The Interrelationship of Race Relations and Education In
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THE INTERRELATIONSHIP OF RACE RELATIONS AND EDUCATION IN HAWAII AND FIJI A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN SOCIOLOGY SEPTEMBER 1967 By Suzanne Madgwick Thesis Committee: Clarence E. Glick, Chairman Peter Pirie Andrew W. Lind n - o 'iO Q 6u U sj(j J We certify thet we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is satisfactory In scope and quality as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in Sociology. THESIS COMMITTEE & t . Chairman TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF T A B L E S ..................................... iv CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION Scope of the S t u d y .................. 2 Methodology ........................ 9 CHAPTER II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND First European Contacts ............ 12 Arrival of the Missionaries........ 15 Development of Western Government Influence ...................... 18 Importation of Plantation Labourers . 23 Political Development .............. 33 CHAPTER III. ORIGINS OF FORMAL EDUCATION IN FIJI AND HAWAII Early Missionary Education ........ 38 Distinctions Made Between the Missionaries and the Indigenous Population . 41 Beginning of Government Involvement in H a w a i i ..................... 44 Role of Government in Fiji in the Nineteenth Century .............. 48 Missionary Education in F i j i ..... 50 Conclusion ........................ 51 CHAPTER IV. ASSIMILATION OF THE RACIAL MIGRANTS INTO THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS OF FIJI AND HAWAII Early Racial Migrant Education in Hawaii .......................... 54 Mission Education Facilities for I n d i a n s ....................... 58 Academic vs Vocational Education for Non-whites ...................... 64 Development of Government Influence in Indian Education .............. 71 ii CHAPTER IV. (Continued) Educational Development, 1920-1940, F i j i ............................... 74 Influence of Language Differences and Geographical Location ............. 77 Influence of Caucasians in Hawaii and F i j i ........................... 78 Language Schools in Hawaii'........... 81 English Standard Schools ........... 89 The "Educational Ladder" in Hawaii . 96 Fiji - A General Continuation of the Practice of Racial Segregation . 105 CHAPTER V. PRESENT DAY EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS IN FIJI AND HAWAII FIJI Primary Education ................... 115 Secondary Schools ................... 118 Technical Schools ................... 120 Higher Education ................... 122 Attitudes to School Integration . 123 HAWAII School Enrollments................... 130 Ranking of Public High Schools . 131 Japanese Language Schools and the Public Schools ................... 134 Private Schools ..................... 138 C o n c l u s i o n ...................... 141 CHAPTER VI. INTERRELATIONSHIP OF EDUCATION AND POPULATION AS A FACTOR INFLUENCING RACE RELATIONS Age Structure.................... 151 Racial Distribution ................. 153 Intermarriage ....................... 157 Geographical Distribution ........... 160 CHAPTER VII. INTERRELATIONSHIP OF EDUCATION AND OCCUPATIONAL STATUS AS A FACTOR INFLUENCING RACE RELATIONS Plantation Employment ............... 172 Movement Away from the Plantations. 175 Hawaii .......................... 177 Occupational Distribution 1930 177 Occupational Distribution 1950 179 Occupational Distribution 1960 182 F i j i ............................... 187 iii CHAPTER VIII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS .................. 205 BIBLIOGRAPHY 219 iv LIST OF TABLES Percentage of All School Attendance by Race, for Selected Years, 1886-1904 - Hawaii ........ 57 Primary Division Japanese Language Books, by Subject Matter ............................ 83 Language Schools, 1920 ........................ 85 Percentage Distribution by Racial Origin of Pupils in English Standard Schools, 1940-1947 - Hawaii. 94 Pupils Enrolled in Private Schools as a Percentage of All School Enrollments, by Race, for Selected Years, 1902-1922 - Hawaii .................... 99 Public School Enrollments by Race, for Selected Years, 1906-1957 - Hawaii .................... 100 Enrollments by Race at Suva Technical Centre, 1945-1952 ..................................... 104 Percentage Enrollments by Race at Public Schools and the University of Hawaii, 1929-30 - Hawaii . 107 Primary School Enrollments: Percentage by Race, 1965 - Fiji .................................. 117 Percentage Distribution of Secondary School Enrollments by Race, 1946, 1956, 1965 - Fiji 117 Percentage Distribution of Secondary School Enrollments by Race and Form, 1965 - Fiji . 119 Overseas Scholarships by Race of Holder and Country of Study, 1962 and 1965 - Fiji .... 145 School Attendance after Age 14 as a Percentage of Each Age Group by Race, 1910-1960 - Hawaii . 146 V Public High Schools in Rank Order by County, 1966, and Enrollment Grade 10-12, 1960 - Hawaii 147 High Schools offering Japanese, 1965 - Hawaii 148 Public and Private High School Enrollments, 1940-1960 - Hawaii.. ............................. 149 Median Age by Race, 1950-1960 - Hawaii .... 151 Approximate Median Age for Fijians and Indians, 1956 - Fiji................................... 151 Population by Race for Selected Years, 1853-1960, Hawaii ......................................... 168 Population by Race for Selected Year, 1881-1960, F i j i .......................................... 169 Population Percentages by Race and Urban-Rural Distribution, 1960 - Hawaii .................. 170 Comparison of Distribution of Fijians and Indians, 1936 and 1956 - Fiji ........................ 165 Percentages of Employed Male Civilians 14 Years of Age and Over engaged in Major Types of Occupations, by Race and Sex, 1930 - Hawaii ............... 183 Percentages of Employed Male Civilians 14 Years of Age and Over Engaged in Major Types of Occupations, by Race and Sex, 1950 - Hawaii ............... 184 Occupational Status of Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese Males, 1960 - Hawaii ............... 186 Employed Persons 15 and Over, by Sex and Race, 1936 and 1956 - Fiji ........................ 188 Occupational Distribution for All Males, 1936 F i j i .......................................... 189 Occupations of Employed Fijiand and Indian Males, 1936 - Fiji ................................. 191 vi TABLE XXIX. Occupational Distribution of All Males, 1956 - F i j i .......................................... 195 TABLE XXX. Occupation of Employed Fijian and Indian Males, 1956 - F i j i .................................. 196-7 TABLE XXXI. Status Within Industries, 1956 - Europeans . 199 TABLE XXXII. Status Within Industries, 1956 - Fijians.......... 200 TABLE XXXIII. Status Within Industries, 1956 - Indians.......... 201 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This thesis is an attempt to study the connection between education and race relations. It is a comparison of the racial and educational climates of Fiji and Hawaii, in particular concentrating on the Indians in Fiji and the Japanese in Hawaii although such a concentration will not preclude consideration of the other racial groups in each area. Fiji and Hawaii can usefully be compared. Both are island groups and their economies, although at very different levels of development, have similar bases, with considerable reliance on the production of sugar. Both have multiracial populations developed through the arrival of Europeans — first as explorers, traders and missionaries, and later as a dominant group of administrators and entrepreneurs — and through the importing of Asian labourers. But despite these similarities there have arisen considerable differences between the two areas. While Hawaii has developed a modern economy, Fiji still exhibits an economic structure typical of most under-developed countries. Changes in race relations have varied in the two areas also. While both had large numbers of Asian labourers who were virtually controlled by the sugar companies and treated as semi-slaves, Hawaii is now often lauded for exemplary race relations while in Fiji interaction between the races is still very strained, creating an ever-present potential for intergroup conflict. 2 SCOPE OF THE STUDY One of the basic laws of sociology is that people who are^like tend to be attracted to each other and also to reinforce their similarities by their interaction. This holds particularly true for race relations where a division of the community along ethnic lines will help to reinforce the differences between groups and reduce the likelihood of integration. An attempt is made to analyse the way in which an education system can affect race relations either by provid ing a basis on which people of different ethnic backgrounds can grow alike or, on the other hand, can act as yet another agent in the process of differentiation^ While it is not argued that an education system alone can change a society's racial patterns it is contended that the behaviour, beliefs and values of an individual are all firmly grounded in the groups to which he belongs and that the group with which he has his education is particularly significant in this respect. It is further argued that change in one area will have repercussions in other parts of the culture; that a racially integrated school system may affect race relations at other levels. A resume is made of the history of education in both territories to discover where similarities and differences have occurred and in an attempt to see whether Fiji is following a pattern similar to Hawaii's but at a slower rate. However it is suspected that, although early education in both Hawaii and Fiji