Directions

Directions: Journal of Educational Studies Pacific Curriculum Network
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Thaman, Konaiholeva Helu

Title: Community expectations of secondary education in Tonga

Author: Thaman, Konaiholeva Helu
Subject:  Education, Secondary|Tonga
 Community and school|Tonga
Volume: Directions: Journal of Educational Studies no.4, 1980
Collation: p. 27-36 ;

Abstract: [ Abstract not available ]

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Title: Cultural democracy for whom? : a view from the Pacific Islands

Author: Thaman, Konaiholeva Helu
Subject:  Multicultural education|Oceania
 Educational anthropology|Oceania
Volume: Directions: Journal of Educational Studies no.30, vol.16, no.1, 1994
Collation: p. 3-19 ;

Abstract: Cultural democracy is a philosophical precept which recognises that the way a person communicates, relates to others, seeks support and recognition from his/her environment (incentive motivation), thinks and learns (cognition) is a product of the value system of his/her community. Furthermore, an educational environment or policy that does not recognise the individual’s right to remain identified with the culture and language of his/her group is said to be culturally undemocratic (Ramirez and Castaneda, 1974: 23). In the author’s view, cultural democracy, for most Pacific island societies, has to do with the right and the opportunity to study and learn important elements of their own cultures in schools and universities, an opportunity denied them since schools first began in the early part of the last century, because most schools were set up to transmit a foreign culture in a foreign language. She therefore wishes to make a case not only for understanding Pacific cultures, but also for including important aspects of them in the curriculum of formal education, including university, as a first step towards intercultural education and a true cultural democracy for all.

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Title: Equity in, and access to, what kind of education?: some issues for consideration in the Pacific Islands

Author: Thaman, Konaiholeva Helu
Subject:  Education|Aims and objectives|Oceania
Volume: Directions: Journal of Educational Studies no.39, vol.20, no.2, 1998
Collation: p. 3-21 ;

Abstract: Konai Helu Thaman’s article discusses the ‘big picture’, the need for educators in all Pacific Island countries to make the teaching/learning process more aware of and sensitive to the cultural context in which it takes place. This is necessary in order to improve equity and access in education. It is, however, a challenge because of the legacy of western pedagogy which has dominated the formal education systems in the Pacific for so long, and the increasing influence of the industrialised world in so many spheres of life.

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Title: Looking towards the source : a consideration of (cultural) context in teacher education

Author: Thaman, Konaiholeva Helu
Subject:  Education|Tonga
 Educational anthropology|Tonga
Volume: Directions: Journal of Educational Studies no.27, vol.14, no.2, 1992
Collation: p. 3-13 ;

Abstract: [ Abstract not available ]

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Title: Of daffodils and hilala : understanding cultural contexts in Pacific literature

Author: Thaman, Konaiholeva Helu
Subject:  Pacific Island literature|Study and teaching
Volume: Directions: Journal of Educational Studies no.36, vol.19, no.1, 1997
Collation: p. 3-16 ;

Abstract: Helu Thaman raises the need to view Pacific literature in its socio-cultural context, rather than judge it from criteria developed to critique western literature. The article provides valuable food for thought for both students and teachers of Pacific literature.

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Title: Open and flexible learning for whom? : rethinking distance education

Author: Thaman, Konaiholeva Helu
Subject:  Distance education|Cross-cultural studies|Oceania
 Distance education|Social aspects|Oceania
Volume: Directions: Journal of Educational Studies no.44, vol.23, no.1, 2001
Collation: p. 3-22 ;

Abstract: Distance education is put under the microscope in this first two article. Thaman examines how it has affected equity and access in the University of the South Pacific region and, while acknowledging the well-known arguments for distance education, she urges Pacific Island educators to resist the lure of standardised, homogenised, packaged education, dominated by foreign educational philosophies. Instead, distance education offered by USP should be culturally inclusive, so that it serves to develop, rather than marginalise, Pacific cultures.

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Title: Pacific cultures in the teacher education curriculum project : a report

Author: Thaman, Konaiholeva Helu
Subject:  Teachers|Training of|Oceania
 Educational anthropology|Oceania
Volume: Directions: Journal of Educational Studies no.42, vol.22, no.1, 2000
Collation: p. 3-18 ;

Abstract: The author reports on a survey conducted to investigate the extent to which teacher training institutions in the Pacific incorporate elements of the local cultures in the content, methodology and assessment of their courses. Sad to say, there was found to be a general lack of Pacific cultural representation in the courses. Teacher educators need to be aware of the importance of the local context and how it can improve the quality of teacher education.

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Title: The forgotten context : culture and teacher education in Oceania

Author: Thaman, Konaiholeva Helu
Subject:  Teachers|Training of|Oceania
 Educational anthropology|Oceania
Volume: Directions: Journal of Educational Studies no.40, vol.21, no.1, 1999
Collation: p. 13-30 ;

Abstract: In her keynote address, Konai Thaman, who holds the UNESCO Chair in Teacher Education and Culture, spoke on making the education environment in the Pacific more culturally democratic. She urges education policy makers to show more consideration for and tolerance of the realities of teachers and students whose cultural identities are not those that dominate the processes of formal education systems in the Pacific, which are largely based on Anglo-American and Eurocentric perceptions of learning and teaching.

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Title: Towards a culture-sensitive model of curriculum development for Pacific Island countries

Author: Thaman, Konaiholeva Helu
Subject:  Curriculum planning|Oceania
 Educational anthropology|Oceania
Volume: Directions: Journal of Educational Studies no.24, vol.13, no.1, 1991
Collation: p. 1-12 ;

Abstract: [ Abstract not available ]

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