Introducing ICT to a primary school in a developing country : a Fijian experience

One aspect of quality education in the 21st century is the availability of digital resources in schools. Many developing countries need to build this capability – not just in terms of technology but teacher capability as well. One of the ways to achieve such capacity is through knowledge sharing between teachers and educators in developed and developing countries. Over time such collaboration can have a lasting impact on all participants on both sides of the digital divide. This paper reports on how such collaboration can occur. It focuses on the initial stages of a long-term initiative where our primary objective is to develop models, which demonstrate how we (in developed countries) can engage productively and meaningfully with schools in developing countries to build their ICT capacity. As part of this initiative, we introduced laptops and LEGO robotics tool kits to a rural primary school in Fiji. We developed ICT activities that aligned with the curriculum in a number of subjects. In addition, we worked with the teachers over two weeks to build their expertise.

Implementing ICT in Schools in a Developing Country : A Fijian Experience

Significant advances have been made towards the United Nations Millennium Development Goals on universal education. While there has been an increase in the number of children who now attend primary school, the quality of education remains an issue in many countries. Knowledge and the ability to use ICT are considered to be mandatory for citizens of this century. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is becoming increasingly more common in classrooms in developed countries. However, ICT use is often beyond the reach of many school communities in developing countries. While supporting these developing countries through donations of technology is a start, there is an equal if not a greater need to build teacher capacity so that the resources are effective in classrooms. The Share, Engage and Educate (SEE) project is about creating educational opportunities for learners in developing countries using ICT. Through the efforts of volunteers, the project provides technological resources to schools and engages teachers in activities that develop their capacity. The SEE project has adopted a four-phase model for ICT integration: objectives, implementation, feedback, and reflection. This chapter reports upon the project’s ongoing implementation phase in Fiji, including the approach taken to build teacher capacity and the identification of factors which have impacted upon the project’s success.

Combining detached watchdog journalism with development ideals: An exploration of Fijian journalism culture

Development journalism has been a key focus of discussion among journalism scholars for around half a decade, but most of the attention has been firmly on African and Asian countries. This paper examines the situation on the little-researched island nation of Fiji, which has experienced considerable political instability since independence in 1970. Based on interviews with 77 of the country’s small population of just over 100 journalists, we find that journalism in Fiji exhibits similarities to Western journalism ideals, but also a significant development journalism orientation. A comparison with six other countries from the global South shows that this mix is not unique, and we argue that Western journalism approaches and development ideals are not by necessity mutually exclusive, as has often been argued. In this way, the article aims to contribute to a reassessment of our understanding of development journalism and how journalists in developing societies view their work.

Fijian coral reef damage and recovery from Cyclone Kina

EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT): Early in 1993, Cyclone Kina struck the Fiji Islands, causing more than $100 million in property damage and damaging the coral environment as well. A few days after the cyclone, the most damaged reef was studied. The same reef had been studied 6 months before. This reef crest is dominated by Acropora. Comparison showed that 80-90% of the Acropora was torn from the outer reef and deposited in the inner lagoon. ... It is estimated that it will take a few years to 30 years for the reef to recover to pre-Kina conditions.

Fijian frontier,

"The aim of this study is to analyze the changes taking place in native life on Kambara [one of the southern islands of the Lau archipelago of Fiji]"-p. viii.

Nematodes, mostly Australian and Fijian.

Reprinted from the Macleay memorial volume, by arrangement with the Linnean society of New South Wales.

The recipe for rubber : a Fijian romance /

Illustrated by Norman Lindsay.

Handbook of the Fijian language.

Mode of access: Internet.

Spongosoritin A: A new polyketide from a Fijian marine sponge, Spongosorites sp.

A new polyketide, spongosoritin A, with a rare vinylagous alpha,beta-unsaturated gamma-lactone moiety was isolated from a Fijian marine sponge, Spongosorites sp., and the structure assigned by detailed spectroscopic analysis.

Fiji pre-service primary teachers' understanding of physical science : a cultural perspective

Science and technology are promoted as major contributors to national development. Consequently, improved science education has been placed high on the agenda of tasks to be tackled in many developing countries, although progress has often been limited. In fact there have been claims that the enormous investment in teaching science in developing countries has basically failed, with many reports of how efforts to teach science in developing countries often result in rote learning of strange concepts, mere copying of factual information, and a general lack of understanding on the part of local students. These generalisations can be applied to science education in Fiji. Muralidhar (1989) has described a situation in which upper primary and middle school students in Fiji were given little opportunity to engage in practical work; an extremely didactic form of teacher exposition was the predominant method of instruction during science lessons. He concluded that amongst other things, teachers' limited understanding, particularly of aspects of physical science, resulted in their rigid adherence to the text book or the omission of certain activities or topics. Although many of the problems associated with science education in developing countries have been documented, few attempts have been made to understand how non-Western students might better learn science. This study addresses the issue of Fiji pre-service primary teachers' understanding of a key aspect of physical science, namely, matter and how it changes, and their responses to learning experiences based on a constructivist epistemology. Initial interviews were used to probe pre-service primary teachers' understanding of this domain of science. The data were analysed to identify students' alternative and scientific conceptions. These conceptions were then used to construct Concept Profile Inventories (CPI) which allowed for qualitative comparison of the concepts of the two ethnic groups who took part in the study. This phase of the study also provided some insight into the interaction of scientific information and traditional beliefs in non-Western societies. A quantitative comparison of the groups' conceptions was conducted using a Science Concept Survey instrument developed from the CPis. These data provided considerable insight into the aspects of matter where the pre-service teachers' understanding was particularly weak. On the basis of these preliminary findings, a six-week teaching program aimed at improving the students' understanding of matter was implemented in an experimental design with a group of students. The intervention involved elements of pedagogy such as the use of analogies and concept maps which were novel to most of those who took part. At the conclusion of the teaching programme, the learning outcomes of the experimental group were compared with those of a control group taught in a more traditional manner. These outcomes were assessed quantitatively by means of pre- and post-tests and a delayed post-test, and qualitatively using an interview protocol. The students' views on the various teaching strategies used with the experimental group were also sought. The findings indicate that in the domain of matter little variation exists in the alternative conceptions held by Fijian and Indian students suggesting that cultural influences may be minimal in their construction. Furthermore, the teaching strategies implemented with the experimental group of students, although largely derived from Western research, showed considerable promise in the context of Fiji, where they appeared to be effective in improving the understanding of students from different cultural backgrounds. These outcomes may be of significance to those involved in teacher education and curriculum development in other developing countries.