International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives

The Conference as Feast

Kabini Sanga, Martyn Reynolds, Adreanne Ormond — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

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Su’esu’e manogi: Conceptualising the fragrances of equity in higher education. A case study from Oceania

Tim Baice — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Equity policies in higher education are focused on dismantling barriers and redressing inequalities that restrict the participation and success of students from historically excluded groups. In some Universities across Oceania, ‘underrepresented’ includes students of Pacific heritage alongside students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, rural areas, students with disabilities and LGBTIQA+ students. Despite good intentions, equity policies can often contribute to the problems they seek to address with an overt focus on equity groups and identities. Little attention is directed towards reviewing the education ecosystems that create barriers to higher education. My research adopts an Indigenous Pacific (Sāmoan) framework, ‘Su’esu’e manogi, in search of fragrances’ as a conceptual tool to critically analyse and understand historical and contemporary manogi (fragrances) that frame and inform current equity policies and discourses in Oceania. Manogi is used as a metaphor to represent the worldviews, theories and ideologies that underpin equity policies and discourses. Using a case study, I present the findings of research that reviewed equity policies and discourses at the University of Auckland and their implications for Pacific learners. I found a series of tensions and disharmonies in manogi based on the interpretation of equity subscribed to by the institution. Equity policy discourses that are disparaging produce disharmony and unpleasant pungent manogi when they are based on deficit framing and are relegated to the periphery of higher education priorities. Equity policy discourses that are harmonious and produce sweet aromatic manogi for Pacific students are framed by commitments to social justice and sustainable development, recognise the principle of difference and the impact of structural factors on achievement. Drawing on the inspiration of the Rethinking Pacific Education Initiative for Pacific Peoples (RPEIPP) and “Revisioning education in Oceania: Walking backwards into the future together,” my research presents timely considerations for collective rethinking and revisioning of equity in Oceania.

Shifting policy perspectives and practices: From access to basic education to prioritizing revenue collection

Grace Rohoana — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

School leaders in Solomon Islands have shifted away from the basic education policy that promotes equitable access to quality basic education to practices that target high enrolment to generate revenue. This research highlights the implications of this shift and its impact on quality education. It aims at finding the balance between the school’s financial viability and the imperative to provide equitable and quality education for all children. The following questions are examined: 1) What are the different types of fees charged for educating a child in Solomon Islands; 2) Are schools enrolling students in numbers that match the infrastructure and human resources available locally? 3) Are the grants provided by the government adequate to administer schools? The significance of the study lies in its potential to inform education policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders about the consequences of this changing agenda. Parent experiences on fees charged, school children and teacher’s experiences on the impacts of high enrolments are explored. School Leaders rationale for charging different types of fees were sought. A total of 12 participants were involved in this research. Data collected via tok stori were recorded and subsequently transcribed, qualitatively analyzed and thematically organized. Data showed that schools in the capital, Honiara, experienced high school enrolment, putting pressure on the limited infrastructures available and overloading teachers. Apart from normal fees, schools charged various fees for registration, school development, church program, parent contributions and student transfer. The study provides important insights into the challenges posed by the shifting perspective and practices towards prioritizing revenue collection over access through increased student enrollment.

Exploring inclusive education (IE) research in Tonga through Tongan cultural lenses and methodologies

Meleana Lahaina Koloto — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

This article explores my PhD research into Tongan family practice, looking at how Tongan families support and care for their member with siva-tu‘amelie's (special needs) education. The article discusses the layered approach of both Pacific and non-Pacific methodologies that I used during the study to ensure a safe space for participants. This allowed for rich, high quality stories to be collected. The article also outlines how the approach used promoted a strength-based perception and lens towards a subject that is often associated with negative connotations. My study highlighted the positive, strength-based aspirations and care Tongan families have for their members with siva-tu‘amelie that contradicts common notions of Tongan families viewing their siva-tu‘amelie members through a medical or religious lens. A brief background of siva-tu‘amelie in Tonga is also given, outlining the importance of my study in creating a shift in the way individuals with siva-tu‘amelie are perceived.

Pā’ina: Using the metaphor of a potluck to reimagine a third space for ethical research in Indigenous contexts

Elisabeth Moore — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

This paper delves into the innovative use of the potluck, or pā’ina, as a metaphor to reimagine a research approach aimed at fostering collective understanding between non-Indigenous knowledge seekers and Indigenous knowledge guardians in Indigenous contexts. By embracing the broader context of research, this metaphor strives to create a dialogical, relational, and ethical space for knowledge seekers to engage with knowledge guardians, promoting a reciprocal and respectful relationship. Central to this metaphor is the recognition of the insider/outsider binary and the need to transcend it. Indigenous knowledge is often guarded and restricted, granted access based on relationships and shared experiences. Understanding the complexity of these socio-spatial relationships is crucial for researchers to navigate respectfully. The metaphor also draws from the Oceanic concept of vā/va/wā, signifying the space between entities and the importance of maintaining harmony and balance within relationships. This relational space between the self and the other allows for transformative encounters and meaningful connections. To navigate this third space, researchers must undergo introspective reflexive exercises to understand their situationality and how it influences their research. Knowledge seekers must unsettle their histories, understand context, listen to the stories of others, create shared understanding, and launch new relationships that are centered on respect and reciprocity. Throughout the research process, the metaphor of pā’ina encourages researchers to be active participants, nurturing relationships with communities they seek knowledge from and reflecting upon their role within it. The pā’ina metaphor offers a transformative approach for Western academia to critically examine its historical impact on Indigenous communities and embrace a more respectful and inclusive research paradigm. By centering Indigenous voices and building meaningful relationships, this third space provides an opportunity for collaborative and sustainable research for the benefit of all stakeholders involved.

From the ground up: Weaving a tok Stori of quality education

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Quality education is an often-heard term that has no single meaning. In this paper, we use the metaphor of mat weaving to structure an exploration of various elements that inform quality education. To form the mat, a warp of literature-derived threads is woven with the weft of practitioners’ ideas of quality education. These local perspectives were gifted through tok stori, a Melanesian oral form, through a session held at the OCIES 2022 Conference at the Fiji National University. The session brought together frontline educators from diverse Pacific settings to explore the dynamics of quality across contexts ‘from the ground up’, a seldom investigated direction. The woven discussion includes explorations of tensions between colonial pasts and the present, and points to hopeful expectations about the not-yet-here. The resultant mat balances prevalent notions of quality that flow from distant places into Pacific settings with locally derived positional understandings, and in so doing offers contextual flesh and currency to some of the key concepts valued by regional initiatives.

Teachers’ perceptions of socio-cultural practices on students’ academic achievement in North Pentecost, Vanuatu

Dominique Mahuri, Jeremy Dorovolomo, Amton Mwaraksurmes — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

This study investigated teachers’ perceptions of sociocultural factors affecting students’ academic achievement in Zone Five North Pentecost, Vanuatu. A qualitative study, it sees its forty-five participants as ‘a culture-sharing group’, documenting their attitudes, perceptions, beliefs and their shared approaches towards sociocultural and classroom practices in relation to students’ academic work. Teachers’ perceptions from both etic and emic perspectives within their cultural and social context, and their meanings and processes were investigated. Based on Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of learning the argument proposes that learning happens through interaction within the socio-cultural context. All contexts are complex with intertwining systems of collective behaviours and simultaneous interactions with the environment. Diverse sociocultural factors affecting academic achievement were identified including kava as a socio-cultural keystone, religious responsibilities of community members, domestic commitments towards families and wider communities and traditional formalities such as bolololi (Traditional pig-killing ceremony), mateana (funerary ceremonies) and lagiana (marriage). These aspects of daily interactions among Zone Five communities influenced the relationship between teaching and learning pedagogies. Despite setbacks to learning, teachers suggested the urgent need for a culturally inclusive curriculum to assist students to acquire important communal values, understand their spiritual and cultural phenomena, live sustainably with their environment and maintain a healthy life while adhering to the virtues of citizenship and governance.

Post-Pandemic Lessons Learnt from Student Reflections: A Case Study of Diploma-level Students at the Fiji National University

Afrada Shah — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

The global pandemic led to an expansion of research pertaining to education in the new normal. Lived experiences of students were mostly documented through surveys or in-depth online interviews due to movement restrictions. One issue with such approaches is that students are guided by set questions and have limited opportunities to cathartically reflect upon their experiences. With this in consideration, a case study approach was used with the overarching aim to explore the lived experiences of students in Fiji during the global pandemic using an online reflective assessment. As part of their coursework, students were required to complete a reflective assessment which was based on their pandemic-related experiences. Sixty submissions which met the inclusion criteria of the current study were included based on purposive sampling. Findings from this study support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 as it confirmed myriad student experiences including financial, learning, lifestyle, and mental health challenges. Students also reflected upon the notion of 'social distancing versus social disrespect’ as in the case of Fiji, the phrase ‘it takes a whole village’ is not just a metaphor but literal as the concept of individualism is quite alien to this socio-cultural context. Positive reflections were also documented including revival of traditional systems (‘veisa’ - barter system), strengthening social connectedness using technology and demonstration of values such as resilience and genuine care. This research also suggests the value of reflective assessments using online platforms to avoid the constraints and encourage students to mine their own lives for insight away from a traditional classroom setting.

Editorial: Revisioning education in Oceania: Walking backward into the future, together

Adreanne Ormond, Kabini Sanga — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

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