Indigenous Fijian Notions of Child Development

Chapter 1: Setting the Scene Chapter 1 Setting the Scene We cannot know the village where we are going unless we know the village from whence we came. (Chinese proverb cited in Henry, G. 1992, p. 14). Introduction This chapter introduces the topic of the research that is the focus of this thesis and the preceding quote provides a point of departure. It reflects my position at the crossroads of Indigenous and Western knowledges, as an Indigenous Fijian researcher in the field of early childhood education, looking to where I would want Indigenous Fijian children to be. I believe the Chinese proverb reflects a feeling shared by those of us who have been colonised and trying to re-claim our cultural identity in the wider world. The chapter begins with a brief account of colonisation impact on Fiji’s education system. This is followed by a brief account of my background to assist the reader to more fully understand my interest in this research topic. This is followed by a comprehensive representation of the research topic, formulated research questions and assumptions. The chapter then offers definitions for a broad range of terms and concepts used throughout the thesis. The significance of the study within the international context is then demonstrated and the theoretical and practical positioning of the study within this context is identified. In order to highlight the specific context and practical importance of the research, an overview of Fiji is then provided, focusing on the key challenges the country faces, because of its colonisation history and the contemporary hegemony of Western society. The final section of the chapter introduces the later chapters in the thesis. Colonisation impact on the Fijian education system Indigenous Fijians cannot refute the fact that they have been heavily colonised ever since the Westerners arrived into Fiji’s shores in the late 1800s. Thus the 1 Chapter 1: Setting the Scene inherited colonial processes for example, the structures of schooling have continued in neocolonial and hegemonic formation, despite the fact that Fiji has been politically independent for over four decades (Puamau, 2002). Western assumptions, knowledge and outlook formed the basis for the interpretation and representation of the history of Fiji. The Western curriculum was institutionalised during colonial times and the Indigenous Fijians were forced to learn these new Western concepts, labelling our own as backward and useless. The missionaries played a big role in the dissemination of ‘white supremacy notions’ where all learning types and acompanying activities were controlled (Puamau, 2002). Further, English became the mandatory language of instruction, which formed the heart of Fiji’s education curriculum and this is still much in practice today. Indigenous Fijians today in this post-colonial era have tried to resist colonisation blankets and the next section provides a brief discuss of this. Post-colonisation Fiji today has been redefined and there is a need that a culturally inclusive, culturally democratic curriculum is developed, which has its foundation the notion that educational settings such as early childhood and schools must build on what students already know or ought to know about their values and beliefs, their histories and worldview, their languages and their knowledge systems (Thaman, 1992). Having said that, Early Childhood Education (ECE) curriculum guidelines have followed the Western neigbouring countries’ curriculum like Australia and New Zealand until recently in 2009 when Fiji developed its own curriculum guidelines, Na Noda Mataniciva (Ministry of Education, 2009). This curriculum lacks formal cultural components of Indigenous Fijian cultural knowledges of learning, knowing and doing, which is the essence of Indigenous Fijian identity (refer to Chapter Seven and Chapter Eight). Having said that, it further contradicts to ‘holistic’ mentioned in the current vision of the Fijian Ministry of Education. This aroused my thoughts as I tried to reconceptualise and rethink of ways Indigenous Fijians could revive our cultural identity in institutions like schools. The next section locates the research and my intensions as a researcher. 2 Chapter 1: Setting the Scene Locating the research and the researcher My research interest as an Early Childhood (EC) educator, former Early Childhood Senior Officer in the Ministry of Education in Fiji, and currently a teacher-educator within academia, has evolved from a long-held passion for children and how they learn (Tiko, 2015). My interest in early childhood education was further sparked by the growing concern of Indigenous Pacific researchers who were advocating for the recognition of Indigenous Pacific culture. In particular, these Pacific researchers have focused on the changes that needed to be made in schools and in tertiary curricula to make them culturally appropriate for Indigenous Pacific students (Nabobo-Baba, 2006; Thaman, 2001). The Rethinking Pacific Education Initiative for Pacific Peoples by Pacific Peoples (RPEIPP) movement supports this idea (Sanga, 2011), in proposing that Indigenous people take ownership of the processes of education. It also proposes a re-examination of the curriculum processes, at all levels of education, in what is a largely Western-style education system across the Pacific (Nabobo-Baba, 2012; Sanga, 2011). Within education systems across the Pacific, there is a dissonance between the reality of current educational provision and recent public and research demands for decolonising educational processes and the development of more culturally-appropriate educational tools (Nabobo-Baba, 2012; Sanga, 2011; Thaman, 2009; Tuhiwai-Smith, 1999; 2012). This thesis contends that such an agenda ought to begin at the foundational level of early childhood education and the research that is presented focuses on Indigenous Fijian cultural knowledges of child development and its practices, as these knowledges are important for children to acquire and comprehend as they grow in this diversified world where personal identity is essential. Likewise adults working with and teaching children also need to have a thorough knowledge of Indigenous Fijian cultural knowledges and practices. The initial interest for the research was further strengthened during my engagement in the veitalanoa-yaga (focus group: refer to Table 1.1, pp. xv-xviii) with Indigenous Fijian superiors, particularly Associate Professor Unaisi Nabobo-Baba and Doctor Tupeni Baba. These mentors expressed similar ideas concerning the need to strengthen the Indigenous Fijian cultural knowledges of Indigenous Fijian 3 Chapter 1: Setting the Scene children at the early childhood level, including a focus on mother-tongue language or village dialects. The term Indigenous Fijians in this thesis refers to the First or Native people of the Fiji Islands. The alternative Fijian term, iTaukei, (refer to Table1.1, pp. xv- xviii) may at first glance appear more appropriate, but this term refers to any Indigenous people from any part of the world. So, for example, an Aboriginal might be called an iTaukei of Australia, or a Maori, an iTaukei of New Zealand. For this reason the term Indigenous Fijians is preferred as opposed to iTaukei (refer to Table1.1, pp. xv-xviii). This doctoral research has facilitated my professional development and further learning and I hope it may become an educational resource related to Indigenous Fijian cultural knowledges for young Indigenous Fijian children. The following section outlines the research focus of the thesis. Introducing the research topic Indigenous people throughout the world possess implicit cultural beliefs and explicit practices related to young children and their early childhood education but they tend to undervalue these ideas because of centuries of colonisation. Tobin (2011) argues that a broad range of forces at individual, community, national and global levels continue to endanger these cultural beliefs and practices; for instance, the intent to rationalise and modernise early childhood education systems, most government policy makers increasingly circulate intense global early childhood practices. As the most powerful and legitimate international organisation, the United Nations recently took a step in recognising all Indigenous people through the United Nations Declaration on Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP; UNESCO, 2008b). This document affirms that Indigenous peoples are equal to all other peoples, while recognising the right of all peoples to be different, to consider ourselves/themselves different and to be respected as such. While there are other obligations within this document, the main emphasis is on the ‘rights’ to be an Indigenous and this will encompass the whole world of the said people. Thus, making this declaration a further important step forward for the recognition, promotion and protection of the rights and 4 Chapter 1: Setting the Scene freedoms of indigenous peoples. In addition the ‘development of relevant activities documented in the United Nations system in this field’ (UNESCO, 2008b, p. 2). Based on the obligations set out in this United Nations (UN) document, this thesis argues for the necessity of recognising children’s development in terms of culture survival and the sustainability of minority cultures in a contemporary ever-changing world (Ritchie, 2012). Indigenous Fijian child-rearing beliefs and practices, which were once part of the Indigenous Fijian people’s everyday world, seem to have disappeared

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