In transition or confusion
Recently a spate of articles and letters on curriculum change appeared in The Fiji Times. My concern about this issue was prompted by an article reporting a deal signed by UNFPA and the Ministry of Education (MoE, Feb, 28) to revamp the Family Life Education (FLE) curriculum. Following that, a correspondent (March 06: 8, Curriculum review), urged the education department to engage local expertise to contribute to local knowledge to the new curriculum, which I took to mean, cultural values. However, in the FLE curriculum change proposal there is no mention of incorporating local cultural values, but only international standards. There lies a major problem. In a series of articles I want to address a conflict between the two standards, international and local (iTaukei) culture. It includes my take on the FLE curriculum and the whole idea of reforming the education department, in accordance with international standards. But at the outset, let me first address how I think we should view our curriculum and what it should represent. Although my discussion makes references mainly to iTaukei people, I believe it applies to all non-Western cultures in the context of education policy.
A curriculum for today and tomorrow
THE current curricula at primary and secondary levels and even at university are Western-oriented, the contents largely reflect Western ideas, beliefs and values. They are taught in Western ways and the outcomes are assessed by criteria prioritised in Western culture. This ensures that Western ideas and values continue to be emphasised at the expense of giving adequate attention to aspects of local culture. The curricula as they stand are contributing to the erosion of indigenous cultural values and beliefs, language and practices.
There have been calls to teach classroom subjects in vernacular and use it as media of instructions beginning from infant classes. This will help in recovering some lost culture especially in our transition from the curricula of yesteryears. However, even if this change is implemented, students are still likely to be taught and assessed in a linear way (explained later) which goes against the grain of how in traditional contexts iTaukei students learn and view their world. I mentioned earlier that the way students are assessed in the classroom helps to maintain what is valued in Western cultures to the neglect of what is most valued in non-Western cultures. Even if vernacular is used as a media of instruction, it does not guarantee that indigenous language and culture will survive the onslaught of modernity, because the iTaukei epistemology and its supportive methods of assessment are absent. However, for now at least, we must make do with incremental changes until we are ready for costly major change, perhaps a complete transformation.
Some might argue that if nonWestern peoples seek to maintain their cultures despite the unrelenting encroachment of another culture, then we have very little leeway. After all, almost everything around us is saturated with Western values, language, thinking and material possessions. What is the use of trying to bring change? But in fact, an international move is indeed underway for an education transformation because it is recognised that students of other cultures have long been disadvantaged. It is time for learning in the classroom to adopt holistic and collaborative approaches. At present, much of the classroom learning is individual/learner-centred and seeking progress through a linear series of stages, whereas collaborative and relational learning is preferable in collective settings. This is one major reason to reform the system. There is also now a move in many countries to integrate alternative knowledge as part of the curriculum, which should help rejuvenate and preserve and perhaps build on what has been lost. It has also been acknowledged by social scientists that such changes can help address some of the global crises we are facing today such as threat to our natural environment. This approach is in line with Indigenous philosophy of holism and working collaboratively. In their traditional worldview indigenous people believe that everything is interrelated, living and non-living, and that such relationships must be respected and fostered. This philosophical approach, could potentially improve students’ understanding and learning in the classroom, as well as encourage respect for the environment, and the value of alternative cultures.
Does this mean that Indigenous epistemology and pedagogy will take over from the Western linear approach in the classroom? Not necessarily as the objective is to maintain a balance between the two. Currently, there is a push for ecologies of knowledge, the integration of alternative and Western knowledges, for example in New Zealand, Australia and Hawaii. I will later give an example to illustrate how iTaukei concepts can be incorporated into a lesson using the FLE curriculum.
There are also demands to integrate non-Western ideas to do the same with STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects, incorporating concepts based on alternative knowledges. Nunn and Kumar's article in the The Sunday Times (March 24 p. 15) is an example of how traditional and Western science can complement each other. STEM subjects generally serve neoliberal objectives as research has found. The emphasis on neoliberal values is about individual achievement, competition and the belief that human beings are at the top of the ecological niche. They run counter to a collective belief that view human beings are equal in value to every other entity.
So, there are the problems of incorporating contents of alternative knowledge(s) into a heavily Westernised curriculum in an attempt to be inclusive of non-Western learners, and of developing appropriate ways of teaching and assessment methods. In terms of iTaukei ways of teaching, problem-solving is the key, which is true too in other cultures including those on the West. Assessment should assess the iTaukei values as these have been mastered by students. It is equally important to balance the approach with Western values since we are living and breathing the global culture.
In my next article, I will highlight the clashes between linear and circular worldviews and the need to break down boundaries between disciplines and departments in schools, as well as subjects, to facilitate the incorporation of iTaukei contents.
■ ETA VARANI has a PhD from the University of Sydney. She taught at various schools in Fiji, University of the South Pacific and Fiji National University. At Macquarie University and Sydney University she taught education and indigenous studies. The views expressed in this article are hers and not of this newspaper.