ERIC Number: EJ1146667
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2202-493X
EISSN: N/A
Itaukei Indigenous Fijian "Masi" as an Education Framework: Retaining and Adapting Tradition in Epistemology and Pedagogy for a Globalised Culture
Varani-Norton, Eta Emele
International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives, v16 n2 p131-145 2017
iTaukei (Indigenous Fijians) are experiencing rapid social transformation through urbanisation and globalisation. Indigenous knowledge is being quickly eroded by its conflicts with modern Western knowledge and values. To counter this decay, there is need, in the school curriculum, for teaching methods that can help students achieve, in their own understanding, accommodations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous concepts, between modern values and expectations, and the emphasis being placed by the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs on the importance of preserving traditions. This paper proposes an innovative iTaukei pedagogical and epistemological framework based on the traditional textile "masi" (tapa), with design and motifs used as metaphors to facilitate better understanding of the conflicts between and the potential for reconciling or accommodating "outside" (Western) and "inside" (Indigenous) knowledge. At the centre of the design is the learner who must critically reflect on the possibility of a symbiosis of Western and Indigenous knowledge. The "masi" framework could prove a powerful tool for educators dealing with the dilemmas of social change in an oral culture like the iTaukei.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Indigenous Knowledge, Pacific Islanders, Cultural Maintenance, Cultural Education, Social Change, Social Environment, Models, Epistemology, Teaching Methods, Educational Practices, Educational Strategies
Australian and New Zealand Comparative and International Education Society. ANZCIES Secretariat, Curtin University, Box U1987, Perth, WA Australia. Tel: +61-8-9266-7106; Fax: +61-8-9266-3222; e-mail: editor@iejcomparative.org; Web site: http://openjournals.library.usyd.edu.au/index.php/IEJ
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Fiji
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A