THE PURPOSES OF INDUSTRIAL ARTS EDUCATION
IN WESTERN SAMOA
by Philip Fox,
FOREWORD
1. The purpose of this paper is to provoke, and provide a basis for,
intelligent discussion of the subject: The purposes of Industrial Arts
Education in Western Samoa. For that reason, it should not be regarded
as in any way final but, rather, as a beginning. In some sections a
didactic approach has been taken; this is deliberate as it is often the best
way to stimulate meaningful discussion.
2. Because this paper is written to be read by both Samoans and non-
Samoans, there are parts of it which some readers will inevitably find
overly detailed due to previous knowledge.
3. This paper reflects only my own views. They may not be those of others
at the Western Samoa Secondary Teachers' College, the Department of
Education or any overseas agency or institution.
4. The writer of this paper is a foreigner with only two years of residence in
Samoa. Its faults due to ignorance of Samoan conditions will, I hope, be
rectified by those with much longer experience of the country. Only after
such corrections will a final statement of policy be close to the real needs
of Western Samoa.
INTRODUCTION
In most countries where Industrial Arts is a part of formal, institutionalised
education it is regarded as part of a child's general education. It has no more
relation to a future occupation than do many other school-taught subjects, but
serves as background knowledge for a life in a culture where technology is as
fundamental to every-day life as, say, the history of language of that culture.
Such countries and cultures are, of course, those termed "developed".
Western Samoa is among those "developing" countries attempting to
introduce formal ndustrial Arts education, so the purpose of the subject must
be analysed in the context of Samoa and its geographical region.
It is safe to say that the subject must be thought of from a fundamentally
different viewpoint from that used in developed countries. The previous
statement on developed countries with a cultural background of technology,
when compared with Samoa which has no such background, implies opposite
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poles of the static/dynamic continuum. The terms "developed" and
"developing", which are often so loosely used, here have greater meaning.
The past tense of the verb implies that development is complete, within the
limits of present technology. In the same way "developing" means a process
of dynamic change, a movement upward on the curve of development. The
speed and direction of this change depend, to a greater or lesser extent, on the
education now being planned for Samoan children.
It is worth adding here that the term "development" usually refers to industrial
development. It is unlikely that industrialisation, as the term is understood in
western countries, is either desirable or possible in Western Samoa. One of
the purposes of Industrial Arts education in Samoa is therefore to provide a
fundamental base of technological knowledge so as to enable the population
as a whole, and the leaders in particular, to make educated decisions on the
mode and direction that any industrial development should take. It also should
aim to increase the options in this area that are open to both leaders and
individuals.
Industrialisation is, of course, only the most easily recognised (and most widely
discussed) factor in Samoa's future technological development. What cannot
be ignored is the effect of imported small goods in the country. These are
gradually forming part of everyday life in even the most remote villages. The
acceptance of foreign technology in this form is already well rooted; it is too
late to stop it, even if it were desirable to do so. In fact the demand for such
household items will inevitably increase; the labour-saving of, for example,
kitchen utensils cannot be denied, nor can one question the pleasure given to
a family by a tape recorder.
In short therfore, Industrial Arts education in Western Samoa needs to be just
as much a part of general education as it is in "developed" countries. The
course prepares children to live in a culture where technology is an existing
condition of everyday life, whereas in Samoa it must be directed to the
preparation of children for a life of constant technological change. This
condition of future change is not limited to factors that affect the nation as a
whole, but includes those that affect the individual on a personal basis within
the home.
Thus the subject must not be termed, nor treated as, a "vocational" one.
While it is true that the introduction of Industrial Arts into the Samoan school
system will, hopefully, lead a number of children into jobs in areas where the
knowledge they have gained will be useful, the same applies to mathematics
and, to a far greater extent, the teaching of English language. The far more
important goal of Industrial Arts education is that of familiarising the
population of Samoa with basic technology.
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Socio-Cultural Factors
Some sociologists claim that the culture of Samoa is relatively static, that is to
say, that change is avoided where possible. This claim can well be disputed,
is worth discussing here, if only briefly.
It is argued that exposure to " w e s t e r n " influence over the last 150 years,
particularly during and since the second world war, brought changes to
Samoa and caused Samoans to realise that these charges cannot be avoided;
in many cases, they are desirable. However it would be closer to the truth to
say that changes in Samoa are approached with caution, and that this
could well be called a sign of wisdom.
The Samoan reaction to new ideas from abroad seems, to a foreigner,
ambivalent. While the value of a new idea may be appreciated, it is quite
possible that it will be rejected, in part or wholly. It is, perhaps, the
sophisticated selectiveness of the Samoan judgement in such matters that
confuses the foreigner most: an idea that may seem, to an outsider, to be
complete in itself may well be broken down into its constituent parts, some of
which are accepted and others rejected. Rejection may be based on the
cultural changes which the introduction of a new concept may bring about, or
on something more concrete. In any case, the process of assessment,
followed by acceptance or rejection, is hard, if not impossible, for a foreigner
to follow. (It is, of course, an impertinence to assume that the patterns of logic
that are used in one culture should apply in another).
Although the resistance to externally inflicted change may have been
overemphasised, it is true nevertheless that the majority of Samoans are not
internally motivated to bring about changes, even though they may
themselves see the desirability of a change. (Admittedly, there are a minority
for whom this is completely untrue.)
If we restrict this generalisation to the subject of Industrial Arts and narrow the
term "change" to the use of a new small object in the home, the problem
becomes more clear. To use a rather simple example, a strong and adequate
toilet roll holder can easily be made out of wood using nothing more than a
bush knife, and a hammer to fix the holder in place. The average villager
appreciates the value of a toilet roll holder but does not possess one because,
rather than thinking. " H o w can I make it?", he thinks " Can I afford to buy
one?". Since the cost of an imported holder is absurdly high in proportion to
its value to the family, it usually remains unbought. To sum up, the concept
that the individual is able to, and free to, bring about desirable minor changes
by using his own mind and muscle is absent from the average Samoan.
Since it is essential that invention and innovation be encouraged, it is clear
57
that a Samoan Industrial Arts course must not only teach skills but be
designed to bring about an attitudinal change in the area of creative problem-
solving. The possibility that this change in attitude may in itself cause cultural
conflict is one that has to be recognised and discussed.
Another cultural problem that must be faced in Samoa, as in all developing
countries that are now entering the phase of technological development, is the
absence of manual dexterity in handling tools and of the fundamental
comprehension of how and why tools and materials function. Therefore, a
course designed for Samoan children has to start at a more basic level than
would one for children in "developed" countries. In such countries there is a
high level of informal education in this area which is inevitably absent in all pre-
technological cultures. For example, children in "developed" countries learn
that a knob protruding from an object is usually meant to be turned; the
average child learns this before learning to talk. Soon be learns that a knob,
when turned, affects some variable within the object to which it is attached so
that, by about age 3, a child can usually adjust the various knobs on, say, a
television set with reasonable accuracy. This informal education in technology
is absent in a culture where knobs etc. are absent. (It need hardly be said that,
at the same age, a child in Samoa will be adept at other skills which a foreign
child would have difficulty in learning at a later age.)
The problem is compounded by the fact that there were, in the area of
Western Polynesia of which Samoa forms a part, no highly developed
indigenous art forms involving the manipulation of material. While song,
oratory and dance were, and still are, highly developed and creative, the level
of carving, painting etc. was low when compared t o , say, in the Solomon
Islands, New Zealand, or most areas of Papua-New Guinea.
Samoa is thus faced with a double problem in Industrial Arts education, the
absence of fundamental skills and of an innovative approach to problem-
solving. It is worth adding that the mere possession of skills does n o t bring
about the creative application of these skills. Examples of this can be seen in
any Samoan woodwork shop, where the articles may be excellently made but
are invariably either the simple traditional products such as the mortar used for
crushing cacao beans, or copies of foreign designs. The extent of copying can
be appreciated when one realises that the lavalava chest (which could now
almost be regarded as traditional!) is, in fact, a copy of cabin trucks brought by
early settlers.
To resolve this double problem, it is essential that both skills and creativity be
taught in an integrated form.
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THE ECONOMIC FACTOR
The present economic situation of Western Samoa is rather unstable,
according to some government sources. To quote a government publication,1
it is " . . . characterised by high inflation, a sizable trade deficit on the balance of
payments, and low international reserves."
The trade deficit for 1979 varies between $WS 34,737,753 and $WS45,856,756
depending on which figures are used for the cost of imports.2 In either case,
when these figures are compared to the value of exports — $WS15,339,758 —
they are frighteningly large.
Although there is an increase in the deficit when compared to that of 1978
(whichever figures are used) it should be added that the rate of increase is less
in either case. The rate, which had been increasing exponentially since 1959
(the last year in which trade figures balanced), is perhaps slowing down due to
the devaluation of the tala and other measures taken to restrain imports.
It is not enough, of course, to reduce the rate of deficit increase — a
progressive decrease must be seen, or the country will have to depend on ever
greater international aid and remittances from Samoans living overseas. Since
neither of these (particularly the latter) are very likely to increase it may well be
that the government will have to take draconian steps to restrain imports still
further.
As stated before, Samoa is not suited to a massive programme of industrialisa-
tion even if the government chose this course. The most probable development
policy will therefore be one of encouraging the formation of what is often
termed "cottage industry" aimed, at least at first, at import substitution and,
later, the exportation of finished goods.
In Samoa the existing social and economic infrastructure of village and aiga
(extended family) organisations should provide a stable base for such small
industries without dependence on imported capital or the development of the
economic "dualism" that is a major problem in many developing countries. In
the long term, such a policy should lead to the growth of some industries
beyond the "cottage" level and therefore to the development of a stable,
decentralised industrial base appropriate to the needs of the country.3
Such a plan would depend on the education of individuals who would be
sufficiently innovative as to form a rural "entrepreneurial class (which hardly
exists at present in Samoa) within the existing cultural framework. It could be
said that the encouragement of the personal development of such individuals
is the most important economic purpose of Industrial Arts education in
Western Samoa.4
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Agriculture
Samoa's dependence on agriculture (including forestry) cannot be over-
emphasised as this, with fishing, is the only natural resource available to the
nation. While agriculture and fishery per se are outside the domain of
Industrial Arts, the following points are relevant.
The terrain of Samoa, and also the system of land tenure, minimise the use of
large agricultural machines, so the country will have to rely largely on hand
tools or small machine tools. In relation to an Industrial Arts course in schools
this means that, in preparing individuals for the small scale industrial
development foreseen, the following factors should be emphasised:
1. In the case of agricultural hand tools that are at present made in Samoa,
teachers and children should be encouraged to produce these more
cheaply and to make them more durable. This should be extended to
imported hand tools, which should be investigated in order to determine
if they could be produced in schools. This should also include the
possibility of improving a foreign design so as to make it more suitable
for use in Samoa.
2. In the case of small machine tools, the most important area for effort in
education is in their maintenance. Such tools will continue to be a drain
on Samoa's reserves of foreign currency, and are also affected by import
restrictions, so every effort must be made to keep them working as long
and efficiently as possible. This emphasis on maintenance applies, not
only to agricultural equipment, but also to a wide range of imported
machines like generators, sewing machines and kerosene lamps to name
a few.
3. Wood is the only locally available raw material, so great emphasis must
be put not only on the teaching of appropriate skills needed for the
manufacturer of artefacts known to be locally useful, but also on the
development of innovative, problem-solving techniques, so that locally
developed and made wooden articles will take the place of articles now
made of imported materials or imported in finished form.
4. All imported machines (including, in this case, automobiles and other
non-agricultural machines) will, no matter how well maintained, finally
wear out beyond repair. Such broken down machines are, and should be
"cannibalised" to supply spare parts for other machines. Even after that
is done there will still be a large quantity of metal left. At present this is
thrown away or left to rust: a waste of expensive imported material. It is
therefore important to teach methods of re-cycling metal. Sheet-metal
courses in schools should concentrate on the use of such material as the
panelling of cars (and also on tin cans) and a course on blacksmith's
work should be introduced in order to use the heavier pieces of metal to
make useful tools and other articles.
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5. The Industrial Arts and the Agricultural Science courses in Junior High
Schools should be integrated in the area of appropriate agricultural
technology.
The Division of Labour
There exists in most "western" countries a prejudice against manual work in
favour of "white collar" work. This extends to education, so that Manual Arts
was, for a long time ( and in some countries still is) regarded as inferior to the
"academic" subjects.5
In most developed countries this educational discrimination has been
recognised as undesirable, and adequate moves have been, or are being,
made to rectify the situation. Unfortunately, before these moves were made,
the discrimination had already been exported to "developing" countries which
had modelled their educational systems on those in the "developed"
countries. This, to a large extent, is true also of Samoa which adopted (or had
thrust upon it) the New Zealand educational system. The prejudice, however,
goes strongly against the traditional Samoan ethics of work, and so has not
taken very firm root. Hopefully it will be possible to pull out what roots there
are without too much difficulty.
It is important that this be done if Industrial Arts teaching is to fulfil the
purpose of broadening the popular appreciation of the value of skilled manual
work. This does not refer to the bland statements often found in Industrial
Arts programmes some years ago (and still found in some places) referring to
the moral rectitude of manual labour. What is implied is that it should be
realised by all that a skilled motor mechanic, for example, has to be competent
in a greater number of skills than a bank manager.
In a developed country the mechanic and the bank manager might, perhaps,
receive salaries that are similar, although the social status of the latter would
be higher. In a developing country the mechanic would certainly not receive
either money or status approaching that of the manager. In order to overcome
this prejudice, and also to enable those who occupy managerial positions t o
appreciate and value the abilities of artisans who work with (rather than " f o r " )
them, it is essential that all should have worked alongside each other in
(continuing the previous example) learning how to maintain the engine of a
car.
Conclusion
While it is essential that Industrial Arts skills be taught in Samoan Junior High
Schools, and that these be backed up by adequate and appropriate theoretical
knowledge of tools and materials, it has been repeatedly emphasised in this
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paper that these are inadequate to the needs of Samoa, if creativity and
innovation are not simultaneously inculcated.
Well-tried curricula designed to achieve this end exist in many countries.6 The
work of the curriculum developer in Samoa will therefore require a thorough
knowledge of other countries' curricula in this area, and a background
adequate to enable him to select those parts, concepts or approaches which
are appropriate to Samoa. While the Samoan curriculum must inovolve the
use of local materials to make locally required items, and so a general
knowledge of the country is essential, it is safe to say that it will not require
much original thought but rather the intelligent selection of existing ideas.
RECOMMENDATIONS ARISING FROM THIS PAPER:
APPENDIX
A Educational, but Outside the Junior High Schools.
1. To overcome the problems outlined on p.56, paragraph 2, it is strongly
recommended that basic concepts of technology be taught at the
earliest possible level of schooling. For example, play dough should be
freely available in pre-schools in order to inculcate the concept that
materials can be shaped by humans. Toys and games that teach
measurement and very simple construction should also be available.
Likewise, a well-planned craft course must be taught in primary
schools, and this must be designed to lead into secondary school
Industrial Arts education. (The present Arts and Crafts scheme,
prepared by the Western Samoa Department of Education, Malifa,
seems adequate but has yet to be trialled.) Without these prerequisites it
is unlikely that the planned introduction of Industrial Arts into the Junior
High Schools will succeed as well as it could.
2. It is recommended that Industrial Arts be taught in the government
Senior Secondary Schools. At one time some pupils from Samoa Col-
lege studied Industrial Arts at the Technical College. The subject was
taught at Avele College up to about five years ago. The workshop at
Vaipouli College has not been used since September 1979. This decline
of interest in Industrial Arts at the senior level is very unfortunate for a
number of reasons:
(a) it denies to the senior school pupils an avenue to success in fields
such as engineering, where a School Certificate pass in Industrial
Arts is of value in further education.
(b) By preventing the technological education of the more able
Samoan children, it prolongs the time that Samoa will be
dependent on foreigners to work in any managerial position where
knowledge of technology is at all important.
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(c) It serves only to increase the division of labour previously
discussed, since the people at the managerial level of most
Samoan enterprises are educated at these schools. Since the
government is trying to introduce Industrial Arts into other schools
(both government and mission schools) while allowing it to
disappear in the government's own senior schools, this can only
have a divisive effect and may cause general resentment.
(d) The absence of the subject from the Government Senior
Secondary School curriculum will inevitably be seen by the 85%
(approx) of children who do not achieve the entrance qualifications
to these schools as an indication that the subject is relatively
unimportant, and thus minimise the motivation of both teachers
and children to make a success of it.
B. Recommendations Outside The Education Field
1. That, in order to encourage the formation of cottage industries and, on a
smaller scale, to encourage the individual use of knowledge gained in
Industrial Arts education, there should be no duty charged on imported
hand tools. The loss of the 45% duty currently in force on these can be
easily made up by the savings in foreign funds due to import
substitution. The present high rate of duty puts many such tools beyond
the financial reach of those who would buy them and use them, so that,
on a national level, it is counter-productive. After investigation, this
same duty should, perhaps, also be removed from the smaller machine
tools such as electric drills, sanders, etc.
2. That the number of models of any one imported machine should be
restricted. An example here might be that of outboard motors. There are
at present five different makes on sale in Apia, with about five models
available of each make, an approximate total of 25 different motors.
Each motor requires slightly different servicing techniques, so that no
serviceman can hope to be adequately trained to cope with all types and
each one necessitates a different stock of spare parts. Moreover, an
adequate stock of spares is unobtainable as it would be prohibitively
expensive for the dealer to carry them, given the small number of each
model that could ever be sold in the Samoan market.
3. That it be made possible for the potential village "entrepreneur" to learn
simple business management methods (not only bookkeeping).
Notes
1. Annual Development Plan for 1980. Department of Economic Develop-
ment, Apia, April 1980.
2. ibid.
3. For a wider discussion of this path of development in Pacific Island
countries, see:
Bollard, The SPC Rural Employment Promotion Project, and Salato,
63
" A Pacific Approach to Rural Development", both from South
Pacific Commission, Noumea, 1978.
4. For a thorough discussion of education leading to such an end see
Bowmen, M.J.: Rural people and rural economic development. Paris:
International Institute for Educational Planning, Unesco, 1976.
5. For a thorough discussion of this and its implications for educators in
developing countries, see Visalberghi, A. "Education and the division of
labour in the developed w o r l d " in Morsy, Z. (Ed.): Learning and
Working. Paris: UNESCO, 1979.
6. See, for example, New South Wales Department of Educaton:
"Syllabus 9 and 10"; the C.S.E. or O-level curricula from the U.K., or
Years 1 and 2 from Tonga (Year 3 has yet to be adequately trialled and
revised). For an excellent historical and philosophical background to this
type of Industrial Arts curriculum, see Prof. John Egglestone's
"Developments in Design Education", Open Books, London, 1976.
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