have
a
d i ve rge nce
make
education
flavour
The
former
’relevant*
in the national
pos i t i v e l y pr omote the
by
that only
future
in
c u r r i c u l a and
vir tu es
of
ec on o m y
em plo yme nt
where
ea rni ngs
in
are
by
is still
the
formal
more
- 338 -
actual
a
life.
to
local
attempting
rural
in
thin kin g
en de a v o u r e d
incorp or ati ng
appa ren t however that s c h o o l i n g
passpor t to
have
third
it would
between the pol icy makers and pol it ic ia ns and the
con su me rs of education.
collar
a
It is sig nif ica nt
wanted
illustrates
60
It
to
is
p e r c e i v e d as the
sector
reli abl e
of
the
than
in
agr ic ul t u r e .
The three Ka davu sc hools pr esent a m i c r o c o s m of education
in
a
harsh
isolated
environment.
dif fi c u l t i e s even withi n Ka da vu
Due
itself,
to
transport
these sc hools
not have a great many co n t a ct s with each
other.
Drawing
on e s s e n t i a l l y the same c o m m un it y with the same
background,
the p e r f o r m a n c e s
from each
cultural
school
are
very
d if fe re nt and the a m b ie nc e within the schools differ
each other.
The case st udy of the
three
do
Ka d a v u
from
schools
bears out the co n t e nt io n of this thesis,
that the success
of
com bi na ti on
a
school
management,
dep ends
largely
on
a
st ron g p r i n c i p a l s h i p and financial
of
security.
Footnotes
(1)
It
is
a pp r o p r i a te
ste pw is e
partly
to
use
multiple
S o c i o - e c o n o m ic
for
this
reason
ent er s school.
The
it
is
not
as
st at istical
te ch ni q ue s
such
re gr es s i o n
in
this
analysis.
school
influence
status does not predate
to the extent that
that
it ceases to be
two
sets
of
important when a child
v ar ia bl es
c on st an tl y
interract with one an other rather than a d d i n g on dire ctl y
vis ib le outputs.
In a sociol og ic al
are not di screte entitities,
rainfall
and fer tilizer
comp ar abl e to
in ag ri cultural
impossible to rank SES groups
in a
values,
as they are nominal
classes
ordinal
or
The
interval
field
values.
the
inputs such as
usage.
meaningful
rather
fairly small
- 339 -
variables
It is also
scale
than
of
having
numbers
in
some
ca te gories
re sults
wo uld
also
not
render
s a t i s f a c to ry
for st epwise mu ltiple regression.
(2) Children
who ask a lot of q u es ti on s and make un c al le d
for obs erv at ion s are often n e ga ti ve ly br an de d as siosio
which
is interpreted as e x c e s s i v e l y cur io us and cheeky.
(3) The root of the piper m e t h y s t i c um
traditional
drink
in Fiji.
- 340 -
bush which
is
the
C O N C L U S I O N S AND PO LI CY
C H A PT E R NINE
9.1
The Qu al ity of Education:
for
Fifteen
School
Plan
improv em en ts
assumptions.
ed uc at io n
were
It uas a ss um e d that
improve.
There was also
ba c k g r o u n d with a call
if
well
as the
known
a
at
b a sed
on
more
to
chang e
be
more
of
educational
hi gh l y c o r re l a t e d with home background.
chil dre n
by parents,
tak ing a
natural
curiosity,
and
tolerant
p r ovi di ng
co nd uc i v e to c o n c e n t r a t e d study are
of
ed uc ational
varia nce
with
behaviour.
success.
These
tradi ti on al
on
a
ori en te d
in
Mlt
is
in
a
other
is
Enc ou ra ge me nt
of
attitude
home
and
toward
atm osphere
comp on en ts
so me t i m e s
attitudes
to
school
important
may
home
attitudes,
re search
co un tr i e s that the a c h ie v e me nt of children
was
st andards
focus
foll ow in g qu ot ation reveals:
result
several
ed uc a t i o n
stron g
to
Seventh
q ua lit at iv e
qualified,
to attempt
e s p e c i a l l y of Fijian parents,
education,
Pa ra meters
F i j i ’s
a t tem pt s
av ai la b l e and te ac her s were better
would
the
when p l ann er s drew up
(1976-1980),
in
Se t t i n g
Effectiveness,
years ago,
D e v e lo pm en t
IMPLICATIONS.
be
pat terns
at
of
Thus a co n t i n u i n g public
r el at io ns
campaign,
c o u pl ed with a p p r o p r i a t e l y d e si gn ed
community
education
programmes,
e du ca ti on
will
be
an
important
during the Plan period"
c om po ne nt
of
Fijian
(Development Plan
VII,
p . 184).
A decade
later
in
F i j i ’s
emph as is
was different.
Ninth
D e v e l op me nt
There was no mention of
- 341 -
Plan
the
c h an gi ng
attitudes,
merel y a brief mention that
ensure that schools,
were
well
teachers.
e s pe ci al ly rural
e q u ip p ed
This
and
fully
is a ref lec ti on
Go ve rn m e n t
and Fijian schools,
staf fed
of
would
with
c ha ng in g
tr ained
t hi nk in g
in
the qu al it y of edu ca ti o n
in kee pi ng with the World B a n k ’s
Sector Policy Paper
Education,
While not de ny ing
there was an
on
the
importance
implicit
within the actual
pu bl is he d
of
r ec og nit ion
school
context
home
that
were
in
1980.
background,
policy
more
options
subject
to
intention
of
intervent i o n .
Before policies can be
ma kin g qua lit at ive
need to be
school
al te red
with
improvements,
identified.
What
the
the
factors
critical
combine
to
Teacher
a
Princ ipa ls and Managers.
train ing has
area of concern
long been thought of
in Fiji
and elsewhere.
tenet of B e e b y ’s thesis on the qua lit y
de ve l o p i n g countries.
Fiji
as
a
Indeed
the qua lity of teachers and their trai nin g
is
of
primary and se c o n d a r y
the
t e rt ia ry teacher training.
and 99% of pri mary
Min istry of
(95.3% of
te ach ers
were
Ed uca tio n
Annual
While this pr of es si o n a l i z a t i o n
had many positive
ef fe cts
on
have
this
some
tr ai ned
of the tea ch in g
- 342 -
area
form
in
of
teachers
teachers
Keport
in
virt ua lly
se co nd ar y
edu cation
basic
educa tio n
has worked hard at
teac her s
crucial
improving
for two decades and has rea che d the stage where
1986,
make
effective or ot he r w i s e ?
Teachers,
all
factors
for
in
1986).
force
has
Fiji,
the
research on uhich this
thesis
while q u a l i f ie d teachers are
are not sufficient
cert ai nly
in
the
in the survey were
professionals,
often
circumstances.
doing
In a well
lacking
Fiji
necessary,
they
improve and
on
the
their
are
junior tea chers
views
teachers
whole
dedi ca ted
in
teachers
difficult
undou bt edl y
in the classroom.
equipment,
When
morale slides ra pidly and
diminishes.
d i s c ou ra ge d
As children
from
show ing
on
the
run ni ng
of
a
many
initiative,
school.
su pe rv isi on both at the school
the M i ni st ry
level
t ea chi ng habits.
can
un wi t t i n g l y
It is much easier to be a
cl as sr oo m
learning and
te ac h i n g
lazy
and
at
teacher
books
than
situat ion s
of
indifferent
from
interaction,
forth
Lack
level
foster
and to have students wo rk ing pa ssi vel y
the mi ni mum of
in
likewise are not en co ur ag ed to put
pro fes sio nal
active
equalize
The
best
run school
to perform well
homes
their
that
is run down and poorly or gan ize d and managed and
in essential
the will
suggests
country.
give to the best of their ability
a school
based
in themselves to
the qua lity of sc hooling
e nc ou nt er e d
is
to
which
with
create
require
pr ep ar at io n and are more taxing on a t e a c h e r ’s energy.
While
many have argued that
lynchpin
it is the teacher who
in the ed uca tiv e process,
that while eff ective te ach ers are
are
a
ne ce ss ar y
successful
marks
school.
but
not
this
suffi cie nt
schools
marks show that a t h r e sh ol d
in the
-
factor
far
-
submits
field
they
for
individual
is e s t a bl is he d
and marks do not tend to deviate
the
indeed essential,
Table 6.4.1 showed
from the eleven
thesis
is
study.
a
subject
These
in each school
from this
implicitly
set
level
of achievement.
There are
feu
incentives
teach
the
best
w e l l - t r a i n e d teachers to
ab il it y
in a school
Te a c h e r s
in
Fiji
leadership,
The
with weak
are
to
leadership and
de eply
af fected
studies
mis m a n a g e m e n t
in
Ch apter
Six
at the a d m i n i st ra ti on
s c h o o l ’s successful
functioning.
situation
the
in Fiji,
m a n a g e d by small
experience
vast
c o m m it te es
have c o m p a r a t i v e l y
by
level
subsequent
of
c a u si ng
hand,
sc hools with a
financial
pro ble ms
who
of
this
and
little
problems
to
schools.
principal
can
l a t t e r ’s position with
strong
as a
whole.
stable
thesis
that
is
given
is
ma na gement
factors
On
school
It
set the p ar am et er s within which
function and are thus critical
a
comm it te e
tend to foster a stable
es p e c i a l l y where the principal
ad m i n i s t r a t i o n
school
people
in the da ily r u nn in g of the school.
contention
peculiar
Financial
for the school
a
are
often co mp ri s i n g
long-term har ds hi p
how
schools
little ed uc ation themselves
loss of morale
en vironment,
can
school
impair
Because of the
majority
in an u n d e r m i n i n g of the
free rein
the
can
P e r s o n a l i t y clashes between co mm ittee and
and no
management.
de mo ns t ra te d
in ru nn in g an organization.
are commonplace,
the ot her
their
ma na gement and r e su lt in g ethos.
case
result
of
for
a
a
the
and
school
in d e t e r m i n i n g
effectiveness.
The role of the prin ci pa l
m a n a g e m e n t committee,
is cl osely
linked
to
as both parties are co nc e r n e d
the r u n n i n g of the school.
Rela ti on s can be
st r ai ne d
the b o u n d a r i e s of each are not defined.
In the
sample,
most
it
was
that
a p p ar en t
that
_
Q /1 A
the
_
of
with
if
fi eldwork
successful
p r i n c ip al -c o m mi tt e e
c o mm it te e
limited
r e l at io ns hi ps
itself ma inly
giv in g the principal
occ ur re d
to
a free hand
uhen
the
fund-raising,
while
in the da ily r u n ni ng
of
the school.
Pr i n c i p a l s are u n d ou b t e d l y
key
figures
environment.
They are re g a r de d as
makers
have
and
Pr i n c i p a l s are
financial
as
leaders
au th o r it y
the
and
over
p r o fe ss io na l
with
and academic
pa rents
s up erv is io n
and
the
and to be
discipline.
overall
no specific
charge
t r ai ni ng
ass um ed that prin ci pa ls
m an ag em en t
in
diversity
of
principalship.
principal,
sample,
with
tasks.
Sc hools
of
the
ab il ities
Continuity
There
is
to
is
acquire
cope
with
the
important
in
changes of
Va and T i ni ka du a Sch oo ls
le ad ership of the school
from
having
ev ery
year
ch anges
or
some
substantial
which have had consta nt
su f f e r e d
is
It is
after
normally
there
as
school
principals.
*on-the-job*
time,
individual
plans can never be
for school
learn
such as Dua,
have
of
While pr in cipals do
skills
va ri at io n
of
community.
’tone*
years as teachers.
school.
in charge
Pri nc i p a l s are e x p e c t e d to set the
however
decision
a d m in i s tr at iv e matters such as se tting
liaising
in
school
the
in most cases r e qui re d to be
affairs,
the timetable,
well
overall
in
two.
in
the
in
the
Long -t er m
im pl emented and just as the staff
and
stud en ts
become used to a part ic ula r principal,
there
is
ano th er
change.
level
of
e x p e ct at io n
and
Pr in ci p a l s
a
to their t e a c h i n g staff.
inspire teache rs
abilities.
set
to p e rf or m
Conversely,
if they
to
adopt
- 345 -
critical
They
the
a
can
best
motivate
of
their
’laissez-faire*
attitude and take
es pe ci al ly
if
little active
they
are
interest
freq ue nt ly
in
the
absent,
school,
st andards
siide.
Schools
Sc hools
in their Local
in Fiji
they serve*
the
con texts are of vital
Fiji
are
Con te xt s
tend to be a r ef lec ti on of the
Thus
The cultural
and National
social,
eco nomic
importance
to
their
manifested
in
the
and
ex am in ati on
in frastructure typical
parts
re liable
of
water
communications.
school
and
childre n
buy
are
the
co un try
sup ply
and
of
their
of
the
So ci o- ec on om ic
Fiji.
Suva and other
of any urban area,
have
have
no
poor
in
but
e l ec tr ic it y
tran sp or t
or
and
ice-cream
barefoot
in
and
their
lunch-hour.
slig htl y
and have cold
ragged,
to
Rural
have
leftover
food
no
for
lunch.
There
are
sector.
Fiji
groups
Urban ch ildren wear shoes and watches
watches or schoolbags,
their
functioning.
he g em on y
structure.
en vi r o n m e n ts vary gr ea tly th ro ughout
large
political
nature
sch ools despite the ap p a r en tl y Western
towns have
and
a tt it ude s of the two major ethnic
cle arl y
c u rr ic u l u m
com mu ni ty
s ig ni fic an t
dif f er en ce s
within
The re l a t i v el y more affluent Fi ji ans
appear to have
less mo ti vat io n
than their c o u nt er pa rt s
The western Fijians
their
immediate environment,
towards ou t- m ig ra t io n
can
reap
in
to s u c c e e d
in the barren
Fiji.
the
western
in
islands of
school
eastern
liv elihood
from
whereas the ea s t e rn er s
look
to urban areas
- 346 -
a
rural
for future
wealth,
a
factor uhich seems to
mo tivate
them
to
work
hard
to
ac quire qualifications*
Eco nom ic
factors de ter min e
asse ts of a school,
since the man agement com mi tt ee s
turn to their c om mu ni ti es
and facilities.
poo rly equ ipp ed
to raise
Poor com mu ni ti es
sc hools
p ro vide a better school
The cases of Va,
to a large extent the physical
funds
for
the refore
while
the
en vi ron men t
for
Lima and Vitu Schools
buildings
tend
more
must
to
have
af fluent
their
in the
can
children.
field -s tud y
ex em p l i f y this contention.
Schools and the
e du cat io n
pol itics both at
control
a
sy stem
local
and
as
a
whole
at national
of c om mi tt ee s e s p ec ia ll y
in
reflect
level.
rural
areas
The
often
be comes a hotly c o n t e s t ed
issue and can be the
initiation
for asp ir in g politicians.
The present national
political
ag en da
is one of uncertainty,
half of F i j i ’s population.
a im ed to keep political
Fijians
for all
Fijians
in commerce
educational
Fij ians
power
There
achievement.
emi gr a t i o n
as
situation,
and
the
as
in the hands of
is a strong move
they
important
Indians are
only
solution
have
done
they are us ing educ at ion
The e x t r a o r d i n a ry mo t i va ti on
a t t a i n i n g ed uc ational
Indian
to
involve
lo ng standing gap
that
as
part
of
for
a
Indians
their
seeing
difficult
of
ste pp in g
q u a l i f i c a t i o n s has been
- 347 -
a c hi ev in g
most
have
in
towards
increa si ng ly
to
1987
indigenous
Posi ti ve di s c r i m i n a ti on
is an
Disenchanted
for the
The two mil it ar y coups of
and to close the
in ed uc ation
this goal.
century,
time.
particularly
this
stone.
had
for
hei ght en ed
by the current situation.
d om ina nt position
be tra nsl at e d
in Fiji,
will
Fijians
have cl aimed a
this does not as yet appear to
into mot iva t io n to succ eed
cou ld be sp e c ul a te d
co mpe te
Although
that
as
for sc ho la r s h i p s
and
be greater co mp et i t io n
in
school.
rel at iv el y fewer
Indians
un i v e r s i t y places,
within the
Fijian
It
there
c o mmu ni ty
and positive d is cr i m i n a t i o n may be phase d out or
applied
with a dif ferent emphasis.
Reso urc es and Facilities.
Well
qu al i f i e d teac her s can be
material
re sources
and
de t er re d
facilities.
be tween re sources and ac hi eve men t
however,
Tini
exemplified.
quantity,
but
library
Absolutely
b u i l d i n g with
for
bui ld i n g s and adequa te
low-ac hi ev in g
in the
survey
books in
baseline
essential
all
is
whole tea chi ng and
is necessary.
pupils.
classroom
had a defi ni te ly nega ti ve
a
had
re as onable
effect on
learning process.
There
The
A school
but there must be some
- 348 -
material
should be
lack of
in Dua
morale
and
sound
School
on
the
A rel ia bl e source of
The case of Va School
inadequate supply of water.
of
weathe rp roo f
furniture
e no rmo us di ffi c ul ti e s that can arise
electricity,
but
lockable doors and windows.
ch ai rs and desks
water
r e la ti o n s h i p
failed to use them effectively.
There does appear to be a minimal
resources.
lack of
is not at all automatic
Many schools
certain res ources such as
a
The
as the case of w e l l - e q u i p p e d
School
by
ill ustrated the
when
can
there
is
an
function without
alt er na ti ve
sources
of pouer,
ho mework
e s p ec i a l l y
is done.
wo od stoves was
en er gy sources.
in b o a r di ng sch ools uhere night time
Walu S c h o o l ’s use of
a
good
exa mple
An adeq uat e
of
A
alth oug h
d u p l ic at in g
additional
cost,
material
be
also
can be
in
dupli cat or and they
can
is
able
the
and
al te rna tiv e
at
least
to have one each.
to
so
pupils
can be set.
survey
felt their
to
essential,
su pplied
and so that ex am in at io ns
the only school
u si ng
it is prefe ra ble
machine
power
supply of basic set textbooks
is ne ce ss ar y for each stu dent to
share a book,
solar
that
at
low
Dua School
without
a
was
fun cti oni ng
lack acutely.
D u p l ic at or s
function without el ec tr ic it y and are a vital piece of
technolo^y-
The Basic Science course
d es ig ne d to require
a mi ni mum
but a room set aside
bunsen
burners
of
for sci ence
level
laboratories,
qu al it y
of
with equ ipment
all.
Most
Some
schools
in the
schools
imaginative teac hin g that they manage
at
fieldwork,
Walu
School
it intended to build one.
mark at Walu School
for Fiji
was
comp are s
which
schools which did have
Such a situa tio n
had
very
in
the
f a vou ra bly
survey.
is not an advocat e
- 349 -
no
The average
Junior Basic Sci en ce
laboratories and was
highest Basic Scie nce mean
and
are
is
laboratory alt hough
6.4.1).
as
it
At the time of the
70.1%,
such
va rying a great deal
equipment.
been
equipment,
forced to teach sci ence without a laboratory,
p r ob ab ly due to
has
laboratory
is ob vi ou sl y a great asset.
do have science
q u an ti ty and
up to Form Four
in
to
in
fact
(See
for
1988
other
the
Table
te ach ing
Basic
Science
without
illustration of how
many di ff icu lti es
a
laboratory,
imaginative
rather
te a ch in g
ca use d by sh or tages
can
of
an
overcome
e q uip me nt
and
fac i 1 it ie s .
It is clearly desir abl e
s ch ool s and various
to have a we ll -s t o c k e d
pieces
of
res earch
library
in
Fiji
a t t e mp te d to show a positvve cor re la ti on between
and achievement.
to rural
library books,
sc hoo ls
is,
p e r m an en tl y
locked
that
school
of
on
A
well
coll ect s
as a second
matte r such as
sto cke d
but
e n c o u ra gi ng children to read and
it
special
tra in in g
language.
and
s tu den ts and the use of such
enjoying
read ing
as
potential
books have as
an
are
While
this
great
material
act iv it y
interesting
s t ru gg li ng
si mp l i f i e d
magazines
they do have
in
that books pu rc ha se d for
to chi ldren who
comics
traditionalists,
libraries
dust.
libraries are su ff i c i e n t l y simple and
Engl ish
these
is
It is also vital
in order to appeal
in
It
need
only
grants
pu rc ha si ng
libraries
factor.
library
teac her s
sphere of work.
spent
The u ti liz at ion of these
the critical
a p pa re nt ly diffi cul t
appears
been
and the presence
is heartening.
however,
has
have
libraries
Much of the Fijian Affairs Board
Fijian schools
in
are
appeal
with
read ing
abho rre d
for
school
may ease them
and
by
r e a li zi ng
into
the
’silent t e a c h e r s ’.
While many teac hin g aids are cos tly there are others that
are not.
schools
are
Gov ernment
Supp lie s
sells
at very modest prices and
basic
among
equi pme nt
their
to
products
large sheets of c a r d bo a r d and c o l o u r e d fe lt-tip pens.
- 350 -
Very
feu
cl as sr o o m s
visited
sh owed
any
group
work
de cor at io n with the pro duc ts of
projects.
a va il ab le to pupils.
This
te ac h i n g
it
aid,
c r e a t i v i t y to
but
is
a
not
abs olu te ly
does not exist
the
w a tc hi ng video
that
qual ity
of
between
the
schools,
which
to
There
is due
done,
Al th oug h
of
this
many
infrastructure
video
educational
for r e la t i v e l y
in
bo ar d i n g
for
or
little
schools,
students,
rather
learning.
Quality:
of
Policy
Implications.
schools
g ov ern me nt
varies
a
huge
and
greatly
di sp a r it y
gr an t-a ide d
largely to the G r a n t - i n - a i d system.
that
r e t ai ni ng
the
s p ec if ic al ly
is for example
qu al it y
easier,
Many scho ols have
es pe ci a l l y
se c o n d a r y
g r a n t- ai de d schools.
p ol ic y
and
tel ep hon e
life
because
of
is not however rea li st i c
p re vi o u s l y
makes
investment
Improving School
th ro ug ho ut Fiji.
It
inexpensive
imagination
Al though
is used as a treat
than as a suppl eme nt
The
it
lack
it a large
It appears
9.2
material
which may be de si ra bl e but
in certain areas.
but
videos makes
some
necessary.
function without
equipment,
and
maps
implement.
r a d i o- te le ph on e c om mu ni ca t io n
use.
student
textual
simple
re qui res
There are many other res ou rc es
s ch ool s
or
at
Teachers can use c a rd bo ar d to make charts,
etc to suppl eme nt the meagre su pp ly of
are
attempt
to
suggest,
gov ern me nt
two-t ier
many
sho uld
take
has
cl ea rl y
sta te d
present
school
G o ve rn me nt
the
as
sy s te m
- 351 -
is
full
have
over
its
structure.
of
inherent
weaknesses,
it is also
the system as
in some r e s pe ct s the
It is vital
intention of e q u a l i z i n g
and
is
more
sy st em
with
the
qu a l i ty
improving
W o r ki ng within the sys tem
ef fe c t i v e n e s s
th ro ug ho ut
the
ther efo re that pol icy p ro pos al s must
be ai med at s t r e n g t h e n i n g the e x i s t i n g
schooling.
of
it has made edu ca tio n very much a c o mm un it y
issue and has sp re a d access to s c ho ol in g
country.
strength
to
improve
con st ru ct iv e
su gg es ti on s of major structural
than
the
of
school
abs tract
change.
Given that m ana gem en t and ad mi ni st ra ti on
of
schools
are
to a large extent the para me te r
d e te r m i n i n g
the
eff ec ti ve ne s s of
to
focus
individual
at ten tio n
improvements.
There
setters
schools,
onto
this
sho ul d
be
it wo uld be
area
many
for
logical
q u a l it at iv e
foci
to
such
an
approach.
School
Support Services.
S c h oo ls
welcome
visits
from
Ministry
officials,
e s p e c i a l ly
when
ad vi ce
p a r t ic ul ar
subject
on
they
me n t i o n e d that most visits are
come
areas.
issues such as d i s c u s s i n g new buildings
from the M in is try
is
sought
s pr ea d very thi nly throu gho ut
in Fiji.
In most
edu ca t i o n
re sp o n s i b l e
with
practical
with
or
the
140
by
physical
intervening
Guid anc e and
after
princi pal s
assigned,
sc hools
secondary
curriculum
and
wri ti ng
- 352 -
they
and
in
su per vis io n
but
is
schools
subject areas there are only one or
off ic er s
for
Education
Many
con ce rn ed
cris es such as staff transfers.
of
also
two
are
external
exa min at i o ns
in
that
r e s p o n s i b i 1 ities,
trained.
subject*
these
Despite
off icers
are
their
not
They are ge ne ra l l y te achers who
s p ec if ic al ly
have
had
c la s s r o o m exp er ie nc e and who have a p pl ie d for
as a form of promotion.
clear
fr equency of school
b u d ge ta ry cuts were enf or ce d
high
in
1987,
first areas to be axed.
political
the
some
posts
There appears at present to be no
schedule as to the
one of the
multiple
profile
and
school
visits.
When
visits
were
They do not attract
can
qu ie tly
slip
a
into
obiivion.
It
is sugge ste d that school
visits need to be
and def ined more cl ea rl y so that there
ele ment as well
as an
ad vi so ry
s ys te m was ab ol is he d at
is
role.
independence,
re ins tat ed
a
The
s up er vi so ry
inspectorate
and there
is
very
little direct ac c o u n t a b i l i t y between schools and Ministry
headquarters.
One of the
M i ni st ry at present
is
links between
the
use
of
each
how ever
widely a ck no w l e d g e d that these
as the
strong
re l a t io ns hi p
a s s u m e d ob je c ti v it y of the report.
of the school
consideration.
inspectorate
indicator of school
reports
pr oc es s
common c o n c en tr a t io n
ob se r v e d
of
on
com pr om is es
give
careful
another
imperfect
Such re ports wo uld be based
end
rather
product.
“We need to know not so much what
de mo n s t r a t e d to have
the
re -e st ab li sh me nt
could
education,
the
It is
ineffective,
p erf or ma nc e other than the
index of e xa mi na ti on results.
on the actual
The
are
the
staff
year.
is a matter wo rt hy of
Inspectors’
and
co nf idential
repo rts which head tea che rs complete
c ol lea gu e
sc hools
l e a r n e d . ..rather what
- 353 -
than
the
Simons
has
pupils can be
tr an sp i re s in
the pr ocess of
learning and
co u l d r e a s on ab ly expect
st r e n g t h s
and
ac co u n t a b l e
for
for,
i.e.
to
pr ov ision"
(1981:119).
School
of
the
ou tcomes
tr an sa c t i o n s
educational
and
ue
the
provision...
lines allows schools to de mo nst rat e
what
c h il dr en
made,
from such
we a k n e ss e s
eva l u a t i o n on pr oc es s
and to account
teaching,
they
can
c r e a ti ng
learn
and
reasonably
the
for
held
o p p o rt un it ie s
the
For q ua li ta ti ve
qu al i t a t iv e data must
be
for
q u al it y
of
improvements to be
be collected.
ma na gement and ad m i n is tr at io n sho uld be a pr io rit y
area for the Min is tr y and
it is s ub mi tt ed that a unit
set up within the M i n i s t r y
Such a
Schools
functions,
Man age me n t
Unit
in
could
this
have
co ul d be orga niz ed
In its
for school
on spe cific areas,
its remedial
role,
ad vis ory
for example
unit personnel
areas.
by
pri nc ip al s
as
a c c o u n t i n g and
cou ld
well
be
as
sta ff ed
those
manag er ia l
with
expertise.
av o i d some of the d i s a s t r o u s
with
unit
could act ua ll y go
staff
unit
workshops
accounting.
schools on request to work with school
The
main
involved
role,
ad m i n is tr at or s
area.
two
one pur el y adv is or y and one act iv el y
in rem ed yi ng problems.
personnel
sp e c i al iz in g
financial
on
In
into
pr oblem
former
school
spe ci fi c
This
be
school
co uld
help
crise s which
have
p l a gu ed many schools.
Th ere
is a
very
real
schools,
es pe ci a ll y
e du ca ti on
has been
de ca de s and
need
those
a
for
su pport
in
matte r
it has been o b se rv ed
rural
of
areas.
concern
(for
- 354 -
se rvices
Fijian
for
example
for
several
by
Baba)
that Fijian pr in ci p a ls
and
e x p e r i e n c e d than
are on the
their
uhole
Indian
less
qualified
counterparts.
The
t e n d e n c y has been to give re sp o n si bl e posts to r e la ti ve ly
yo u n g and
i n e xp eri en ced pe ople without
and su pport
from
the M i n i s t r y of Education.
su pport se rvices
Lewin,
has been
for example,
a c kn ow l e d g e d
has wr it ten
budgets
in-service
to
work
zero
and
to
make
in the
g r and io se
governme nt,
for
m ul t i- c r a f t voc ational
many years.
the
two
This
teachers)
may
(1987:74).
re gar din g
receives
The
aid
es p e c ia ll y
New
Zea la nd
s u ppo rt ed
the
ailing
for school
leavers
de cades
to
of
sponsor
for
with the
benefit the economy.
Aid
as the result
is conc ret e and visible.
ma i n t a i n i n g e f fe ct ive sup port serv ic es
be re g a r d e d as r e cu rr en t
ne ve rt h e l e s s that
expenditure.
the
ten dency
technical
and
as sum pti on
that
is often
projects such as bui ld in g te rt iar y
be sought
for
purposes,
is typical
e d uc at io n projects,
such aid will
capital
reducing
This has been a very high cost project with a
past
vocat io na l
has
p ro gra mm e
poor re co rd of success.
in
Fiji
cadres
support
system"
education.
example,
by
sug ge st io ns
for educa ti on al
field of voca tio nal
and
(e.g.
policy without c o n s i d e r i n g the cost.
from va rious donors
others,
these
pr a ct is in g
damage d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e l y the school
It is simple
for
el im i n a t i n g
to sup port
ba ck -up
The need
by
"Reducing
and c o m p r o m i s i n g their e f f e c t i v e n e s s
travel
of f er in g
used
for
institutions,
Establishing
for schools
It
is
and
would
sug ge st ed
it wo u l d be an area for which aid could
if the matter was well p r e s e n t e d to aid
as a cl e ar ly de f i ne d project.
donors
It is time to ch al lenge
- 355 -
the
p o l itic s
of aid*
Researc h
The
and Statistics
M i ni st ry
of
Edu cation
d e s c r ip ti v e stat ist ic s
Annual
Reports.
There
ca rr ied out using
pat terns
which
.these
well
as a lack of exp ertize
are
to
due to a lack
Fiji
of
together
in
analysis
identify
of
to
trends
Junior
of
is
not
Minis try
Certif ica te
into
ledger books.
by school
and race,
use of the Ministry.
per school
There
for aggregate
which are kept
for
Fi nd ing subject
of
inequality,
co ns ide rab le effort.
analysis means that
are
not
confidential
question
po ssible
The basic data exists,
it
is not being used
but
rates
means
which could highlight areas of wea knesses
areas
of
is little
pass
the
or
as
Exa mination
for example are not entered onto a data base,
laboriously copied
be
and
co mp ut eri zat ion
on the part
pr oc e s s i n g of this data except
also
brought
amounts
The reason that analysis
is app are nt ly
staff.
vast
for more
data
done
results
are
is scope
in the system.
Ed ucation
collates
without
but
for
and
lack
of
diagno sti c
feedback and q ua li t at iv e applications.
The
role
of
Education and
developed.
research
existing
outside
While
can
it
solve
both
of
within
it
would
the
ge nerally
be
problems,
wrong
it
in a support
that
research
role
to
can
polic y
has th er efore had
- 356 -
Min is tr y
has
to
information and focus on trends,
evaluating
apparent
research
at
of
not
been
suggest
that
least
link
as se s s i n g
makers.
little
It
and
is
impact on
the s y s t e m as a uhole*
The Roles of
C u r ri c u l u m
and
E x a m i n a t i o ns
in
School
Effectiveness.
An
irrelevant c ur ri c u l u m
ills of education.
ex am in at io ns are
a u t o ma ti ca ll y
In the Fiji
renders
One
a
Junior
that subject content
bias,
freq ue ntl y
ine xtrica bly
c u r r ic ul a to Fiji
The critical
is
context,
change
level
in
are
is based on
area
which
This
course
is
of
understanding.
A p pe nd ix
Six)
bear
out
b et ween English and Social
Sec tio ns on
It deals
rather
this
’Government*
curriculum
was
written.
1970s
with
thus
it
c o r r e l a t i o ns
The
s u bje ct s
is
’Planning*
in the c o u nt ry
is
a
is
conceptual
often as high as
There
in
’F r e e d o m ’.
of
and on
- 357 -
by
largely
contention.
Science,
present
de pe nd very much
than
subject
in
largely
in the early
become o u t- d at ed because of changes
the
inherent
its
d e sig ne d
c o n s i s t e n t l y high c o r re la t i o n between
or 0.8.
in
’L e ar ni ng to B e ’ and
by
in
environment.
language differences,
The subject
The
pr ob lem ati c
Science
learning.
English
one
localized
Fiji
in the e x a m in at ion
on u nd er st an di ng subtle
in
other.
truly
gl ar in gl y
was
concepts such as
Many of the qu est ion s
test
and
children.
is that of Social
the eu p h o ri a of en quiry
a
curriculum
the
the
un de r - g r a d u at e un iv e rs it y students
abst rac t
the
areas to guard against are those of
subject
format.
for
linked and a change
espec ia ll y against rural
t o d a y ’s Fiji
blame d
(in
most
that
0.7
have
since
su bs tantial
sect ion of uork on urbanization,
with a
high
of this being a unit on a st udy of Suva.
favours children who
live
in
urban
This
areas,
S uva and adds a further h an d i c a p to rural
Tea ch er s and pri nc ip al s
interviewed
in
fre qu en t ly co mme nt e d on the app arent
in many cases the
bec aus e school
lack
of
matter
but
subject
styles.
Although many sub je ct s are
teach them
recall.
in
a
Teachers
perhaps
the
interest
is
in
suggested
en th us i a s m
This
is due
more
to
intended
is
both
tea ch in g
to
style
ba sed
have
f i el d-s tud y
on
were
a
pr ep ara tio n
for
factual
seen
gi vi ng set answers to en qu ir y type qu est ion s
learnt them
and
tea chers have often m a n a g e d to
pe da gog ica l
in
f i el d-s tud y
It
student
to the
basis of en qui ry -learning,
children.
lack of
is s t u l t i f y i n g l y boring.
ob vi ou sl y
p a rt ic ul ar ly
the
m o ti va ti on di sp la ye d by their students.
that
p ro po rt io n
and
examinations.
c l a i m e d that they were c o n s t r a i n e d by
to
be
pupils
Tea ch er s
lack of time,
books
and other res ources to teach the subjects as prescribed.
The pos sib ili ty of e x t e n d i n g the
s ub jec ts to
range
bent,
e s p e c i a l l y those who c ou ld
from courses not based on re ad in g
and
music and art co uld be
dis cip lin es
implementation.
o nly at a few
pres ent
Junior
These sub je ct s co uld offer scope to children
with a creative
these
Fiji
include such su bj ect s as music and art sho ul d
be explored.
Traditional
of
which
co ul d
wr it in g
large
lessen
benefit
English.
co mp on e nt s
the
cost
of
of
Ini tially these su bjects could be offe red
sch ools
to
art and music are
monitor
their
progress.
in theory Icom pu ls or y up to
- 358 -
At
and
including Form Four as no n- ex am in ab le
re al i t y they are not al ways offered.
e x am in ed they are
not
taken
st ud en ts do show talent and
Because
seriously,
interest.
sta tus that
is given to art and music
one teacher
is
re qu i r e d
subjects,
to
al tho ugh
A r e f l e c ti on
is
teach
Small
the
spe ci al is t
and
te ac he r s
s ub jec ts to org an iz e
rely
on
style
alters
in
Fiji
teaching.
to reflect more
factual
recall,
Fiji,
all
of
st atus
If
Exa mi n a t io n s
other
the
is
(1987)
on
qua lity
of
rather
than
has
past
questions
straight
that tea ching
total
in high regard
r e sp on sib le
e x a m i n a t io ns
Section
must
the changes.
which
external
the
such
indeed as a basis to
as such are ob vi ou sl y held
within
have
of
he av ily
it is justif iab le to assume
but the sec tion
the
acronymic
examinations
rely
re as on in g
styles will a c c o mm o da te
Ex am in at io ns
not
as S o m er se t
e xa mi na ti on papers as t e a c h i ng aids,
much of their
that
Education,
tea ch er s
of
have a positve effect on pedagogy,
Tea chers
of the
sports etc.
Improving the s t a n da r d and
proposed.
do
many
fact
Physical
schools
in
they are not
Music and Art and Craft and they are given the
title Pemac teachers.
but
is
ed uc ation
comes
under
for
setting
re l e g a t e d
minor
framework.
the
De ve l o p m e n t Unit of the Mi n i s t r y of Education,
in
The
Curr ic ul um
thus
not even a si gn i fi ca n t
sect io n
time of the fieldwork,
there were only three professional
staff e m pl oy ed
re sp on si b le
for
in its own right.
in the E x a m i n at io ns
organizing
and
- 359 -
At
it is
Section and they
setting
five
the
were
national
examinations.
This
Fiji
Leaving
School
included the e s t a bl is hm en t of the
Cer t if ic at e
which involved
t r i a l l i n g and se tt in g of sample papers.
hi g h l y profess io nal
of
but they do not
de ta i l e d research.
secti on
within
the
The de di ca te d and
have
e x a m in at ion
the
to
a
se ction
of
the
Ministry,
and
It is pro po se d that the
of the Mi nistry sh ou ld be
indepe nde ntl y
in
its
q u a s i - go ve r nm en t s it ua t io n
many
go vernment
funded
au to nomous
respon sib le
operate
functioning.
is not unusual
bodies
Section
which co uld
o r d i n a ry
of
innovation very
into an
but
a
is
bureaucracy
Ex am i n a t i o n s B oa rd which w ou ld be ul t im at el y
to the Minister of Education,
is
it
Ex a m i na ti on s
d e v o l v ed
in
undertake
Beca use the Ex a m i na ti on s Sec tion
service which makes changes and
difficult.
situ at ion
ma npower
co n s t a n t l y t h w ar t ed by the red tape
the civil
the
staff re co g n iz e the need for research
into va rious asp ec ts
Fiji,
new
This
in Fiji,
operate
as
where
sta tutory
author it ie s .
R a t i o na li z at io n
for Qu al i t a t i v e
Improvement:
of Junior Se co n da r y Scho ol s and Very Small
Edu c a t i o n
administrators
in
Fiji
issue of size as
se n s i t v e
Grant-in-aid
The
be
and al though
safe- gu ar ds
duplication,
in
Schools.
it
is
s y st em
c o m m u n i t i e s and r e l i g i o u s bodies the
schools,
ma ndate
t h e o r e t i c a l l y there were
the
the end result
system
Future
have often
de l i c a t e l y ar ound the
area.
The
ag ainst
skirted
a
highly
has
given
to
create
meant
to
un nec ess ary
is a large number of schools,
many of which are very small.
Whereas
- 360 -
in c o un tr ie s with a
to t al ly state-run sy st em
force the closure
Mi ni s t r y
of
or
has
less than
of
no
100.
is one
of
power.
Rural
Every
with
equ it y
and
com mu ni ty
and
its own school,
for the more capital
sector the
issue will
of re al is m
from all parties.
Form Five of nine pupils.
introduced
Five ex am ination
Six course,
in
for example,
felt that
its students.
ill afford.
it
ef fe ct
lower
in the
lacked many basic
se nior
the
late
1989,
Form
Five
to
provide
which
and
a
the
school
field-study,
intense
to
raise
money
funds co ul d have been used with
forms of
facilities.
School
a
exa mination
the
same
school
With such small
co uld
be
Le av in g
Ce rti fic at e
only one passed.
- 361 -
for
great
as
they
numbers
in
offered.
In
fact of the nine s t u d e n t s who sta rte d the course
in
had
Form
had
laboratory
forms few sub ject ch oices
and sat the Fiji
degree
This ne cc es i t a t e d the bu il din g
f u n d- ra is in g was be ing c ar r i ed out
Such
seco nd ar y
e l im in at ed
At the time of the
this purpose.
primary
Vitu School
Because of the new
1988 which
of a new cl ass roo m and new
co ul d
intensive
in favour of a two-year
this school
Form Six for
the
the
While
have to be a d dre ss ed with a
field-work sample,
st ruc tu re
but
fragmentation.
this sys t e m may be able to be s u st ai ne d for
school sector,
rural
many
The arg ument bet ween
in efficient
can
F i j i ’s
less than 50 pupils and
r el i g i o u s group has the right to
In the
state
schools,
such
is t e m p e r e d by politics.
end result
the
and fal ling birth rates have left some
sc ho ols with rolls of
ef f i c i e n c y
education,
ama lga ma ti on
Ed uca tio n
de po pu la ti on
ro lls of
of
in
1988
ex am ination
Relatively
close
gov er n m e n t
school
to
Vitu
School
uith a well
Ono
es ta bl is he d
well q u a l i f i e d st aff to teach a
ade q u a t e
is
range
School,
Form
of
a
Six,
sub je ct s
and
laboratory fa ci lities and text bo ok s to cater
F o r m Six studies.
Since both Vitu
bo a r d i n g schools on the
same
and
Ono
island,
for
Sc hools
it
wo uld
a
are
appear
logical
to co nc e n t r a t e Form Five and Six studies
school.
The Mi n i s t r y of E du ca ti on can only r e c o m m e n d this
path of action but has no power at all
to enf or ce
as
government.
M an ag em en t d e ci si on s such as V i t u ’s to expand
latter
for both the school
heavily
su b s i d i z e s
the
church,
it,
be longs to
the
Me th odist
one
Vitu School
upw ards are co st ly
the
in
as
ru nn ing
of
costs
This case
exa mp le
we ak ne s s e s
one
of
the
G r a n t - i n - a i d system.
It
inherent
has
fostered
f r a gm en ta ti on of ed uc a t i o n reso ur ce s
M i n i s t r y of Educ at io n has
no
it finances them
The
an
of
establishing
s c h o o l i n g ca t e r i n g
of the
to
1969 Royal
increase access
the country,
regions.
and
established.
the
intermediate
for Forms One to Four,
C o m m i s s i o n on education.
e s p ec i a l l y
the
remoter
junior
1970
By
and
1976,
was
over
1980 however,
sec on da ry
such
the number
category
sta rte d
- 362 -
and
the
the
indirectly.
level
of
borne
out
The motive was
rural
with
43
the
because
to s e c o n d a r y educ at io n to all
The po li cy was we l c o m ed
between
of
control
m a j o r i t y of schools alth ou gh
idea
is a lucid
duplication
in Fiji
direct
the
and government,
sch ools p a r t i c u l a r l y staff salaries.
of
not
great
parts of
and
island
ent hu si as m
s c h oo ls
were
of
schools
in
to
decline
as
incre asi ng numbers s t a rte d to add Forms
’full secondary*
scho ols
schools.
po l i c y
The status of
also de cli ned and by the mid
were pop u la rl y dee me d
Five
sec ond
is to d e v el op all Junior
junior
1980s,
best.
to
This may prove to
Cu rr en t
S e con da ry
inefficient policy,
as
be
the
a
highl y
case
secon dar y
such
of
schools
Government
Sc hools
into
Forms
Five
fully fledged s ec on d ar y schools by ad d in g on
and Six.
become
ex pe n s iv e
Vitu
and
School
has
i 1 lustrated.
The re ma in i ng junior s e c o n d a r y schools co ntinue
for
isolated p op ul at i o ns and co n se qu en tl y
small
rolls,
often
less than
the G r a nt -i n - ai d sy st e m are
these very small
financial
schools.
securi ty as they
in
size
have
a
small
junior
fund-raising.
s e co nda ry
transfers.
infrastructure,
schools
Their
in
the
of
against
ca tc hment
in frequent staff transfers,
physical
have
case
mi li t a t e s
tends to result
pr o b l e m s of
to
the
upon
frequent principal
cater
Many of the problems of
magni fie d
Their
tend
par ents to call
importance,
for
100.
to
of
isolation
and of great
There are often
as
field
some
of
sample
the
amply
i 1 lustrated.
It
is not
s c h oo ls
real is ti c
to
en large
all
into full s e c o n d a r y schools
financial
reasons.
fulfil
intermediate stage
an
of
schooling
They need not be di sa s t e r s or be
best.
With
administration
- 363 -
inefficient,
important
areas.
good
se condary
for many physical
A l t ho ug h e c on om i c a l l y
their present state they
p r o v i d i n g an
junior
and
seen
role
to
as
su pport
and
in
in
rural
second
and
superv is ion
from the Ministry,
there
is scope
for
junior
se c o n d a r y sc hools to pro vi de a high s t a n d a rd of education
to rural
children,
as the case of Walu School
has shown.
The Gr a nt -i n - a i d sy s t em p r ev en ts r a t i o n a l i z a ti on
the Mi n i s t r y
previously
framework
direct
stated.
However
in order to av oi d
Su va -Nausori
schools,
au th o r i t y
over
within
area
e x pen si ve
alone
there
often very close to each
which suggests that there
wo uld
cer tain
facilities
as
wo odwork
or sp eci ali st
subjects.
such
duplication.
scope
those
for
la boratories
more direct a ut ho r it y over schools
37
se co nd ar y
for
sh ar in g
metal wor k
for
senior
in fact pay
in
or
science
a
large
there should be
ce rtain
practical
issues.
In the mid
1980s,
Excellence*
a po li c y of
e s pe ci a l ly
schools,
es ta bl i s h i n g
in rural
idea was to c o n ce nt ra te
areas
was
’Cen tres
floated.
d e ve lo p i ng them to a
s ch ool s which have
was
not
implemented.
Form
long been a
re c e i v e d
It was
Six
matter
with
felt that
level.
in
implement because of the
any
of
enthusiasm
jealousy
par ti cu l a r schools were sel ec te d
This policy would have
of
The
re sou rce s on p a rti cu lar seco nd ary
It
a ime d e s pe ci al ly at b o o s t i n g the s t a nd ar d of rural
plan
In
geographically,
share of the cost of m a i n t a i n i n g schools,
pol icy
co ns tr a in in g
are
be
as
sp ec ia li za ti on
other
Since the go ver nm en t does
schools,
this
there c oul d be a de ve lop me nt of
of schools
the
lacks
because
The
and
not
wo uld
been
lack of control
- 364 -
Fijian
concern.
for favou red
case
was
was
arise
if
treatment.
difficult
to
that Min is tr y of
Edu cation has due
to
the
nature
of
the
Gra nt- in -a id
system.
The concept of
’Centres of E x c e l l e n c e ’ c ou ld be c o nst ru ed
as merel y a new
the
label to des cribe
few govern me nt sc hools
uhat
in Fiji
are
already
far
eve ry respect to most Gr an t - a i d e d schools.
are better constructed,
and workshops are well
full
fa ci lities such
sup erior
The
as
eq uip ped and there
exists:
buildings
laboratories
is
no rmally
co mpl eme nt of te xtb oo ks and a w e l l - q u a l i f i e d
G ove rnm ent
schools
are
also
free
from
perpetual
fu nd rai sin g which re lieves the
financial
worries.
The
co mp ara tiv e
schools only serves to ac c e n tu at e
the
principal
vast
a
staff.
yoke
a f f l u en ce
the
in
of
from
of
such
differ enc es
between them and Gr an t - a i d e d schools.
There
is cle arly both a need
sch ools p a rt ic u l ar ly
for Fijian students.
en l a r g i n g the bo ard ing
be a positive move.
el ec t r i c i t y
The diet
a
of fe red
pro bl em
to
boar din g
sch oo ls
B o ar di ng schools which
have
for
Improving
fac ilities of rural
o b v io u sl y
organization.
for and dem and
do
not
with
extra
cost.
located next to the sea,
fish which
Vitu
in
Fijian
co ncern
in
recent
school
nets had holes
repair
them.
School,
for
but the boa rd ers
is in abundance.
improved
example,
eat
no
is
fresh
The reason given was that the
in them
and
no-one
knew
how
Thus the stud en ts were ea t in g a diet
d e vo id of protein as there
have
homework
years and there are many ways that this co ul d be
little
would
st ude nts
b o ar di ng schools has been an area of
at
and
is very
- 365 -
little meat
to
almost
available
and Fijians do
not
traditionally
eat
other
forms
protein such as eggs or dairy produce.
The basis
diet
sub si st en ce
of
most
bo a r d i n g
e s pe ci al ly cassava,
to spend
which
long periods
cultivation.
a
is grown by students.
more
schools
environments.
to
to
he lp
the
crops
They have
with
food
bo a rd in g sch ools by contrast
are
var ied
The
evid enc e sug gests overall
b oa rd in g
is
in the garden
Go ve rn me nt
able to offer
sc hools
of
of
and
ba l an ce d
that the
cr eate
potential
very
ma nag eme nt at the school
with
exists
ef fec tiv e
The exa mple of successful
can be re pe ate d el se w he re
diet.
wise
learning
b o a r d i ng
schools
administration
level as well
in
and
as support
from
the Mini str y of Education.
The relative e f f e c t iv en e ss
of a school
from various sources but
it depends
upon ad mi ni str ati on
management.
and
can be seen co nc e p t u a l l y
wea kn es s of a school.
static but
as
it is sub ject
by
re put at io n
fal ling
moral e
and
poor
to
This
it change.
and
suffers.
This
often
physical
in the entire school
once m o me nt um
is lost but
strength
as
it
is
the
vital
leadership,
is
manifested
It
can
is a
of
be
a
and
or
not
When a school
long process re b u i l d i n g the strength
school
ef fe cti ve ne ss
d et er io ra ti on
community.
degree
w e a kn es s
fluct ua tio ns
to
de rived
a large
re lative
manag eme nt
inevitably
rolls,
to
Such strength or
e le men ts which con tr ib ut e
we ak e n e d
the
is thus
is
its
in
low
difficult
we akened
done
with
de dic at io n and determination.
A
step
towards
controlling
e x pa ns io n
- 366 -
and
prom ot ing
rat ion a li za t io n c oul d be taken with the
central
body
Board of Education.
headed
by
the
This would
Permanent
ed ucation of ficers would be
rep orts and plans
me mbers
part
of
the
a
and
from their regions.
such as rel ig io us bodies
sh oul d also be
be
next
period
co or din ati on
to
of
and
Fiji's
One
of
to
edu cational
give
on
a
proce sse s
g o v e r n m e n t ’s co nt r o l l i n g hand
in
the
of
education
teachers*
board.
time,
present
Representatives
in
a
Divisional
would
functions of the board would be to decide
the
of
high-level
Secretary.
various s t ak eh o l di ng o r g a n i z a t i on s
system,
formation
unions,
the
main
plans
for
mea su re
of
and
to
handling
assert
of
the
system.
For some years
after
independence,
c a ll ed the Edu cation Forum,
advise
the
Minister
on
whose main
education
a p pa re nt ly been n o n -f u nc t i o n i n g
to reports,
the
the
teachers*
Dis cu ss io ns used to
and
negotiations,
unions
and
con c e n tr at e
sh a rp ly div id ed by sectional
es s e n t i a l l y
E du ca ti on
It
on
thought
failed
that
has
into
e s pec ia lly
m a n a gi ng
bodies.
re l a t i v e l y
trivial
largely
Fo rum
ignored.
that
"it
is
it is not
(1986:59).
since
in its task,
to
Ac co rding
interests and that
an ef fe ctive p o l i c y - m a k i n g body"
be
body
was
policy.
for some years.
W h i t eh ea d com me n te d on the Education
may
a
function
ma tters and the decision mak ing role was
It
was
infrequent meetings had d e g e n e r a t e d
a series of c o n fr on ta ti o ns
be twe en
there
the
the
E d uc at io n
proposed
would be doome d to the same fate.
- 367 -
With
Forum
Board
of
clearly
de f in ed terms of reference,
so.
The
Board
education,
c oul d
this would not ne ce s s a r i l y be
assert
e n d ea v o u r i n g
to
reduce
a n om al ie s of the G r a n t - i n - a i d
existing
strengths.
co mp ro m i s e situation,
remains,
This
some
system,
could
w h er eb y
but the g o ve rn men t
g o v e r n m e n t ’s
the
af firms
- 368 -
role
of
and
the
in
worst
bui ld in g
co nt ri b ut e
towards
Gr a n t - i n - a i d
its overall
on
a
system
control.
9. 3
C o n c l u d i n g Remarks.
Ty ing
in the Theoretical
The debate on the
Ends.
q ua li t y
co u n t r i e s started with
of
educ at ion
Beeby some
fo cu ss ed on the teacher as the
25
in
years
critical
dev elo pi ng
ago.
Beeby
facil it at or
in
the educative pro cess and he pr opo sed a r e la ti v e l y simple
premise:
Fiji
a we ll -t ra i ne d te acher would teach
context this
force
is not
n e c e ss ar il y
is on the whole w e ll -t ra in ed
so.
indeed very
she
important
in Fiji,
to
ethos of the school
and
is negati ve
is that
te ac hin g
qua lit y and
is
apparent
the teacher
has a
If the
the
or
pre vai li ng
leadership
The
strong
and
find
a nt it he si s
leadership
and
even tea chers
be
inspired to teach to a high standard.
H e y n e m a n ’s
gre at er
co nt ention
impact
an te ce d e n t
on
variables
that
ed uc ational
of
that H e y n e m a n ’s pr op osals
But
it
tra in in g may
vari ab le s
pe rf o r m a n c e
individual
c o n f i r m e d by this study.
ma terial
school
formal
of
ma n a g e m e n t style,
lacking can be
whose
is
he
even the best t r a i n e d te achers
if the school
the
q u a li ty of a school
it.
it difficult to pe rform effectively.
this
In
in the cla ss ro om situation,
but merely makes a c on tr ibu ti on
are weak,
It
although
is not able to define the overall
man ag e m e nt
The
but school
t e ac hi ng quality are both very variable.
from this research that
well.
studen ts
impr ov in g quality and standards.
- 369 -
Heyneman
the
reservation
as he
inputs almost e x c l u s i v e l y as being
than
of
appears to be
is with some
are accepted,
are
em ph asized
important
in
found the three
strongest va ri ables to
be
qua lit y
English
of
teachers*
facilities.
as an
performance.
(1981)
came out
failed
var iables within the school,
found to be of vital
school
study
with
to
and
textbook
the
which this study
It
is
school
human processes are as
important or more
The
of
at
while the emphasis on
physical
physical
in d e t e r m i n i n g school
look
importance.
the
Farrell
in favour
important variable
He yneman
availability,
and
His cross-na tio nal
S e p u l ve da -S tu ar do
posse ssi on
textbook
process
in Fiji
co nt en de d
vari ab le s
is
has
that
worthwhile,
important
than
pa ral lel s
with
inputs such as textbooks.
findings of this study have
those of the Rutter study,
certain
which d i s r e g a r d e d the physical
environ me nt of schools and emp has iz ed the social
and organiz ati on
context
’ethos*
schools
(97%)
- the
’ethos*
of schools.
In
climate
the
Fiji
is important because the vast maj or ity of
are not secular
have the distinct
state-run
institutions,
but
ch aracter of the relig iou s org ani zat ion
or c o mm un it y which owns and manages them.
The tone of the
school
ma nag eme nt
is further set by
leadership,
style
of
as has al re ady been stated.
e mp ha s i z e d school
di sci pli ne
the
and
pr oce ss es
including
punishment,
interaction and att end an ce
The Rutter
issues
management,
rates.
It
but
importance
are
overall
in the more
certa inl y
ethos
of
in poorer
context of R u t t e r ’s
importance
countries
study
in
- 370 -
in
as
however
may be
Uni ted
U.K.,
Fiji.
ethos
of
Kingdom,
co n t r i b u t in g
such as
the
such
d i s m is se d
affluent
study
t e a c h e r- stu de nt
mat ters co nc er n i n g finances or bu il dings which
lesser
and
In
was
to
the
a
concept
ab str a ct ed
whereas
which
in Fiji
is
physical
from
beh aviour
ethos appears to
inextricably
resources.
of
derive
linked
to
from
the
types*
behaviour
manag em en t
The abil ity to cope and run a
in an envir on me nt of financial
h a rd sh ip
in a principal
of a G r a n t - a i d e d school
is
the
mastered,
various
more
abstra ct
school
is a key
in Fiji.
quali tie s
of
quality
Once that
can
be
emphas ized.
Ret u r n i n g to the Hypotheses.
The research co nt a i n e d
in this
issues af fe cting q u a li ty
Fiji.
in
More specifically,
thesis
the
has
fieldwork,
a closer
devel op me nt
in Fiji;
of
of
education;
and,
is the
based on an
an
backbone
empirical
look at eleven schools to examine the
proce ss es which c on tr ib ut e
to school
The historical
an alysis
find
socio-economic
whether
schools
se co n d a r y
an alysis of the G r a n t - i n - a i d system which
sy st em
on
three main areas were addressed:
a study of the historical
of the school
foc us se d
of ed ucation
and
effectiveness.
in Fiji
intended
political
to
contexts
pro vi de d the de mand
for education.
Prior to the
colonial
pe ri od
mi ss io n a r i e s
established
numerous
Methodist
schools
thro ug ho ut
patronized
advan ta ge
by
Fiji
Fijians.
in be c o m i n g
no apparent external
schooling.
It
they
There
was
were
force
ve r y
then
literate or numerate
is apparent
early mi ss io na ri es
and
mo ti va t i n g
no
economic
thus there was
the
de ma n d
that the peda go gy used
and their
local
- 371 -
trainees
well
was
by
for
the
closely
linked to traditional
Fijian cha nt in g and
sc hoo lin g became graf ted onto
and was not seen
least the
Another
singing*
traditional
so ci alization
in an es p ec ia ll y instrumental
first
five decades
important
factor
of
dem and was the co nv er s i o n
way for at
s c h o o l i ng
in es t a b l i s h i n g
Thus
in
Fiji.
m ot iv at io n
to Christianity.
and
Sc hools
were
o ve rtl y used by mi ss ion ar i es to di ss em in at e knowledge
Christianity.
The main e mp lo ym en t o p en in g for Fijians was
with the church
itself,
as
pastors
car ri ed some status but very
after cession to
no employment
of
op po r t u n i t ie s
in 1874,
for
in Fiji,
of
the
mo ti va te d by economic
in ga ining political
excl ud ed Fijians
there
Fijians
mo n e t i z e d sector of the economy.
to around the end
It
That
from
its
factors.
in
in
small
therefore
in
cen tu ry
1835
was
it seen as a
as the climate
from any part
the
inception
Nor was
the
Even
were almost
is evident
ni ne teenth
power,
teachers.
little ec onomic reward.
Great Britain
that early education
or
not
tool
of c o l o ni al is m
dec ision
making
process.
The twentieth
ce ntury saw
a
change
as
the
indentured
look beyon d
the
ca ne fields
Indian population
sta rt ed to
for their
future.
The e s t a b l i s h m e n t of
sy st em
1916 e n a bl ed schools to be built
in
and religious
and political
p r o vi de d the dr iving
dur i n g the
in
Gr a n t -i n- ai d
by co mm unities
or ga ni z a t i o n s and a rapid expa ns io n
The s o c io -e co no mi c
Ed uc ation
the
became
force
a pr ominent
context of the time
for
educational
the
ra pid
- 372 -
era.
growth
now
expansion.
item on the political
last decades of the colonial
1970 c oi nc id ed with
ensued.
agenda
Independence
of
secondary
ed u c ation and the real i s a t i o n
gap
in the educational
ethnic groups*
political
The
a ch iev eme nts
latter
question
in
the
schools.
fieldwork
in very
growing
years.
contextual
factors are
also
micro-situations
of
individual
study sh ow ed
the
suppo rt in g
how
co mm un it ie s of various schools c on tri bu te
of the school
a
between the two major
in p o s t - i n d e p en de nc e
signif ic an t
uas
issue became a hi ghly sensitive
So c i o - ec on om ic and political
The
that there
defin it iv e
to the
ways.
The
nature
collective
so c i o - ec on om ic status of groups appears to be of
greater
co ns id er at io n than
example
individual
the ma r g i n a l i z e d position of
important
than
bac kg r o u n d of
In
sum,
been
formal
the environment
education,
minimal
the
although
p r o vi de d
there
was
little
little
s o c i o - ec on om ic
and
for
has
educ ati on
relationship:
direct
demand
decades
of
when
incentive
for
more
than
for
a
standard of education.
comm uni ty
pr ovision
at
which
large
of education,
is the p a r t n e r s h i p between
and
the
fieldwork
based study.
the hyp othesis
government,
was ex ami ned both
context and also as an essential
that
more
educational
in the early'
was a negative
The G r a nt -i n - ai d system,
the
that
contexts provide the deman d
s c ho ol in g there
or
be
parents.
hypo th es is
found to be true,
For
Indians appears to
s o c i o - ec on om ic
individual
the
political
the
backgrounds.
The
’that
part
research
it is the
- 373 -
in
the
in a historical
of
found
the
empirical
co n c l us iv el y
Grant-in-aid
system
which
is the root cause of the g o v e r n m e n t ’s inability
eff ec ti ve ly control
cause of major
the edu ca ti on sy stem today and
inequal iti es
of edu cation t h o u g h o ut
Fiji1
G r a nt -i n- ai d sys te m has
aff luent
and
d if fe ren ces
has
less
to
groups,
Alt hough educa tio n
of
following
policies,
affluent
a
the
limited
.to
powers-
rat io na li za ti on
Fiji.
as
The result
duplication.
Ministry
of
poorer
dim inish
them.
and
in terms
exa mination
finances
polici es
is
one
of
the
very
such
fragment ati on
the
wi dely
as
level,
and
in
a
country
complusory.
the G r a n t - i n - a i d
as both an attri but e
and
costly
Gr an t- i n - a i d
system
also
in
the
Fiji,
secondary
high
attendance
sch oo li ng
is
hy pot hes is
is
system
a
in
at
where
While
in
and
av ailable
This wide ac cess has result ed
cer ta in l y proven,
system
Educa tio n • has
implement
On the other hand,
free nor
This
largely
of
the
it does not own 97% of the schools
and retention rates
overall
than
government
par ti cu la rl y at p r i m ar y
neither
ex ac er ba te d
areas.
c u r r i c ul um
The
between
is hi gh ly c e n t r a l i z e d
has enabled sc ho o li ng to be
level.
true.
d is ad va nt ag es
rather
common
educ ati on system;
proven
has
is the
provision
inequalities
and
the
in Fiji
and alth oug h
be
and urban
m u l t i pl y
so cio -e co no m ic
to
increased
between rural
ten ded
in the qual ity and
to
can
han di ca p
be
in
seen
F i j i ’s
educat i o n .
The
major
h y po th es is
fieldwork was based
Fiji,
school
is
v a r i a b l es
e xp la i n i n g var ia ti on
of
this
that
are
in school
’in
of
thesis
on
s e c on da ry
major
which
schools
importance
the
in
in
p e r f o r m a n c e ’. The evidence
- 374 -
p ro d u c e d clearly supports
that variation
in pupil
much more significant
groups.
This
di sc ret e
whe re as
this
h y pot he sis
achie ve me nt
than
that
with
s o ci o- eco no mic
between
be tween
is sup po rt ed by the
entities
fact
cl early
e m e rg es as
a
somewhat
stat us
is best seen
ra ther
than as a causal
de fi ne d
less
influences on the
factor on
with
its own.
total
in ex pl ai n i n g
Chap ter
without
effectively:
some
strong
influence of the
school
s u b s t a n t i a ll y
the
which
thesis
.
This
var ia bl e and
in fact the
quality
res earch
in Fiji
importance.
for material
function
desks and chairs,
There
found
crux
to be
identified
cannot
is
re la ti on s hi p between these
performance.
importance
has
re qu ir em en ts
aschool
inter alia
the
of the
on
- 375 -
the
modifies
factors.
are of crucial
which
cases,
a
variables are of major
solid buildings,
basic textbooks
school
powerful
In
8.1 set out the minimal
aut om at ic
research
children.
performance,
variables
reso ur c e s
The
of
institution
then that school
it
factors
be
the effects of c h i l d r e n s ’ an te cedent
ce rt ain
school
to
the
on
So ci o- ec on om ic
in b o ar di ng schools or schools with
as a uniform,
and
potential
ethos,
factor
status
the
lives
re li g i o u s or cultural
Gi ven
one
c i rc um scr ibe d
indicator.
in interaction
are
boundaries,
is thus not clear,
weak
found that schools have
e sp e c i a l l y
schools
groups depend on only
p erf or ma nc e
is
s o ci o- ec on omi c
The direct effect of so ci o - e c o no mi c
c h i l d r e n s ’ school
found
schools
that
of a c h i l d ’s b a ck g ro un d and are much
groupings.
having
not
inputs
water and
however
an
and
school
critical
school
whole
human
issue
level:
of
the
qu a li ty of
leadership,
within the school
basic
manage men t
itself.
These
es tablish
-
the
This ethos appears to have a pr o f o u n d
the q u a li ty of the te a c hi n g and
school.
influence on
learning process
This appears to de pe n d
leadership and on the
and management.
When the
partnership
in
Fiji
very
much
principal
leave,
it takes
for a new ethos to be established.
Sch oo ls
are
communities,
co mpl ex
social
organizations.
Set
within
they are
inf luenced by the am bience of their
social,
economic and political
s u r r o u n d i n g s . Schools
subject
to government policy,
but
micro
the
in
between
’ethos builders*
the
essential
The re put ati on s and fortunes of sc hools
are subject to change.
time
administ rat ion
factors
strength or we akness of a school
ethos.
on
and
level by
def in it e ethos.
The children
who enter
and
of b ac kg ro un d and school
factors,
learning
which
eno rm ou s
teaching,
variation
investigate
or ga ni ze d
at
a
individuals who have the power to create
prod uc ts of their backgrounds,
and
are
are
in
further
s e c o n d a r y schools
the
re sults
- 376 -
sc hools
it is the
and
the
produce
offers
proc es se s
in Fiji.
the
and
are
interaction
process
results.
a
a
of
The
ch al lenge
to
interactions
in
FI ELD WO R K QUESTIONNAIRE.
AFF EN D I X ONE
FORM FOUR S TU DEN T QU ES TI O N N A I R E
1. What
is your n a m e ? ..................................
2.
is the name of your s c h o o l ? .................
What
3.
Are you a boy or a girl?
4.
Are you
(please tick)
Boy
Girl
Fijian
...
Indian
Other
5.
What
is your date of b i r t h ? .......................
6.
How many brothers do you have?
7.
How many sisters do you have?
8.
Where are you
..............
..............
living while at te nd in g sch ool ?
With your parents
With
relat ives
B oa rd ing at school
...
Some where else - please say w h e r e .....
9.
What time do you do your ho me w o r k ?
10.Do you have any proble ms or di f fi cu lt ie s
ho mew or k?
If you
your
say
what
Yes / No.
ans wered
difficu lti es
do in g
yes,
could
you
please
you have doing your h o m e w o r k ............
- 377 -
11. Is there
any bod y
your h o m ew o rk ?
you
(For example,
ask
to
help
you
with
Yes/No.
If you ans we re d yes,
help?
can
could you say
mother,
who
brother,
you
cousin,
ask
for
teacher)
How often do you get help with your h o me wo rk ?
12.What kind of work does your
father do? Please say
he has more than one type of work
and
descr ibe
if
his
different kinds of w o r k ...................................
13.Please say how much
sch oo li ng your
father had
14.What work does your mother do? Does she have any
work
that earns her m o n e y ? ..................................... .
15.Please say how much s c h o o l i n g your mother had
16.What
languages do you usu ally speak?
At h o m e ? ................................
With your
friends
17.If you were c om pl e t e l y
would
18.
you
like to do
free
to
when you
choose,
what
work
leave s c h o o l ? ........
What work do you think you pro bably will
do
when you
leave s c h o o l ? ..............................................
- 379 -
DIVISION
NORTHERN
APPENDIX
VANUA
LEVU
TWO
#V"
HAP
TAVfUNI
OF
V IT I
LEVU
FIJI.
CVA1AU
I
lO M A IVITI
CO
GO
0
1
GIOUP
HAW
IAU
j
^
✓
j
NAVUA^#^
'MINAUSOHI
,s u v a
|
I
CENTRAL DIVISION-)
WESTERN DIVISION
KADAVU
EASTERN
DIVISION
APPENDIX THREE
RACIAL COMPOSITION.
SCHOOLS
IN FIJI
SIZE
AND
LOCATION
OF S E C O N D A R Y
(1986)♦
Soli
Locatio
Fij ian
Indian
Others
A.D.Patel Menorial School
-
100%
-
153
S
Balata High
12%
88%
-
140
S
Ba Hethodist High
73%
23%
4%
338
U
Ba Hus 1 in College
15%
64%
1%
564
U
5%
95%
-
104
U
12%
87%
1%
283
U
D.A.V.Co 1 lege
3%
97%
-
543
U
Khalsa College
5%
95%
-
589
U
Nadarivatu Junior Secondary
99%
1%
-
64
S
Nilsen High
54%
34%
12%
226
ST
3%
97%
-
173
S
Tavua College
19%
79%
2%
608
ST
Xavier College
27%
66%
7%
601
U
Bucalevu Secondary
94%
4%
3%
278
S
Napuka Junior Secondary
96%
4%
-
215
S
Nuisawa Hethodist High
64%
22%
14%
169
S
1%
-
99%
221
S
100%
-
-
76
S
Ba Sanatan College
Ba Sangam High
Nukuloa Secondary
Sabi Secondary
Saqani Junior Secondary
Savusavu Secondary
65%
21%
14%
247
U
St.Bedes College
85%
3%
12%
224
s
Vaturova Koroalau Junior Sec.
97%
-
3%
63
s
Uairiki Secondary
83%
5%
12%
276
s
100%
-
-
96
s
91%
2%
7%
132
u
Gau Junior Secondary
100%
-
-
127
s
Kadavu Provincial Junior Sec.
100%
-
-
67
s
280
s
Adi Haopa Junior Secondary
Delana Hethodist
Koro Island High
99%
- 381
1%
-
Levuka Public School
70%
12%
18%
331
U
Ratu Finau Junior Secondary
100%
-
-
127
R
Richmond Hethodist High
100%
-
-
120
R
1%
-
99%
220
R
5%
16%
449
R
Rotuma High
St.John’s College
79%
Vunisea Government Secondary
100%
-
-
327
R
Yasayasa Hoala Junior Secondary
100%
-
-
133
R
Ba Provincial
69%
26%
5%
209
U
Drasa Secondary
10%
89%
2%
291
U
Jasper Williams High
30%
64%
6%
457
U
4%
96%
-
241
R
18%
81%
1%
290
U
2%
98%
-
96
R
100%
-
149
R
Korovuto Secondary
Lautoka Muslim
Haharishi Sanatan College
Hulomulo Secondary
-
Nadi College
51%
46%
-
377
U
7%
91%
-
305
U
28%
65%
7%
594
U
9%
91%
-
488
U
Ratu Navula Secondary
99%
1%
-
143
U
Sabeto Secondary
14%
85%
1%
327
R
9%
90%
1%
377
U
Shri Vivekananda High
14%
84%
2%
841
U
St.Thomas’s High
42%
22%
36%
418
U
Tilak High
10%
89%
1%
789
U
Votualevu High
18%
82%
-
277
PU
-
-
205
R
Nadi Muslim High
Natabua High
Pundit Vishnu Deo Memorial Sec.
Sangam (S.K.M.)College
Yasaua Centenary Memorial Jun.Sec.,100%
All Saints Secondary
Batinikama Junior Secondary
Bua Central College
Bulileka Secondary
23%
71%
6%
729
U
2%
97%
1%
138
R
93%
6%
1%
160
R
2%
98%
324
PU
- 382 -
-
Dreketi High
54%
35%
11%
153
R
Holy Family Secondary
45%
38%
17%
268
U
Labasa Arya Junior Secondary
2%
98%
-
100
PU
Labasa Muslim High
8%
92%
-
246
PU
Lekutu Secondary
54%
45%
1%
223
R
Nadogo Secondary
23%
77%
-
224
R
8%
92%
-
48
R
98%
1%
-
80
R
6%
94%
-
206
R
Sangam (K.M.)High
19%
77%
3%
557
U
Seaqaqa Junior Secondary
37%
63%
-
124
R
6%
91%
2%
97
R
-
5%
149
R
Naikavaki Junior Secondary
Nabala Junior Secondary
Naleba College
Shri Guru Nanak Khalsa Sec.
Solevu Junior Secondary
95%
Tabia (S.D.) Junior Secondary
7%
93%
-
167
R
Vunimoli Junior Secondary
7%
93%
-
143
R
Waiqele Junior Secondary
7%
93%
-
185
R
Andhra High
33%
64%
-
185
R
Bemana Catholic Junior Secondary
97%
2%
1%
69
R
Cuvu College
14%
85%
1%
617
U
Kavanagasau Secondary
17%
83%
-
63
R
Lomawai Secondary
25%
75%
-
150
R
Nadroga/Navosa High
98%
2%
-
130
R
Navosa Central College
86%
14%
-
193
R
Nawai Junior Secondary
18%
62%
-
27
R
Sigatoka Methodist High
33%
66%
1%
279
U
Sigatoka Valley Junior Secondary
60%
40%
-
81
R
Adi Cakobau
97%
1%
2%
346
R
Baulevu High
11%
88%
1%
234
R
5%
94%
1%
605
PU
96%
2%
2%
479
U
Bhauani Dayal High*
Central Fijian Secondary*
- 383 -
Fulton Junior Secondary
34%
9%
57%
108
S
Lelean Memorial*
79%
17%
4%
545
U
Lomaivuna High
91%
5%
4%
302
R
Naitasiri Junior Secondary
94%
6%
-
78
R
Naiyala Junior Secondary
95%
4%
1%
142
R
Nasinu Muslim Secomndary*
13%
86%
1%
307
PU
Natovi Junior Seconmdary
89%
5%
6%
164
R
8%
92%
-
83
U
Pundit Shreedar Maharaj College*
40%
60%
-
68
PU
Queen Victoria School
95%
2%
3%
372
R
Ratu
95%
2%
3%
446
R
Rewa Secondary
97%
3%
-
174
R
Sarasuati College
23%
77%
-
267
U
Tailevu North High
78%
21%
1%
337
R
Vunimono High
29%
71%
6%
1,069
U
Vunicibicibi Junior Secondary
23%
77%
-
79
R
Uaidina Junior Secondary
97%
3%
-
76
R
Wainibuka Junior Secondary
98%
2%
-
141
R
Wainimala Junior Secondary
100%
-
-
93
R
Nakauvadra Junior Secondary
96%
4%
-
78
R
Navesau Junior Secondary
51%
1%
48%
178
R
Penang Sangam
14%
64%
2%
501
ST
Rakiraki Public High
33%
64%
3%
188
ST
Ra Junior Secondary
82%
17%
1%
229
R
Assemblies of God High*
63%
35%
2%
293
U
Ballantine Memorial*
96%
-
4%
400
U
Cathedral Secondary*
64%
14%
22%
417
U
7%
92%
1%
823
U
D.A.V.Girls College*
19%
81%
1%
505
U
Dudley High*
31%
59%
10%
722
U
Nausori High*
Kadavulevu School
D.A.V.Boys College*
- 384 -
Fiji L.D.S*Technical College*
63%
16%
21%
298
U
Gospel High*
39%
55%
6%
566
U
Indian College*
24%
72%
4%
648
U
Lani High*
93%
-
7%
208
U
Laucala Bay Secondary*
56%
34%
10%
553
U
Loaary Secondary
85%
7%
8%
227
B
1%
99%
-
*667
U
Harist Brothers High*
32%
37%
31%
616
U
Nabua Secondary*
98%
-
2%
403
U
Nanosi Secondary
99%
1%
-
198
B
Navua High
23%
74%
3%
273
ST
Baapur College
33%
65%
2%
206
B
Batu Latianara Junior Secondary
98%
2%
-
101
B
Batu Sukuna Memorial School*
98%
-
2%
541
U
Bishikul High*
11%
87%
2%
659
PU
St.Joseph's Secondary*
28%
28%
44%
415
U
Suva Grammar School*
40%
35%
25%
1, 121
U
Suva Muslim College*
38%
60%
2%
462
U
Suva Sangan High*
48%
46%
6%
269
U
Yat Sen Secondary (Fora 3 only)
27%
21%
52%
66
U
Mahatna Ghandi Memorial High*
Abbreviations:
B - rural
U - urban
ST - snail town
PU - peri-urban
* denotes in greater Suva-Nausori
area.
- 385 -
APPENDIX FOUR
FIJI JUNIOR CERTIFICATE RESULTS . 1983 - 1988
Pass rates (percent)
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
A.D.Patel Memorial School
61
37
62
61
100
100
Balata High
39
33
78
55
67
53
Ba Hethodist High
58
50
72
66
63
61
Ba Muslin College
78
94
100
100
99
99
Ba Sanatan College
-
30
58
91
83
73
Ba Sangan High
40
38
71
59
60
39
D.A.V.College
62
65
87
78
78
71
Khalsa College
48
56
84
73
68
66
Nadar 1vatu Junior Secondary
50
69
91
86
87
88
Nilsen High
34
27
68
70
78
78
Nukuloa Secondary
43
39
24
26
68
67
Tavua College
73
59
84
80
90
83
Xavier College
86
86
88
94
90
95
Bucalevu Secondary
93
90
100
97
93
86
Napuka Junior Secondary
88
72
91
83
81
92
Nulsawa Methodist High
57
81
68
70
90
87
Rabi Secondary
91
91
62
68
70
82
Saqani Junior Secondary
67
70
90
100
80
78
Savusavu Secondary
58
64
68
81
66
79
St.Bedes College
54
42
83
88
94
71
Vaturova Koroalau Junior Sec.
45
62
- 92
100
43
82
Uairiki
Secondary
75
80
81
86
88
81
Adi Maopa Junior Secondary
69
52
70
87
72
80
Delana Methodist
43
37
82
73
95
58
Gau Junior Secondary
65
62
95
97
94
93
Kadavu Provincial Junior Sec.
93
50
89
93
90
100
Koro Island High
48
39
68
50
51
72
- 386 -
Levuka Public School
73
79
91
91
87
85
Ratu Finau Junior Secondary
59
72
100
82
95
90
Richnond Hethodist High
57
49
84
85
78
75
Rotuma High
60
78
84
89
100
93
St.John’s College
87
81
94
96
93
98
Vunisea Governnent Secondary
60
62
98
85
89
79
Yasayasa Hoala Junior Secondary
25
84
93
91
100
91
Ba Provincial
42
55
69
65
37
62
Drasa Secondary
51
54
55
52
80
74
Jasper Hi Ilians High
97
97
100
99
100
99
Korovuto Secondary
59
49
82
72
58
58
Lautoka Muslin
47
44
51
90
76
96
Haharishi Sanatan College
37
35
44
65
69
67
Mulonulo Secondary
46
51
64
62
61
62
Nadi College
63
40
74
64
61
53
Nadi Muslin High
44
67
82
89
79
81
Natabua High
99
95
99
98
98
99
Pundit Vishnu Deo Menorial Sec.
49
52
73
68
70
60
Ratu Navula Secondary
46
18
42
50
69
44
Sabeto Secondary
41
39
69
56
62
55
Sangan (S.K.M.)Co1lege
57
52
78
77
86
83
Shri Vivekananda High
68
61
78
63
87
83
St.Thouas’s High
73
67
87
92
82
87
Tilak High
75
84
92
95
96
96
Votualevu High
41
52
65
76
82
80
Yasaua Centenary Menorial Jun. Sec .47
55
81
92
84
79
All Saints Secondary
81
67
85
85
91
82
Batinikana Junior Secondary
65
81
93
96
71
100
Bua Central College
59
48
80
72
60
93
Bulileka Secondary
73
89
91
85
81
87
- 387 -
Dreketi High
61
65
74
92
82
75
Holy Faaily Secondary
89
77
89
97
93
91
Labasa Arya Junior Secondary
50
52
94
76
78
85
Labasa Hus1la High
53
57
76
76
81
75
Lekutu Secondary
64
63
90
85
85
72
Nabala Junior Secondary
52
72
69
-
92
92
Nadogo Secondary
78
67
48
79
66
92
0
78
75
86
93
Nalkavakl
Junior
Secondary
-
Naleba College
64
88
81
70
64
79
Sangan (K.M.)High
77
67
79
88
81
85
Seaqaqa Junior Secondary
57
85
89
78
100
94
Shrl Guru Nanak Khalsa Sec.
29
69
78
39
62
64
Solevu Junior Secondary
59
61
81
83
90
89
Tabla (S.D.) Junior Secondary
78
66
95
92
78
89
Vuninoli Junior Secondary
-
86
100
95
93
87
Walqele Junior Secondary
66
54
76
85
87
78
0
41
90
65
62
88
Benana Catholic Junior Secondary
30
36
50
71
73
69
Cuvu College
39
53
79
69
73
76
Kavanagasau Secondary
34
30
58
74
90
60
Loaaual
43
66
68
61
74
72
Nadroga/Navosa High
38
50
56
68
58
32
Navosa Central College
63
50
66
70
56
66
Nawai Junior Secondary
47
67
75
71
85
70
Sigatoka Methodist High
78
52
75
95
73
98
Sigatoka Valley Junior Secondary
57
26
57
59
30
42
Adi Cakobau*
90
98
98
100
84
96
Baulevu High*
50
41
81
66
77
65
Bhawani Dayal High*
43
48
66
57
65
63
Central Fijian Secondary*
49
45
80
64
61
68
Andhra High
Secondary
- 388 -
Fulton Junior Secondary
52
64
81
74
64
76
Lelean Hemorial*
44
86
91
90
94
94
Lomaivuna High
54
71
92
86
88
86
Naitasiri Junior Secondary
48
44
80
57
72
66
Naiyala Junior Secondary
67
77
92
89
97
100
Nasinu Muslim Secomndary*
56
43
100
100
100
88
Natovi Junior Seconmdary
46 •
63
58
81
88
94
Nausori High*
17
40
56
75
83
100
Pundit Shreedar Haharaj College*
54
32
73
65
77
68
Queen Victoria School
99
97
100
100
100
97
Ratu
88
100
100
100
100
96
Reua Secondary
47
62
62
65
68
72
Sarasuati College*
40
31
46
35
48
56
Tailevu North High
39
54
79
79
76
83
Vunimono High*
46
38
66
54
70
68
Vuniciblcibi Junior Secondary
52
30
88
95
82
90
Waidina Junior Secondary
50
83
84
100
94
100
Uainibuka Junior Secondary
61
54
90
84
85
72
Uainimala Junior Secondary
93
50
7
-
61
75
Nakauvadra Junior Secondary
42
36
86
72
100
100
Navesau Junior Secondary
39
61
100
94
95
79
Penang Sangam
63
64
84
83
86
77
Rakiraki Public High
60
53
73
78
73
65
Sa High
64
51
93
59
44
55
Assemblies of God High*
38
41
62
64
41
66
Ballantine Memorial*
61
49
77
80
81
74
Cathedral Secondary*
41
57
65
73
56
65
D.A.V.Boys College*
52
55
71
67
75
76
D.A.V.Girls College*
60
67
77
74
66
65
Dudley High*
86
84
98
92
95
96
Kadavulevu School
- 389 -
Fiji L.D.S.Technical College*
47
47
69
54
82
65
Gospel High*
49
68
78
72
81
80
Indian College*
48
43
73
83
84
95
Lami High*
51
46
65
52
53
64
Laucala Bay Secondary*
58
66
70
83
83
66
Lomary Secondary*
48
47
91
92
91
76
73
79
94
94
93
97
Marist Brothers High*
93
93
100
98
99
99
Nabua Secondary*
48
39
83
71
64
62
Namosi Secondary
28
35
74
57
79
82
Navua High
57
53
73
77
70
75
Rampur College
42
68
23
78
74
78
Ratu Latianara Junior Secondary
52
80
100
92
95
100
Ratu Sukuna Memorial School*
42
58
86
88
86
84
Rishikul High*
68
76
82
68
71
73
St.Joseph's Secondary*
85
96
97
92
97
91
Suva Grammar School*
88
85
87
90
90
91
Suva Muslim College*
93
95
100
100
100
100
Suva Sangam High*
41
51
56
71
64
86
Mahatma Ghandi Memorial
High*
*
100
Yat-Sen Secondary*
N.B. National pass rates:
1983
-
59.7
1984
-
61.9
1985
-
80. 1
1986
-
79.5
1987
-
80.1
1988
-
80.03
* denotes schools in greater Suva-Nausori area.
Source: Ministry of Education statistics.
- 390 -
AP PEN DI X FIVE
S UM MA R IE S OF SCH OOL DATA,
A p p e n d i x Five cons ist s of
essential
These
the time of the
are
containing
facts and ob se rv a ti on s
fieldwork
organized
S o m e r s e t ’s
the
notes
points about each of the eleven s c h oo ls
field study.
These
brief
’Model
were
in July and August
in
a
format
for Educa ti on al
in
true
some
the
at
1988.
loosely
following
Q u a l i t y ’ reproduced
on
following page.
Notes on ab br ev ia ti on s
used
SES - s o c i o - ec on om ic status,
in A p p en di x Five.
nor ma lly based
on
f a t h e r ’s
occ upat i o n .
F.A.B.
- Fijian Affairs Board.
F.J.C.
- Fiji Junior Ce rt i f i c a t e examination.
feeder school
- a pr imary school
as the secondary school
sch ools are
prom ot io n
re f e r r e d
with the same m an age me nt
to.
located next to each other,
from the p r i ma ry school
is automatic.
- 391 -
U s u al ly
and
the
two
in many cases
to the s e c o n d a r y school
S o m e r s e t ’s M o d e l
for
Educational
Quality.
-j
Reproduction of »dv*nti9e/disidv»nteje (next generation)
£5
MODEL
FOP
EDUCATIONAL
Q UA L I T Y
:--------------------—...............
- 392
-
DUA SCHOOL
INPUTS
Contextual factors.
In Nadi, western Viti Levu.
Close to large
tourist hotels, international airport and canegrowing area.
Urban infrastructure; water, telephone,
electricity, transport services.
Management. (Grant-aided)
School established by Fijian Community in 1970.
Has had severe management problems, especially
financial until 1987-88.
Management committee
consists of villagers, not very effective.
Fundraising done by teachers and students.
Committee has generally laissez-faire attitude.
P.T.A. inactive.
393
I
Principal.
Has had frequent changes of principal in past
15 years - linked to management problems.
New principal has been brought back from
retirement.
Teachers.
Staff of 18 - 10 Fijians, 8 Indians. All
qualified. High turnover of staff.
Students.
100% Fijian. Roll of 158. (Has fallen from
about 400 in early 1970s)
Forms 1 - 5 . Non-selective.
SES: fathers mostly cane farmers or hotel
or airport workers.
Resources and Equipment.
Whole school in very poor physical condition.
Chairs and desks inadequate and often broken.
Not enough textbooks or other teaching resources.
No duplicating machine, therefore examinations
could not be set.
PROCESS
Generally didactic methods of
teaching. Heavy reliance on
past examination papers.
Teaching hampered by severe lack
of equipment and resources,
especially textbooks.
Students often lack basic
equipment e.g. stationery,
which teachers find irritating
and disturbing.
Vernacular widely used in and
out of classrooms.
Students restless and noisy
in and out of lessons unless
constantly occupied.
Teachers had low expectations
of students.
Assembly three times daily to
try and counter indiscipline
and lateness.
Infrequent visits from Ministry
of Education.
Generally unstimulating
environment - dirty and in
disrepair. Nothing on classroom
walls.
Absenteeism a problem,
especially in harvesting season.
OUTPUTS
F.J.C. Means (1988)
English - 46.9%
Mathematics - 43.7%
Basic Science - 46.0%
Social Science - 33.3%
Total - 274.6
F.J.C. Pass Rates
1983 - 46%
1984 - 18%
1985 - 42%
1986 - 50%
1987 - 69%
1988 - 44%
Pass rates have fluctuated but have
been consistently below the national
average. Most passes are 'C' grade.
School involved in sports - has
rugby and other sports teams.
Employment prospects
Reasonably easy to obtain employment
in this area without high level of
school certification, because of
proximity of hotels, airport, sugar
industry.
RUA SCHOOL
INPUTS
394
I
Contextual Factors.
In canefarming area about 10 miles from
Nadi. Good rural infrastructure; road
access, bus service, electricity, water,
telephone.
Management. (Grant-aided)
Committee of local people. Occasional
conflicts, but generally runs smoothly.
School is in debt and needs to do constant
fundraising.
P.T.A. only involved in fundraising.
Principal.
Had been at the school a few years.
Teachers.
Staff of 19: 18 Indians and 1 Fijian.
All qualified. Staff changes not
generally a problem although 2 teachers
had left to migrate during 1988.
Students.
Roll 277. (Forms 1 - 6 ) . 235 Indians
(84.8%) and 42 Fijians (15.2%).
Non-selective. Mostly children from
local area, most from adjacent feeder
school. SES: majority from cane­
farming families.
Some wage earners.
Resources and Equipment.
Basic school building in poor state due to
hurricane damage in 1984. Due to lack of
insurance, buildings have-never been properly
repaired. Much equipment was lost in
hurricane and school operated in army tents
for some time. School has not been able to
recover financial position and has not been
able to improve labs or library. Very few
books in school library.
PROCESS
Generally didactic style of teaching.
Very formal teacher-student relation­
ships. Children not very responsive
in English - more responsive in
vernacular (Hindi).
Students fairly quiet and submissive.
Unstimulating environment for
teaching and learning. No charts on
walIs.
Poor facilities may hamper teaching.
Low teacher expectations.
Student absenteeism is a problem
at times as children are kept home
to help with farm work.
OUTPUTS
F.J.C. Means (1988)
English 46.3%
Maths
55.0%
Basic Science 48.3%
Social Science 56.2%
Total
309.5
F.J.C. Pass Rates.
1983 - 41%
1984 - 39%
1985 - 69%
1986 - 56%
1987 - 62%
1988 - 55%
Pass rates have been
consistently below national
averages.
Employment prospects.
Many return to cane farms;
or shop, hotel or airport
jobs.
Few go to technical
institutes.
TOLU SCHOOL
395
I
INPUTS
Contextual Factors.
Set in cane fields approximateley 3 miles from Nadi
international airport. Perceive selves as rural,
but well served with infrastructure - electricity,
water, phone, roads etc. Several low-cost housing
settlements nearby.
Principal.
Has been there since secondary school began in 1977.
Teachers.
Staff of 19. All Indian.
Very few staff changes.
Management. (Grant-aided)
Committee of parents and others from local community.
Same small group that has been involved for many years.
No P.T.A. Small canteen at school helps pay for
running expenses but school has not had to have major
fund-raising for some years.
Principal gets on well with committee, who give him a
free hand and provide him with whatever he wants.
Students.
Roll of 290. (Forms 1 - 6 ) . 250 Indians (86%)and
40 Fijians (14%).
Non-selective. Most children from nearby feeder
school and other local schools.
SES: Indian cane-farmers, Fijian wage-earners.
Resources and Equipment.
Some textbooks provided by school but lower forms
mostly buy their own. Well equipped - 4 computers,
video, tape-recorder, photocopier, duplicator, etc.
All well used.
Well-equipped Home Economics and Technical facilities
and science labs. Typing offered as subject.
Reasonable library - children able to borrow books,
but apparently there is little enthusiasm for reading.
PROCESS
Evidence of well-organized class­
rooms: noticeboards in each class­
room with evidence of teacher and
student input.
School clean and tidy.
Teachers held in position of
authority but some openess in
student-teacher relationships.
Teachers still rather high-handed.
General atmosphere of stability.
School well-equipped and wellorganized.
Students well behaved.
Hindi spoken widely between staff
and students. Definitely Indian
oriented ethos.
OUTPUT
F.J.C. Means (1988)
English
62.9%
Maths
61.9%
Basic Science62.5%
Social Science
60.8%
Total
- 379.0
F.J.C. Pass Rates.
41%
1983
1984
52%
1985
76%
1986
76%
82%
1987
1988
80%
Nationally, pass rate has
improved gradually over the
years.
Since 1985 has been
roughly same as national average.
Employment Prospects.
Hotel, airport and other urban
jobs; farming; some will aim to
migrate.
VA SCHOOL
I
396
INPUTS
Contextual factors.
About 20 miles up the Sigatoka Valley from
Sigatoka town. In midst of crop farming
area: tobacco, maize, watermelon, vegetables,
etc. Populated by both Indians and Fijians.
Very dusty in dry season which makes school
seem dirty.
Infrastructure: road close by (unsealed),
no reticulated water, no electricity or
telephone. (Water is major problem).
Management. (Grant-aided)
Committee of local people, all Fijians.
Principal feels school has lacked community
support.
Principal.
Has had 5 principals in 5 years. The longest
time a principal has stayed is 2 years.
Present principal new in 1988.
Teachers.
Staff of 6 (plus 1 on maternity leave).
4 Indians and 3 Fijians. (No substitute for
teacher on maternity leave). High turnover
of staff - most request transfers.
Students.
Roll of 88. (Form 1 - 4 ) . 42 Indians and 46
Fijians. 18 Boarders in improvised facilities.
Roll has been falling - was 145 some years ago.
Non-selective - most from feeder school next
door.
SES: mostly cash crop farmers.
Resources and Equipments
School supplies all textbooks.
Fairly well-stocked library (mainly from F.A.B.)
but principal feels they are too difficult for
the students whose English is poor.
Home Economics room in poor condition: broken
equipment, untidy and dirty. Manual duplicator.
Radio telephone. Major problem with water -none in
dry season - affects teachers and students.
PROCESS
Rather slack and depressing
atmosphere.
Teachers plod on in pedestrian
manner tolerating poor
conditions.
Principal appears to be trying
to improve matters, but problems
are almost overwhelming.
All pervasive dust of the area
makes the classrooms dirty and
unattractive. No charts or
pictures on walls - unstimul­
ating environment.
OUTPUT
F.J.C. Means (1988)
English
- 48.2%
Maths
- 44.9%
Basic Science 41.1%
Social Science 49.4%
Total
- 251.5
F.J.C. Pass Rates
1983 - 57%
1984 - 26%
1985 - 57%
1986 - 59%
1987 - 30%
1988 - 42%
Has had low pass rates for several
years.
In 1988 was second lowest
nationally.
Employment Prospects.
Most return to farms.
employment.
Few to wage
LIMA SCHOOL
INPUTS
397
Contextual factors.
Approximately 40 miles up Sigatoka Valley from
Sigatoka town. Have to cross river on foot to
reach school - impassable in rainy season.
Old Roman Catholic Mission.
Large area owned
by church for mission station, schools
(primary and secondary), gardens and boarding
facilities.
Infrastructure: school has own generator
operating very limited hours, own water
pumping system.
Management. (Grant-aided)
Committee school of local parish.
Under
overall umbrella of Catholic Education Office.
Principal has had problems with management lack of communications and misunderstandings.
Financial problems meeting running costs of
school.
Principal.
Been at school 3 years.
Teachers.
Staff of 7.5 Fijians and 2 Indians.
A lot of staff changes due to teachers
requesting transfers.
(Principal claimed
Indian teachers dislike teaching in rural areas).
Students.
Roll of 60. (Form 1 - 4). 55 Fijians and 5
Indians. 35 boarders. (Multi-craft centre
attached to school).
Non-selective: mainly from 2 feeder schools.
SES: villagers and cash-crop farmers.
Resources and equipment.
School supplies all textbooks.
Library reasonably well-equipped, with F.A.B.
aid, but students not keen on reading.
F.A.B. has also donated lab. equipment.
PROCESS
Class rooms bare and uninteresting.
General air of slackness.
Infrequent Ministry visits.
Multi craft room very untidy and
disorganized.
Gardening compulsory - food for
boarders.
Catholicism clearly important in
creating ambience of school.
A very established environment
with old mission station etc.
Absenteeism a problem in
harvesting season.
OUTPUTS
F.J.C.Means
(1988)
English
- 50.6%
Maths
- 56.3%
Basic Science 52.0%
Social Science 62.5%
Total
- 331.7
F.J.C. Pass Rates.
1983 - 30%
1984 - 36%
1985 - 50%
1986 - 71%
1987 - 81%
1988 - 69%
Pass rate has improved since 1983
but most years below national
average.
Employment prospects.
Mostly farming or wage earning
such as hotel work.
ONO SCHOOL
INPUTS
398
Contextual factors.
On island of Kadavu, 6 - 8 hours by boat from Suva,
or 30 minutes by plane.
Located in government station adjacent to hospital
and other government offices.
Two Fijian villages close by.
Infrastructure: water, electricity, telephone.
The only stretch of road on the island runs by the
school.
Management.
Government school. Decision making in hands of
principal. No need for fundraising.
Very little parental involvement.
Principal.
Had been at school 6 years. His wife also a
teacher at the school.
Teachers.
Staff of 22. 18 Fijians and 4 Indians. Fully
staffed, although has at times been short-staffed.
School gets a lot of new graduates who are forced
to do service in rural areas. Ministry tries to
encourage them to stay, but most only stay a few
years.
Students.
Roll of 365. (Forms 1 - 6). All Fijian.
220 boarders. Takes most children from nearby
school although it is not strictly a feeder school
(i.e. having same management). Basically nonselective.
SES: village background, few children of civil
servants.
Resources and Equipments
School provides all textbooks.
Well-equipped because government provides everything,
but not enough equipment or chemicals for students to
do own experiments. Duplicating machine. Video
(kept in principal's house). Well-stocked library,
clearly well used.
PROCESS
Totally Fijian cultural context.
Buildings generally in good
condition. Students bright and
alert and healthy looking.
Some charts on walls, especially
for science.
Some overcrowding in school
because of increasing roll.
Dining room had to be used as a
classroom.
Children rather reserved speaking
English, but seemed to have good
relationships with teachers.
Fijian spoken widely in and out
of classroom.
Cadets introduced in 1988 compulsory for boys from Form
Four upwards.
Gardening compulsory - to provide
food for boarding establishment.
Very little absenteeism.
OUTPUT
F.J.C. Means (1988)
English
51.4%
Mathematics64.6%
Basic Science 54.2%
Social Science 63.6%
Total
356.9
F.J.C. Pass Rates
1983 - 60%
1984 - 62%
1985 - 98%
1986 - 85%
1987 - 88%
1988 - 79%
Pass rate has improved since 1983,
generally above or close to national
average.
Boarders tend to achieve better
results than day students because
of supervised homework (according
to principal).
Employment Prospects.
Some go to tertiary education or
jobs in Suva; many return to villages.
VITU SCHOOL
INPUTS
399
Contextual factors.
On island of Kadavu, one hour from Vunisea by boat.
(No road link). No direct regular transport to Suva.
Isolated, although several villages nearby.
Infrastructure: electricity from own generator for
3 hours in evenings, own water supply in hills
(often gives problems), radio-telephone.
Oldest school in Fiji - established in 1838 as
primary school.
Management. (Grant-aided)
Local management by committee of local people
including Methodist minister, but under overall
umbrella of Methodist Church of Fiji.
Severe financial problems caused by past committees
which have left present committee deeply in debt.
P.T.A. not functioning.
Teachers and students now do fund-raising.
Principal.
Been at school 6 years. School has been in debt
all that time and his main task has been to reduce
the debt.
Teachers.
Staff of 14. 12 Fijians and 2 Indians.
Staff transfers not a problem.
Students.
Roll of 152.
(Forms 1 - 5 ) . 11 students from
Tuvalu, rest Fijian. 86 boarders.
SES: village background.
Resources and Equipment.
School provides all textbooks, but needs more. Has
received science equipment from F.A.B. Fairly wellstocked 1 ibrary,mostly from F.A.B., but no evidence
of wide use. Students not keen on reading.
Lab. facilities adequate to Form Four but could
be improved.
PROCESS
School has long tradition, which
lends stability.
Financial problems have meant
there have been no physical
improvements for years - some
buildings run-down.
Classrooms dull and uninspiring bare walls, no evidence of
creative work.
Appeared to be well-organized
school.
Harsh punishments for wrong-doers.
School has extensive wellmaintained gardens - mainly
food for boarders' consumption.
Compulsory church and Sunday
School attendance. Reflects
strong Fijian Methodist ethos
of school.
Absenteeism is a problem at
times.
OUTPUT
F.J.C. Means (1988)
English
- 44.6%
Mathematics - 51.1%
Basic Science- 47.6%
Social Science 47.6%
Total
- 328.3
F.J.C. Pass Rates.
1983 - 57%
1984 - 49%
1985 - 84%
1986 - 85%
1987 - 78%
1988 - 75%
Fluctuating pass rate, slightly
below national average for 1987
and 1988.
Employment Prospects.
Most return to villages, some
go to Suva for jobs or study.
WALU SCHOOL
400
INPUTS
Contextual factors.
At northern end of island of Kadavu. Not
immediately next to villages, but a number of
villages accessible by walking or small boat.
No road connections. No electricity or telephone.
Boat from Suva calls weekly - about 7-8 hours
from Suva by boat.
Management. (Grant-aided)
Management committee consists of local people
from surrounding area. Committee meets monthly
or more often. Good relationship between principal
and committee - a lot of freedom given to principal
and teachers. Kadavu Provincial Council contributes
about F$10,000 annually to school, but not involved
in management decisions. No financial problems.
Principal.
Had been at school 5 years, Principal for past year.
(Deputy before that).
Teachers.
Staff of 7. All Fijians. Fully staffed.
Staff movements not a major problem.
Students.
Roll of 81. (Form 1 - 4 ) . 100% Fijian. 61 boarders.
Non-selective. Most children from adjoining primary
school.
Resources and Equipment.
School provides all textbooks.
No laboratory at time of visit, but had equipment
donated by F.A.B. to install.
Reasonably wellstocked library - many books donated by F.A.B. and
N.Z. aid.
Ministry of Education donated equipment for Home
Economics and Technical subjects. Video deck and
screen with own small generator. One classroom
lit by solar power.
PROCESS
A general air of optimism in the
school which is recovering from a
decline in roll and in morale.
Classrooms brightly decorated with
pictures and posters.
Bright, airy classrooms with new
desks and chairs.
School run on 'traditional Fijian
lines' - totally Fijian context and
cultural ethos.
Strict discipline.
Students do gardening daily for
school food supply.
Extensive use of Fijian language
both in and out of classrooms.
Compulsory church attendance and
choir practice.
School appears to be innovative
and progressive despite its extreme
isolation.
OUTPUT
F.J.C. Means (1988)
English
67.7%
Mathematics 61.1%
Basic Science70.1%
Social Science
69.9%
Total
410.3
F.J.C. Pass Rates.
1983 - 93%
1984 - 50%
1985 - 89%
1986 - 93%
1987 - 90%
1988 - 100%
Apart from 1984, pass rates have
been well above national
averages.
Employment prospects.
Many go to Suva for Form Five,
or to try to find employment.
Many return to villages after
some time in Suva.
Some go to Ono School for
Form Five.
CIWA SCHOOL
INPUTS
401
Contextual factors.
In Suva suburb about 4 miles from Central Business
District. Close to army camp and large low-cost
housing area with mainly Fijian population.
Good urban infrastructure. Close to bus routes.
Management. (Grant-aided)
Run by Suva branch of Fiji Muslim League.
Principal has good working relationship with
committee, which gives him a free rein.
Teachers.
Staff of 26. 25 Indians and 1 Fijian.
Stable staff but some planning to migrate.
Students.
Roll of 519. (Form 1 - 6 ) . 350 Indians,
160 Fijians, 9 Others.
Most students from feeder school, on fairly
non-selective basis. Can afford to be a little
selective now school is known as a 'good' school
due to high pass rates in external examinations.
SES: wide range from very poor to middle class.
Resources and Equipment.
Fully equipped with video, photocopier, duplicator,
4 computers.
Well-stocked library. Obviously well used.
School is becoming overcrowded. Science lab is
doubling up as classroom and classes are large.
Students buy own textbooks, except for expensive
Form 5 and 6 texts.
PROCESS
School buildings quite modern, clean
and in good condition.
Teachers have easy, open relationships
with pupils - less formal and authori­
tative than in rural areas. Children
more open in terms of questioning
teachers, etc.
Large classes - often over 40.
Some charts on classroom walls.
Evidence of creative work on library
walls.
Boys and girls sat together, as did
children of different races.
Generally a pleasant atmosphere in
the school - lively and noisy but not
unruly.
Muslim influence important but not
dominating. Lessons in Muslim
religion and Arabic are taught and
there is a holy room where boys go to
pray at lunchtime.
Strong emphasis on sports, art,
debating etc.
OUTPUT
F.J.C. Means (1988)
English
69.9%
Mathematics 82.6%
Basic Science
68.4%
Social Science 78.5%
Total
- 465.1
F.J.C. Pass Rates
1983 - 93%
1984 - 95%
1985 - 100%
1986 - 100%
1987 - 100%
1988 - 100%
Pass rates in F.J.C. have made
it one of the most consistently
successful schools in Fiji.
Employment Prospects.
Most students seek tertiary
education. Indians especially
aspire to go abroad.
TINI SCHOOL
INPUTS
402
Contextual factors.
Located in affluent residential area of Suva,
5-6 miles from Central Business District.
Two large peri-urban Fijian settlements
nearby.
Good urban infrastructure.
Management.
Basically in principal's hands. There is an
adminsitrative council consisting mainly of
senior school staff.
Totally funded by Church of Jesus Christ of the
Latter Day Saints from both local and overseas
funds. No financial help from Fiji Government.
Principal.
An American educated New Zealand Maori.
Was sent to school 2-3 years ago to 'put things
right.'
Teachers.
Staff of 26. About 80% church members.
Not many staff changes, although some Indian
teachers left after coups of 1987.
Students.
Roll of 472. (Forms 1 - 6 ) . 80% Fijian,
10% Indian, 10% Others.
Give priority to own feeder school, but take
others if space. Non-selective.
SES: mostly from lower SES groups, with some
diversity - farmers, wage earners etc, few
middle class children.
Resources and Equipment.Fully equipped for wide range of academic,
technical and vocational subjects; also for
sports and music.
School buildings modern, architect-designed
fully carpeted.
School provides all textbooks.
PROCESS
Strong emphasis on Mormon orientation
of school.
Explicit ethos 'character higher than
intellect'.
All students take compulsory religion
lesson daily - 'seminary' - regarded
by principal as most important lesson.
Active conversion to Mormonism.
(Mormon students pay lower school fees).
American orientation to organization
of school, although Fiji curriculum
followed.
A lot of emphasis on non-academic
subjects, e.g. sports and music.
Very modern classrooms, well-equipped,
often decorated with charts etc.
Despite pseudo-American style,
discipline tends to be on traditional
Fijian lines.
Fijian language spoken widely between
teachers and students.
OUTPUT
F.J.C. Means (1988)
English
62.1%
Mathematics
50.8%
Basic Science
56.9%
Social Science 60.5%
Total
336.3
F.J.C. Pass Rates
1983 - 47%
1984 - 47%
1985 - 69%
1986 - 54%
1987 - 82%
1988 - 64%
Fluctuating performance, above
national average for first time in
1987.
Academic achievement not a priority
of school.
Employment Prospects.
Varies greatly.
Scholarships
available for capable students to
attend Mormon universities in U.S.A.
TINIKADUA SCHOOL
INPUTS
Contextual factors.
In Suva suburb about 4 miles from Central Business
District. Low-cost housing areas and army camp
nearby, both with mainly Fijian population (Almost
next-door to Ciwa School). Good urban infrastructure.
Management.
(Grant-aided)
403
Run by committee of local people.
Committee is fairly inactive and meetings held
infrequently. Committee not energetic or innovative
(according to principal).
Has had some very bad management in the past and some
bad financial problems.
School was started in 1950s by a paramount chief to
cater for rural/urban drift. Has been run by
committees since then.
Principal.
Present principal had been at school 6 months. Has
had changes of principal every two or three years
for some time.
Teachers.
Staff of 26. 18 Fijians and 8 Indians.
Staff changes can be a problem.
Students.
Roll of 453. (Forms 1 - 6 ) . 100% Fijian.
Most children from feeder school.
SES: mixed, but mainly lower income - wage earners,
unemployed, casual workers, army. Many children
from nearby low-cost housing estates and many from
single parent families.
Resources and Equipment.~
School provides most textbooks when available.
Library - reasonably stocked, but no evidence of
regular use. Science labs adequate but could be
better. 2 computers given by govt, but nowhere
to put them.
PROCESS
Declared ethos of school - based on
combination of Christianity and
traditional Fijian values.
'Fijian manners' especially respect,
judged very important. Values of
uniformity, obedience and cooperation
stressed.
School has cadet training one after­
noon a week, alternating with Fijian
culture.
Aggressive assertion of Fijian
culture is dominant ethos of school.
Classrooms in fairly poor physical
condition - dirty and in ill-repair.
Nothing on walls. Unstimulating
environment for learning and teaching.
Absenteeism is a problem. Children
are often kept home by parents to do
work or to do errands.
OUTPUT
F.J.C. Means (1988)
English
56.2%
Mathematics 51.6%
Basic Science48.7%
Social Science
44.2%
Total
312.4
F.J.C. Pass Rates
1983
48%
1984
39%
1985
83%
1986
71%
1987
64%
1988
62%
Except for 1985, results have
generally been well below
national averages. Passes tend
to be low grades.
Employment Prospects.
Few go to tertiary education or
training.
Most become wage-earners in Suva,
AP PE ND IX SIX
C O R R E L A T I O N S OF FIJI
JU NI O R
E XA M I N A T I O N SU B J EC T S HA RKS WITH EACH
CO M P U L S O R Y
SCHOOL:
SUBJECTS)
FOR S C H OO LS
OT H E R
CE RT I F I C A T E
(FOR
FOUR
IN FI EL D STUDY.
DUA
English
Maths
Bas ic
Sc ience
Soc ial
Sc ience
Total
1.00
.6018
.6523
.8061
.8357
Maths
.6013
1.00
.7099
.5533
.8249
B.Sc ience
.6523
.7099
1.00
.7752
.8643
S.Sc ience
.8061
.5533
.7752
tH
.8254
Total
.8357
.8249
.8643
.8254
English
Maths
Basic
Sc ience
Soc ial
Sc ience
.7833
.8011
.8818
SCHOOL:
o
o
English
1.00
RUA
Total
English
1.00
.6670
Maths
.6670
1.00
.7779
.6612
.8399
B.Sc ience
.7833
.7779
1.00
.7417
.8988
S.Sc ience
.8011
.6612
.7417
1.00
.8701
Total
.8818
.8399
.8988
.8701
1.00
English
Maths
Bas ic
Sc ience
Soc ial
Sc ience
Total
English
1.00
.6342
.6880
.8249
.8356
Maths
.6342
1.00
.7958
.7414
.8752
B.Sc ie nc e
.6880
.7958
1.00
.7613
.9187
S.Sc ience
.8249
.7414
.7613
1.00
.9010
Total
.8356
.8752
.9187
.9010
1.00
SCHOOL:
•
TOLU
- 404 -
SCHOOL:
VA
Maths
Basic
Science
Soc ial
Sc ience
Total
English
1.00
.5397
.5272
.7777
.7648
Maths
.5397
1.00
.7371
.6201
.8884
B.Sc ience
.5272
.7371
1.00
.6130
.7842
S.Sc ience
.7777
.6201
.6130
H
Total
.7648
.8884
.7842
.7985
1.00
English
Maths
Bas ic
Sc ience
Soc ial
Sc ience
Total
English
1.00
.7286
.9091
.7503
.9084
Maths
.7286
1.00
.7630
.6236
.7849
B.Sc ience
.9091
.7630
1.00
.8837
.9745
S.Sc ience
.7503
.6236
.8837
1.00
.9066
Total
.9084
.7849
.9745
.9066
1.00
English
Maths
Basic
Sc ience
Soc ial
Sc ience
Total
English
1.00
.4486
.6142
.7474
.7680
Maths
.4486
1.00
.7120
.5693
.7970
B.Sci enc e
.6142
.7120
1.00
.6167
.8333
S.Sc ience
.7474
.5693
.6167
1.00
.8230
Total
.7680
.7970
.8333
.8230
1.00
SCHOOL:
SCHOOL:
o
o
English
.7985
LIMA
0N0
SCHOOL:
VITU
English
Maths
Basic
Sc ience
Social
Sc ience
Total
English
1.00
.5878
.6058
.8264
.8449
Maths
.5878
1.00
.5537
.7333
.6974
B.Sc ience
.6058
.5537
1.00
.6100
.7041
S.Sc ience
.8264
.7333
.6100
1.00
.8006
Total
.8449
.6974
.7041
.8006
1.00
English
Maths
Bas ic
Sc ience
Soc ial
Sc ience
Total
English
1.00
.3628
.4632
.6791
.6720
Maths
.3628
.7876
.5821
.8137
B.Sc ience
.4632
.7876
o
o
.7380
.9014
S.Sc ience
.6791
.5821
.7380
1.00
.8532
Total
.6720
.8137
.9014
.8532
1. 00
Engli sh
Maths
Bas ic
Sc ience
Soc ial
Sc ience
Total
English
1.00
.4546
.5474
.6180
.6990
Maths
.4546
1.00
.7246
.7274
.8677
B.Sc ience
.5474
.7246
1.00
.7744
.8273
S.Sc ience
.6180
.7274
.7744
1.00
.8947
Total
.6990
.8677
.8273
8947
o
o
SCHOOL:
o
o
♦
rH
SCHOOL:
WALU
CIWA
SCHOOL:
TINI
English
Maths
Basic
Sc ience
Social
Sc ience
Total
English
1.00
.6466
.6953
.8265
.7796
Maths
.6466
1.00
.8244
.7386
.8533
B. Sc ience
.6953
.8244
1.00
.7453
.8284
S.Sc ience
.8265
.7386
.7453
1.00
.8055
Total
.7796
.8533
.8284
.8055
1.00
English
Maths
Bas ic
Sc ience
Soc ial
Sc ience
Total
English
1.00
.6436
.7071
.7787
.8016
Maths
.6436
.1.00
.7020
.6614
.8439
B.Sc ience
.7071
.7020
1.00
.8182
.8656
S.Sc ience
.7787
.6614
.8182
1.00
.8766
Total
.8016
.8439
.8656
.8766
1.00
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