DEVELOPING AND RETAINING QUALITY TEACHERS IN

RURAL FIJI PRIMARY SCHOOLS

by

Ruveni. W. R. Tuimavana

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts (Education)

Copyright ©2010 by Ruveni W. R. Tuimavana

School of Education Faculty of Arts and Law

The University of the South Pacific

March, 2010

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DEDICATION

To all those who had taught, who are now teaching or will be teaching in rural and

remote schools

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

…THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH AND MY SHIELD; MY HEART TRUSTS IN HIM, AND I AM HELPED…psalm 28:7 …

Maqa ni ‘a rawarawa…Such a mammoth endeavor of this enormity can never be accomplished in solititude. I would like to thank and acknowledge the assistance of the following;

Academic Supervisor

I would like to sincerely acknowledge the effort put in by my supervisor Professor Konaiholeva Helu-Thaman. Thanks for proofreading countless drafts and bearing with me all this time. Malo ‘aupito.

SOE/FAL Staff My sincere gratitude is also being extended to the SOE & FAL staff at the Laucala Campus for their unwavering support. Sponsors and Organisations: Ministry of Indigenous Affairs for the scholarship all these years - thank you so much. Ministry of Education for assisting in my research and also for allowing me to do my studies on study leave. The participants who gave so much of their time - I am sincerely grateful to you all. Friends and Colleagues To my friends and colleagues – too many to name, thanks for the encouragement and for being there. Special thanks to Ms Salaseini Malo at Marela House, Suva and Dr. Greg Burnett at Otago University, for painstakingly sieving through my draft chapters to make it into readable thoughts. Vanua The Vanua o Vunivatu, Yavusa o Nautosolo & Vuanimaba for their traditional support that I have been receiving and I am greatly indebted to your loyalty. Families Two families; Rokolui’s at 29 Nawanawa Road, Nadera, and Tuimavana’s at Nasagai, Naboutini, Saqani for their dutiful support and motivation. However despite the numerous assistance that I have been very fortunate to solicit, any error or inadvertent blunders in this piece of work are mine alone and should never be the responsibility of the individuals or organizations mentioned above. Vina’a va’alevu…

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ABSTRACT

According to the Deputy Secretary for Education in Fiji, Mr. Filipe Jitoko, the Ministry

faces a huge task in attracting teachers to rural and remote locations in the country

(“Teachers shy from rural postings,” 2008). More recently, the Interim Minister for

Education Mr. Filipe Bole highlighted the disparity between rural and urban schools as

reality and not a myth (“Education gap identified,” 2009). In order to improve

educational delivery to rural and remote locations it was necessary to explore the topic

of this study, which was an attempt to capture the perceptions of teachers of their work

in three rural schools, and discusses the problems that they face in working in remote

and rural areas in the hope that the information gathered may assist the Ministry of

Education recruit, develop and retain quality teachers for those areas. As well as

teachers, a number of key stakeholders were also interviewed in an attempt to gauge a

broader perspective of the issues raised. Many problems were identified as contributing

to the problem of teacher development, recruitment and retention in rural schools and

the need for appropriate policies to address them. The study also highlights the

potential contribution of the vanua as cultural capital for providing support to schools

as well as teachers in rural Fijian schools. It was found that the vanua, the study found

that acted as the ‘social glue’ that holds most rural communities together and school

leaders needed to negotiate ethical pathways that touch the heart of these communities.

The study findings provide insights into the work of rural teachers and make

suggestions for the improved development and retention of quality teachers in rural

schools.

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LIST OF TABLES & FIGURES

Tables

Table 2.1: Table Indicating the Composition of Rural Population by Division/Ethnicity.

Table 2.2: Expected Donor Assistance to Education in Fiji, 2003 - 2008 (F$ millions).

Table 2.3: European Union/Government of Fiji, Fiji Rural Education Project, Total Cost of Submitted Activities, 2004 - 2008.

Table 2.4: Source of Water Supply to Primary Schools, 1999.

Table 2.5: Source of Electricity Source, 1999.

Table 2.6: School Staff Profile of Va Primary School.

Table 2.7: School Staff Profile of Lima District School.

Table 2.8: School Staff Profile of Ono District School.

Table 3.1: Showing the different programmes used by the different teacher – training institutions and the different models utilised.

Table 3.2: Classification of Rural Schools.

Table 4.1: Summary of Research Participants.

Table 5.1: Table Indicating Teachers Responses to Defining Quality.

Table 7.1: Proposed Rural Classification.

Figures

Figure 2.1: MOE Budget in Comparison to the National Budget (1996 - 2003). A Comparative Analysis.

Figure 2.2: Education Expenditure (2006).

Figure 5.1: Framework Depicting Quality Teachers.

Figure 5.2: Bar Graph Indicating the Number of Teachers on Study Leave with Salary in 2006.

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LISTS OF ACRONYMS AA – Affirmative Action.

ACR – Annual Confidential Report.

AusAID – Australian Agency for International Development.

CCTC – Corpus Christi Teachers College.

DESD – Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

DFL – Distance and Flexible Learning.

EFA – Education for All.

EO – Education Officer.

ET – Executive Teachers.

EU – European Union.

FC – Fulton College.

FESP – Fiji Education Sector Programme.

FEYE – Fiji Eighth Year Examination.

FIBS – Fiji Islands Bureau of Statistics.

FIE – Fiji Intermediate Examination.

FILNA – Fiji Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment.

FREP – Fiji Rural Education Programme.

FTA – Fijian Teachers Association.

FTU – Fiji Teachers Union.

JICA – Japan International Cooperation Agency.

LTC - Lautoka Teachers College.

MOE – Ministry of Education.

MDGs - Millennium Development Goals.

NCLB – No Child Left Behind.

NZAID – New Zealand Agency for International Development.

OECD – Organization for Economic Cooperation Development.

PEO – Principal Education Officer.

SEO – Senior Education Officer.

USP – The University of the South Pacific.

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GLOSSARY OF TERMS

i tatau – yaqona presented to indicate one’s request to depart the community one has

been part of to attend to another community for a considerable amount of time. It has

been utilized in this research as an exit strategy.

Lotu- a church or a religion.

Magiti – food prepared in honour of one’s achievement/accomplishment or to mark

ones’s arrival or the eve of one’s departure.

Matanitu – the government or government induced services.

Qasenivuli – a teacher or a mentor.

Sevusevu - the presentation of yaqona, when entering a community for the very first

time. For people who have direct links to a particular community, this would mean the

presentation of ‘tabua’ and other assorted Fijian artefacts as ‘roqoroqo-vatu.’ In the

main Bauan custom, it is called the ‘yate bulubulu.’ This is to give due respect to the

relatives who had passed away during the prolonged absence of the person who is

seeking permission to enter.

Tabua – a whale’s tooth.

Talatala – priest or man of cloth.

Taukei – member of the host or an indigenous community.

Vanua – literally denotes land but to an indigenous Fijian it refers to the land and all

the beings that derive their life from land or sea. Hence it includes all the resources and

the universe and no one is able to survive without the vanua.

Vinaka vakaniu – good quality used to mean that someone or something is all-useful.

Vulagi/sola – visitor to an area – an outsider.

Yaqona – a traditional/social drink in the Melanesian/Polynesian communities.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION ................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES & FIGURES ........................................................................................... vi LISTS OF ACRONYMS ...................................................................................................... vii GLOSSARY OF TERMS.................................................................................................... viii 1.0 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Background ............................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Research Focus and Study Questions ................................................................... 2 1.3 Scope of the Study ................................................................................................. 2 1.4 Rationale ................................................................................................................ 3 1.5 Methodological Issues ........................................................................................... 4 1.6 Limitations of the Study ........................................................................................ 5 1.7 Organisation of Thesis ........................................................................................... 6

2.0 THE FIJI SCHOOL CONTEXT ................................................................................. 7

2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 7 2.2 The Fiji Education System ..................................................................................... 8 2.3 Dependence on Foreign Aid ................................................................................ 12 2.4 Challenges for Rural Dwellers ............................................................................. 15 2.5 Primary Schools in Fiji ......................................................................................... 17 2.6 Management of Primary Schools ........................................................................ 18 2.7 The Schools in this Study .................................................................................... 19

2.7.1 Va Primary School ........................................................................................ 20 2.7.2 Gender ........................................................................................................... 21 2.7.2 Lima District School ..................................................................................... 23 2.7.3 Ono District School ....................................................................................... 24

2.8 Summary .............................................................................................................. 27 3.0 LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................... 28

3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 28 3.2 Defining Quality Teachers ................................................................................... 30 3.3 Quality Teaching in Fiji ....................................................................................... 30 3.4 The Centrality of Primary Schooling ................................................................... 34 3.5 Rural Education ................................................................................................... 35 3.6 Teacher Status ..................................................................................................... 36 3.7 Teacher Demand .................................................................................................. 37 3.8 Teacher Supply .................................................................................................... 38 3.9 Isolation Dilemmas .............................................................................................. 39 3.10 Teacher Education ............................................................................................ 40 3.11 Teacher Education for Primary Schools .......................................................... 41 3.12 Lautoka Teachers College (LTC) ...................................................................... 43

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3.13 Corpus Christi Training College (CCTC) .......................................................... 43 3.14 Fulton College (FC) .......................................................................................... 44 3.15 Culture and Teacher Education ....................................................................... 44 3.16 Professional Development ............................................................................... 45 3.17 Education Policies ............................................................................................ 46 3.18 Leadership Qualities......................................................................................... 48 3.19 School Management ......................................................................................... 50 3.20 Community and Cultural Challenges ............................................................... 53 3.21 Remuneration and Allowances ........................................................................ 54 3.22 Summary .......................................................................................................... 55

4.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................................................... 56

4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 56 4.2 The Use of Case Studies ....................................................................................... 59 4.3 Justification of Methodology ............................................................................... 60 4.4 Fieldwork ............................................................................................................. 61 4.5 Selection of Schools ............................................................................................. 62 4.6 Data Collection..................................................................................................... 63 4.7 Research Participants .......................................................................................... 64 4.8 The Research Process .......................................................................................... 65

4.8.1 Questionnaire Survey and Interviews .......................................................... 67 4.8.2 Observations .................................................................................................. 71 4.8.3 Policy Document Analysis ............................................................................ 72 4.8.4 Field Notes .................................................................................................... 73

4.9 After the Fieldwork .............................................................................................. 73 4.9.1 Data Analysis ................................................................................................. 74 4.9.2 Data Triangulation ........................................................................................ 74 4.9.3 Validity .......................................................................................................... 75

4.10 Ethical Considerations ..................................................................................... 76 4.11 Summary .......................................................................................................... 79

5.0 RESEARCH FINDINGS .......................................................................................... 81

5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 81 5.1 RESEARCH QUESTION 1 ................................................................................... 81 5.2 RESEARCH QUESTION 2 .................................................................................. 84

5.2.1 Professional Development in Rural Schools ................................................ 86 5.2.2 Executive Team Meetings ............................................................................. 86 5.2.3 Professional Development Programs ........................................................... 87 5.2.4 Other Short-Term Programs ........................................................................ 89 5.2.5 Long-Term Professional Programs .............................................................. 90 5.2.6 Teacher Induction ......................................................................................... 92

5.3 RESEARCH QUESTION 3 .................................................................................. 93 5.4 RESEARCH QUESTION 4 .................................................................................. 98

5.4.1 Heavy Workload........................................................................................... 101 5.4.2 Lack of Professional Support ....................................................................... 101 5.4.3 Lack of Policy Implementation and Monitoring ........................................ 103 5.4.4 Communal Support ..................................................................................... 104

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5.5 RESEARCH QUESTION 5 ................................................................................. 107 5.5.1 Incentives in Rural Service ......................................................................... 109 5.5.2 Policy Implementation................................................................................ 109

5.6 Summary ............................................................................................................. 111 6.0 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS ................................................................................ 113

6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 113 6.2 RESEARCH QUESTION 1 .................................................................................. 113

6.2.1 A Variety of Definitions ............................................................................... 114 6.2.2 Quality as High Examination Pass Rates .................................................... 115 6.2.3 Holistic Notion of Quality ............................................................................ 121 6.2.4 Summary ..................................................................................................... 122

6.3 RESEARCH QUESTION 2 ................................................................................ 123 6.3.1 Professional Development .......................................................................... 124 6.3.2 Executive Meetings (Level Meetings) ......................................................... 125 6.3.3 Long-Term Programs .................................................................................. 126 6.3.4 Teacher Induction ........................................................................................127 6.3.5 Induction into the School Culture .............................................................. 128 6.3.6 Communal Induction .................................................................................. 129 6.3.7 Summary ...................................................................................................... 131

6.4 RESEARCH QUESTION 3 ................................................................................ 132 6.4.1 Teacher Appointment Policies .................................................................... 132 6.4.2 Teacher Transfers ....................................................................................... 135 6.4.3 Teacher Promotion ...................................................................................... 137 6.4.4 Summary ..................................................................................................... 138

6.5 RESEARCH QUESTION 4 ................................................................................ 138 6.5.1 Rurality: A Spatial Disadvantage ................................................................ 138 6.5.2 Difficult Working Conditions ..................................................................... 139 6.5.3 Heavy Workload.......................................................................................... 140 6.5.4 Lack of Policy Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation..................... 142 6.5.5 Community Support ................................................................................... 143 6.5.6 Lack of Incentives ....................................................................................... 145 6.5.7 The Central Role of Leadership .................................................................. 147 6.5.8 Summary ..................................................................................................... 148

6.6 RESEARCH QUESTION 5 ................................................................................. 148 6.6.1 Improved Working Conditions ................................................................... 149 6.6.2 Incentives for Rural Service ......................................................................... 151 6.6.3 Policy Appraisal and Monitoring ................................................................. 151 6.6.4 Professional Development and Growth ...................................................... 152 6.6.5 Professional Opportunities ......................................................................... 153 6.6.6 Improved Stakeholders Links ..................................................................... 154

6.7 Summary .............................................................................................................155

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7.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................... 157 7.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 157 7.2 How do stakeholders define quality teachers? ................................................... 157 7.3 How are teachers prepared for rural schools? .................................................. 158 7.4 How are teachers selected for rural schools? .................................................... 159 7.5 Why are teachers reluctant to serve in rural schools? ...................................... 160 7.6 Strategies for retaining quality teachers in rural schools: ................................. 161 7.7 Dilemmas of Isolation ....................................................................................... 162 7.8 Policy Ambiguities ............................................................................................. 164 7.9 School-Community Relations ............................................................................ 167 7.10 Some Recommendations ................................................................................ 168 7.11 Implications of Findings ................................................................................ 170 7.12 Further Research .............................................................................................172 7.13 Concluding Thoughts ......................................................................................172 7.14 Post Script ....................................................................................................... 174 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................... 178 APPENDICES .............................................................................................................. 196

1

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

The disparity between rural and urban education was an issue raised in many

submissions to the 2000 Fiji Education Commission and is clearly an area of great

concern (Tavola, 2000a: 162). In a more recent statement by the Interim Minister for

Education Mr. Filipe Bole, he highlighted the fact that there was a vast disparity in

educational opportunities and delivery between rural and urban schools” (“Education

gap identified,” 2009). Developing and retaining teachers in rural schools was seen as

means of addressing such inequality, and these are important also for improving the

delivery of education especially in rural areas.

Education has always been prominent in the national development agenda of Fiji and

about one-fifth of the nation’s annual budget is being utilized to support the education

system. Like other Pacific Island Nations (PINs), Fiji is a recipient of substantial foreign

aid, (mainly from the European Union (EU) and the Australian Agency for International

Development [AusAID]); which assists the nation’s in its commitment to improve its

educational service delivery. Many countries believe that teachers are their most

important resource for school improvement, especially in rural areas (OECD, 2005).

However, a recent newspaper article highlighted the fact that as many as 280 teachers

left Fiji in 2007 alone. This was a concern not only for the country but also for teachers’

organisations such as the Fiji Teacher’s Union whose general secretary, Mr. Agni Deo

Singh expressed concern about this reflection of the brain drain since most of the

2

migrating teachers had served more than 10 to 20 years in schools. He suggested that,

“the quality of educational delivery had been compromised,” (In Rauto, 2008: 1).

This study set out to identify how quality teachers might be recruited, developed and

retained in rural schools by talking to teachers and other stakeholders and obtaining

their views on the problems faced by rural school teachers as well as some of the

solutions for addressing such problems.

1.2 Research Focus and Study Questions

The following research questions guided the study:

i. How do stakeholders perceive ‘quality’ teachers especially those in rural

settings?

ii. How are teachers prepared to teach in rural/ remote locations?

iii. How are teachers selected to serve in rural areas?

iv. Why are some teachers reluctant to serve in rural schools?

v. What can be done to retain teachers in rural schools?

1.3 Scope of the Study

This study focused on three rural Fijian schools, located close to one another in the

Northern division of Fiji. The schools were chosen because they were located in a rural

area with which the researcher was familiar. They were also of manageable size hence

making the study logistically and financially viable. Fieldwork for the study was carried

out in mid 2007.

3

1.4 Rationale

My initial experience as a village schoolboy and later a novice teacher posted to one of

the schools in the study district in 2000 ignited an interest in the concerns of rural

schools and teachers. For five years, whilst teaching in various rural schools, I noticed

that when an academic year ended, there was a feeling of uncertainty amongst many

teachers. This usually resulted from teachers constant requests for transfer to other

(usually urban) schools. The ones who were left behind were usually the head teachers

or those who were socially attached to a particular community either through marriage,

or had heavily invested in local activities such as farming. Those who were fortunate to

get promoted to Head Teacher and/or Assistant Head Teachers were also reluctant to

leave, as opportunities for getting similar posts in new schools were rare. This study

therefore is not just about staff and students of rural schools but it also draws upon my

experience as a student and a teacher in rural schools in Fiji. It is hoped that this study

would be useful to future generations of rural pupils and teachers as well as to the Fiji’s

Ministry of Education (MOE) in that it might help prompt the authorities to work more

seriously towards improving educational and other services for rural communities. This

study is seen as part of a long process of improving educational delivery by focusing on

teachers. A review of the literature reveals that there have been few attempts to study

the issue of teacher development and retention in rural Fiji. It is hoped that this study’s

findings would help identify the factors involved in recruiting and retaining quality rural

teachers and consider ways of addressing such issues.

In addressing the problems of developing and retaining quality teachers in rural schools,

the study suggests amongst other things, the use of different selection criteria in teacher

4

recruitment and transfers. Many students in rural and remote schools often experience

going through an academic year without a teacher. This study may also help shed some

light as to why it is difficult to recruit teachers and keep them in rural schools.

1.5 Methodological Issues

The overall research methodology is explained in Chapter 4 together with a description

of data collection methods. Generally this study used (three) case studies of three

schools, purposefully selected for the sake of comparison and convenience to the

researcher. The schools presented different characteristics enabling the researcher to

compare and contrast them. This comparative approach allowed the researcher to

examine the same themes in two or more localities in order to provide for an enriching

account of the realities of each context. The schools are situated in an area where the

researcher had already established an acquaintanceship allowing some ease with access

to schools and teachers and hence data gathering. This study adopted a

phenomenological approach in the sense of trying to gain insights into the research

participants’ perceptions, as I tried to get a sense of the lived realities of the people who

work and live in rural schools and rural areas (Marschll & Rossman, 1995). Data

collection techniques included: questionnaires, talanoa sessions, in-depth interviews,

policy document analysis and personal observations.

Whilst the study found that the ‘quality teacher’ was described differently by different

stakeholders it was possible to gauge that most people saw quality teachers as those had

the necessary knowledge, skills and values to do a good job. It was also found that the

geographical location of schools was a great impediment for teacher’s willingness to

5

serve in rural schools. This spatial disadvantage brought about physical, social and

professional isolation to many teachers who opted for rural service. It was also apparent

from the study that rural teachers needed special consideration so as not to ‘lose out’ on

their professional development. School-community relations were an area that could be

harnessed in order to provide more support for rural schools and rural teachers. Better

support from the vanua was considered vital for the survival of rural schools and the

improvement of rural education in general.

1.6 Limitations of the Study

It is important to note that this study was based on case studies of three schools located

in the same place. Fieldwork was undertaken from mid-2007 to early 2008 at a time

when Fiji had just experienced a political crisis in the form of a military takeover. Fiji’s

public workforce (including teachers) had just experienced a five percent salary cut and

many members of trade unions participated in a national strike as a form of protest. All

these events occurred within the study’s time frame. In this situation, the perspectives

obtained in the study might have been unduly affected by the political as well as the

socio-economic climate of the country. It was not the intention of the study to

generalize about Fiji primary schools as a result; rather it tried to capture the

perceptions of teachers and other stakeholders about factors that were important in

recruiting and retaining good teachers in the three rural primary schools. Finally only

those stakeholders who agreed to participate in the study were included thus perhaps

limiting the opinions gathered to those who thought had something to contribute to the

topic.

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1.7 Organisation of Thesis

This thesis is organised into seven chapters. This chapter has provided an overview of

the study, together with the main research questions and findings. Chapter 2 discusses

the study context including a brief account of some of the major educational trends in

Fiji in order to provide the educational context of the study. The third chapter reviews

the literature considered relevant to the study topic. Chapter 4 describes the research

methodology that was used in the study; Chapter 5 states the main findings of the study,

whilst Chapter 6 discusses the research findings in light of the relevant literatures. The

final chapter, Chapter 7 concludes with a brief summary, relevant recommendation and

its implications of some recommendations are suggested.

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2.0 THE FIJI SCHOOL CONTEXT … education systems are

shaped by the course of history and by the physical and cultural milieu in which they function. Fiji is no exception … (Whitehead, 1981: 1).

2.1 Introduction

The study context is discussed in this chapter. Teachers are part of a global landscape

and also play a prominent role in the local scene as well. Fiji as a signatory to various

global educational instruments, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),

Education for All (EFA), United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD) and the 2005 – 2014

UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) has to address such

policies. All of these are reflected to a lesser or greater extent in the Ministry of

Education’s Building a Strategic Direction for Education in Fiji (2006 – 2015), which

was presented at the National Education Summit at the Tradewinds Convention Centre

in Lami on 31 August to 1 September, 2005. Primary school teachers continue to play an

important role in the achievement of Fiji’s educational plans. Of the total number of

primary school teachers in Fiji, about 80% of them are classified as rural and are

expected to serve in rural settings (Coxon, 2000b). Serving in such areas is a challenging

task for teachers and many (teachers) are reluctant to serve in rural schools.

The 2007 census puts Fiji’s total population at approximately 827, 900 (FIBS, 2007),

with about 406, 814 living in rural areas. The ethnic distribution of Fiji’s population is

shown in Table 2.1. Indigenous Fijians make up a large part of the country’s rural

dwellers; approximately 65 percent compared to Indo Fijian’s 33% and the number of

Indo Fijians in the rural areas is decreasing.

8

Table 2.1: Table Indicating the Composition of the Rural Populations by Division/Ethnicity.

Divisions Northern Eastern Central Western Total Indo-Fijians 31, 458 190 11,587 90,840 134,075

Fijians 59,101 32,212 80, 599 91,309 263,221 Others 4,216 2,382 1,516 1,404 9,518

Grand Total 94,775 34,784 93,702 183,553 406,814

Source: FIBS, 2007.

Therefore indigenous Fijian students make up the majority of rural school populations.

Over the recent past, rural communities have faced a lot of challenges including an

erratic agricultural industry, unreliable transport system and improvised health

services, all of which have led to a serious downturn in economic activities in rural

areas. Narsey (2008) estimated that the incidence of poverty in rural areas is higher

(40%) than that of the urban areas (29%) and therefore rural schools are more likely to

find it more difficult to sustain themselves in such challenging economic situations.

2.2 The Fiji Education System

Wesleyan missionaries introduced formal education to Fiji in the 1830’s. Their main

purpose was to convert the indigenous population to Christianity. They then set about

training pastor teachers to instruct children on basic literacy and numeric skills and

facilitate scripture learning. Later in 1844, the Roman Catholic missionaries arrived and

instead of training local teachers and sending them out to village schools, as the

Wesleyan missionaries did, they gathered pupils into groups and instructed the students

themselves.

9

The introduction of these schools in rural areas was met with some resistance. Ravuvu

noted how “…Fijians chiefs were generally unhappy that their once despotic authority

had been curtailed by the presence of the colonial government” (Ravuvu, 1991: 18).

Formal education was often seen as a vehicle for government plans for change and

change was always viewed suspiciously. On the other hand there were other chiefs such

as Ratu Sukuna who was of the view that education was an important tool for political

independence and he, together with some younger chiefs, were sent to school to prepare

for later leadership roles.

The educational problems faced by rural people in Fiji have not been assisted by the

country’s rather erratic economic growth over the years since independence. The

nation’s economy relies heavily on overseas aid and remittances as well as a failing sugar

industry and an unreliable tourism industry. Political instability and several coups have

also adversely affected the economy, especially tourism thus causing a loss of skilled and

educated workers in all sectors, including the Education sector. For instance, in 2007

alone about 280 teachers had migrated overseas (Rauto, 2008) leaving behind gaps that

are difficult to fill especially in rural areas.

A government affirmative action policy was instituted in 2001–2002 to assist the

indigenous Fijians, (the majority of whom lived in rural areas), to realize their

educational goals. The Plan included free tuition for Fijian students up to Form seven

levels. The Blueprint for Affirmative Action (AA) on Fijian Education (MOE, 2001: 2)

had envisioned that such a Plan would “create a system where every Fijian school is

developed to its optimum potential in terms of student achievement, provisions of

10

educational facilities and community participation.” The Plan included ten specific

goals:

• Strengthening Administrative Structure. • Strengthening Community Participation • Review of Current Policies and Establishment of Legislation and

Regulation. • Access to Quality Education and Training at All Levels. • Upgrading the Quality of Fijian Teachers • Management, Financing and Monitoring of all Fijian Schools • Meeting the needs of the Fijian School Leavers • Strengthening Education in Rural Areas. • Increasing Fijian Participation in Higher Education. • Establishments of Standards, Monitoring and accountability in Fijian

Schools. (MOE, 2001: 5).

The total budget for the blueprint action plan in 2001 alone was estimated to be more

than $F8 million. However, the whole exercise was short-lived as the present military

interim regime reviewed the programme after the 2006 coup to include all races rather

than focusing only on the indigenous population.

Since political independence, successive governments have always given education a

large share of its financial allocations, ranging from about 16-22% of the total

government budget. This apparent commitment to the education sector implied a

continuing need to improve the quality of educational outcomes of Fiji students. An

educated workforce had always been a major aim of governments who also considered it

as a foundation for development and poverty alleviation. Figure 2.1 shows the

percentage of the national budget provided for education during the period 1996 –

2003.

11

Figure 2.1: MOE Budget in Comparison to the National Budget (1996 - 2003). Comparative Analysis.

MoE Budget in Comparision to the National Budget (1996 - 2003).

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 20032001 2002

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

Years

($F0

00

,00

0)

Year

Total National Budget

MoE Budget

Source: MOE Annual Reports (1996 – 2003).

Although a large proportion of the national budget is allocated to education, very little of

this money is utilized for the purposes of improving rural education. For example, in

2006 a large portion (89%) of these funds was directed to recurrent expenditure such as

salaries and tuition fees leaving only about 8% for capital improvements whilst the

remaining 3% provided for the valued added taxes incurred. This capital fund normally

went into the construction of classrooms, staff quarters, libraries, classroom furniture,

electricity and other developmental needs of schools. With this meager allocation school

committees are usually left with the burden of supplementing if not totally financing

many school projects. In rural schools, where most people are engaged in subsistence

activities, this amounted to little or no financial support for schools and ultimately

teachers. This means that alternative sources of funding must be sought from the host

community.

12

Figure 2.2: Education Expenditure (2006).

Source: MOE Annual Report (2006).

According to Delailomaloma (2001) a very small proportion of the total education

budget was actually aimed at the qualitative improvement of education such as

developing effective resources such as library books, curriculum development and

research in order to provide a positive impact on the overall processes and outcomes of

learning. However, the continuing gap between spending and improvement has been

attributed by many to the depletion of the nation’s reserves to supplement many

projects; this has led authorities to opt for bilateral assistance.

2.3 Dependence on Foreign Aid

Fiji’s dependence on outside funding for educational development continues to be a

feature of its overall development history. Overseas aid agencies including European

Union (EU), New Zealand Agency for International Development (NZAID), Japan

International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Australian Agency for International

Development AusAID (Australian Agency for International Development) have been

13

prominent in the education sector in the last two decades or so. According to Puamau

(2005c: 54), in a 6 – year period from 1998 to 2003, the major donor agencies provided

at least $F 10,867 ($US 6, 176) million for education, some of which target rural

educational improvement. On such improvement the USP’s Institute of Education (IOE)

in a consultation report cited in Puamau (2005c) highlighted the five priority areas to be

developed in the Fiji Rural Education Programme (FREP). They were: (i) improved

infrastructure and upgrading of facilities; (ii) capacity building and enabling

environment; (iii) quality and adequate resources and materials; (iv) effective and

efficient processes and mechanisms; and (v) community building through education and

partnerships.

Three of the selected key areas dealt directly with the physical structures of schools in

terms of infrastructure development, rural electrification, water supply, roads, building

of new dormitories, upgrading of school facilities in terms of teachers quarters,

libraries/telecentres and laboratories. Some people, including those at the IOE viewed

the lack of infrastructure in rural areas as basically resulting from a lack of physical

resources, which could only be remedied by providing for them in the first place. The

other priorities of capacity building and human resource development needed efficient

and effective policies for their successful implementation. Therefore, one could argue

that an improved infrastructure and more efficient human development planning would

go some ways to generally address the problems faced by rural education in the country.

At this stage, it is important to note that the AusAID Fiji Education Sector Programme

(FESP) is aimed at assisting the MOE to implement strategic reforms, aimed at

improving the delivery and quality of educational services, especially to children in

14

disadvantaged and remote communities (MOE Annual Report, 2005). In this project,

$A10million is earmarked to be spent in the first three years and a possible extension of

an additional $A10 million for another two years. FESP had also targeted activities that

focused on building leadership and management capacity within the Ministry of

Education, building planning capacity of the Ministry of Education’s Research and

Development section and improving curriculum relevance and flexibility. (Table 2.2 &

2.3 provides a breakdown of activities & costs for FREP).

Table 2.2: Expected Donor Assistance to Education in Fiji, 2003 - 2008 (F$ millions). Donor F$ millions Duration Years

AusAID (Fiji Education Sector

Programme)

20 5 years 2004 – 20062007 – 2008

AusAID (LTC Upgrade Project).

5 3 years 2003 – 2006

EU (Fiji Rural Education

Programme)

45.5 5 years 2004 - 2008

EU (Lautoka Teachers College)

8.3 3 years 2003 – 2006

Total 78.8 3 – 5 years 2003 - 2008

Source: IOE, 2003 as cited in Puamau (2005c, 78).

FREP also aimed at achieving equitable access, participation and life-long education for

disadvantaged communities, and improving overall educational quality and outcomes

(MOE Annual Report, 2005b). However, there have been mixed reactions about the

nature and consequences of aid dependence particularly in rural areas and rural schools

where stakeholders do not seem to have much say in what type of infrastructural and

other improvements are needed (Ram, 2009).

15

Table 2.3: European Union/Government of Fiji, Fiji Rural Education Project, Total Cost of Submitted Activities, 2004 - 2008.

Sections Infrastructures and Facilities

€

Programmes

€

Resources

€

Processesand

Mechanisms €

Total

€ Schools 4,311,500 2,852,690 7,056,730 14,220,920Provinces 2,835,130 5,284,380 1,543,780 9,663,290Institutions 3,105,280 3,058,490 2,304,590 8,468,360NSAs 776,350 5,432,780 906,000 7,282,180Sub – Total: 11,028,260 16,628,340 18,867,830 167,050 46,691,480Electricity 12,000,000Water 640,000Sanitation 900,000Transportation 5,000,000Staff Quarters 4,900,000Sub – Total 23,340,000Grand Total 34, 366, 260 16,628,340 18, 867,

830 167, 050 70,026,450

Source: IOE, 2003 as cited in Puamau (2005c, 78).

2.4 Challenges for Rural Dwellers

About 63% (456) of Fiji’s primary schools are situated in remote or isolated areas (MOE,

2006b). The 2000 Education Commission Report had noted, “the work and the ethos of

the school are affected by the school buildings, facilities, infrastructure and teaching

resources,” (Bacchus et al, 2000: 425). Tavola, in the same publication had also

suggested that poor infrastructure was a feature of many of Fiji’s rural areas and that

many (areas) lacked facilities that are normally taken for granted in urban areas such as

easy transportation, electricity, telecommunications and water supply. In regards to the

last of these, it is interesting to note that most rural schools depend on bore holes,

rivers, tanks, wells and other sources for their water supply.

16

Table 2.4: Source of Water Supply to Primary Schools, 1999

Sources of Water Supply SchoolsBore Hole 50

Pipe 150River 5

School’s Own Supply 85Tank 86

Town Supply 217Village Supply 103

Well Supply 11No Information 3

Total 700

Source: Education Commission Report (2000).

On a similar note less than half of the primary schools have reliable source of electricity.

Whilst there were a considerable number of schools that had generators, this was

usually an added burden considering the rising costs of fuel and the amount of time and

repair costs needed when there is a breakdown.

Table 2.5: Source of Electricity Supply to Primary Schools in Fiji, 1999

Source of Electricity SchoolsFEA 339

Generator 187Solar 2None 180

No Information 3Total 711

Source: Education Commission Report (2000).

Technical equipment that teachers today have become increasingly dependent upon

often needs electricity to function. Rural schools generally lack this service thus

furthering hindering the dissemination of information and other services for rural

schools and teachers.

A feature of rural primary schools in Fiji is multi-grade teaching, which is considered

inevitable due to small student enrollments. Most of the schools that adopt multi-grade

17

teaching are indigenous Fijian schools where parents had opted to set up their own

village school to cater for their children’s needs rather than sending them to a distant

(boarding) school. The establishment and maintenance of such small village schools is

also a reflection of a community’s sense of identity and pride. However the economic

implications as reflected in the extra costs incurred on such things, as transport and

maintenance do not often facilitate a lot of infrastructural improvement in these

schools. Despite these challenges, Reeves and Bylund (2005) had suggested that rural

schools were capable of achieving a sustained academic improvement that could be

comparable to urban and well-facilitated schools; this is something that would be

achieved with good will and commitment from all the stakeholders, especially teachers.

2.5 Primary Schools in Fiji

The remote location and difficult conditions faced by rural communities often mean that

rural schools are resource-poor and unattractive to many teachers. This means that

students performance would tend to be lower compared to those in urban areas leading

to some of the brighter’ students being relocated to urban schools. Such probably

contribute to increase in urban populations. The 2007 Population Census had noted the

increase in urban population and a decrease in the rural population (FIBS, 2007).

Apart from poor infrastructure, transport is another area of concern for rural schools.

Teachers have to travel the long distances over graveled roads in order to access normal

services such as banking, postal, communications and medical services. Whilst, outer

island teachers have to either hire boats or fly if this service is available. The exorbitant

amounts required for such trips have to be met by teachers and parents themselves.

18

It is common knowledge that many teachers would opt to teach in a rural school for two

reasons: to get an appointment in the civil service or to fast track their promotions.

Rural postings usually involve extra responsibilities that are not often associated with

urban schools such as the supervision of boarders, and participating in and conforming

to, communal activities. As a rural teacher once, my colleagues and I often felt that these

aspects of our work were not often recognized nor rewarded.

2.6 Management of Primary Schools

The majority of Fiji’s primary schools are controlled by non-government organisations,

such as various churches and other religious groups. According to the 2006 MOE

Annual Report, about 99.72% of the schools are either managed by religious

organisations or local committees. This partnership between government and non-

government organizations is important for Fiji and is commonly regarded as beneficial

for both communities and students.

All the three schools selected for this study are community-managed. Community

members select the school committees to serve for a term of three years. The members

selected usually represent various interest groups and organisations such as women’s

organisations, youth groups and of course the various villages/settlements in which

schools are located. The school committee’s main role is to oversee the smooth

administration of the school. This includes attending to teachers’ needs (such as

stationery, teachers’ classroom and teachers quarters). The treasurer of the school

19

committee normally handles all fundraising activities and teachers are often

discouraged from being involved with the schools’ financial transactions.

Whilst private schools are usually independent of government assistance, the economic

state of many communities does not allow total independence. This means that whilst

communities and school management would own and provide the appropriate school

facilities, the state would provide teachers and, curriculum materials, monitor and

assess students and teachers, and assist with the school’s recurrent and capital grants.

2.7 The Schools in this Study

A brief description of the three schools in this study is provided here in order to assist

the reader in understanding the daily realities of these schools. The daily life of each of

the study schools was observed during the course of the fieldwork. Observations were

not only limited to the school communities but extended to the wider village community

because of the close link between the schools and their communities, as reflected in

people’s daily activities of food gathering, and/or fund raising to support the school and

the lives of children in these schools. The school is an important part of the life of each

community or village.

The general area in which the three schools are located is about 80 – 100 kilometers

from Labasa and Savusavu towns respectively. These towns are in Vanua Levu, North of

Fiji. Access to the schools was a major problem. Bus services are generally unreliable

and irregular, and often disrupted by bad weather. It usually takes from 4-5 hours to

travel to the schools by bus from town and road conditions are generally very bad.

20

Sometimes bus services are suspended for up to three months each year because of

deteriorating road conditions and people living these communities would normally need

to find other means of transportation. Students normally have to walk to school on a

journey of 4 – 12 kilometers every day. Some schools have set up hostel facilities to cater

for students who live very far from the school.

Fundraising for capital projects are usually organised according to school ‘Houses’,

which are appropriately named after Fijian chiefs or special wildlife species.

Due to their location, the three schools are being classified as Category 1 rural schools.

This means that teachers receive $300.00 per annum for transportation purposes.

However, this does not seem adequate given that the cost of hiring a vehicle from the

main town to one of the schools ranges $100 - $150 (one-way). None of the three

schools has access to a direct telephone line so sharing (a radio telephone) with nearby

villages is common. However, most of the telephones are solar-powered and during

cloudy or rainy weather are unworkable. Many school facilities are generally inadequate

and not well maintained and some buildings are in a dilapidated state, posing serious

health concerns for both teachers and students.

2.7.1 Va Primary School

This school was established in 1950. Unlike many rural Fijian primary schools, Va

Primary School is situated about a kilometer from the village. Village elders had

defended this idea as they held education in high regard and do not want the school or

the teachers to be disturbed from the daily village activities. When the school was

visited in 2007, the school had a lone Indo-Fijian teacher. Almost all of the teachers

were undergoing some sort of professional development and this could be attributed to

21

the support Assistant Head Teacher who is a University graduate herself. Table 2.6

shows the number of teachers with their respective classes, ethnicity, qualification, years

of teaching and years in the present school.

Table 2.6: School Staff Profile of Va Primary School.

Class Class Teacher

2.7.2 Gender Ethnicity Qualification Years of Teaching

Years in Present School

1 Lavenia Female Ethnic Fijian Teaching Certificate

B.Ed (Pursuing)

15 4

2 Ema Female Ethnic Fijian Teaching Certificate

B.Ed Post-Graduate

Diploma in Education Masters of Education (pursuing)

25

3

3&4 Apete Male Ethnic Fijian Teaching Certificate

29 6

5 Marika Male EthnicFijian

Teaching Certificate

B.Ed (Pursuing)

12 7

6 Jagjit Male Indo-Fijian Teaching Certificate

B.Ed (Pursuing)

3 3

7&8 Leo Male EthnicFijian

Teaching Certificate

B.Ed (Pursuing)

13 4

Source: Tuimavana, Field Notes (2007).

A major concern for this school was water supply and there has been no steady water

source for the school during the last decade after the initial source of water dried out

due to extensive agricultural activity in the area. Today only the teachers’ quarters have

access to piped water. Other facilities including the hostel, kitchen and the dining hall

have no steady source of water. Makeshift water-seal toilets had been constructed to

22

cater for the students’ needs. Students are usually tasked at the end of each school day to

fetch water from a nearby stream for cleaning toilets and for cooking. In times of severe

droughts, this service is also being rendered to the teachers. As is common in boarding

schools throughout Fiji, teachers take turns in the supervision of boarders from as early

as 5:30am until about 9:00pm. These duties are in addition to their normal classroom

work. There is no source of electricity in this school after the last generator broke down

more than a decade ago. Hence teachers have to find their own source of electricity with

most of them having purchased portable generators. At the time of the fieldwork, the

teachers were also tasked with supplying electricity for the boarders during their study

time. At other times including meal times, boarders used kerosene lanterns.

The Va school community has undertaken to lease their land to the Fiji Hardwood

Corporation (FHC) for re-forestation. Initially the company had provided casual

employment to some of the villagers who helped out with road clearing, planting and

rearing of mahogany plants. More recently however, due to financial difficulties, the

company has ceased employing locals and this has had negative consequences to their

income. Many villagers have gone back to cutting copra for a living while others are

planting yaqona to supplement their income, and meet their daily needs which include

paying school fees.

Village work routines are group oriented and traditional leaders usually lead the group.

Monday is usually spent gathering firewood for the village copra dryer to which villagers

usually sell their copra. Tuesday is siga ni cakacaka vakakoro” (community work day)

when the general cleaning of the village is carried out. Once a month, the whole village

23

either has a meeting or they visit the school for general cleaning and maintenance

purposes. On Wednesday to Friday people work in their plantations and on Saturday

people gather and prepare food for Sunday.

2.7.2 Lima District School

Unlike Va Primary School, Lima District School has a regular supply of water. However,

this school is greatly disadvantaged by its location, about 3 km away from the main

road. The access road that services the school is in terrible condition and people,

including teachers have to use punts or boats to travel to the main road, an added

financial burden. To make it worse, if one needed to travel to the nearest town, one

needed to rise as early as 3.00am in order to catch the only bus from the area, which

leaves at 6 am. The return trip is usually late, arriving at the school at around 9pm.

Lima District School caters for about six villages. The far-flung communities have an

arrangement with the school to have students housed in hostels, although the school is

not properly registered with the Ministry of Education as a boarding school. The

communities contributed to building students accommodation within the vicinity of the

school and parents have arrangements in place for cooking meals for their children.

Unlike teachers of Va Primary School the staff of Lima do not have to supervise

boarders.

Another major disadvantage of Lima District School is the shortage of teachers’

quarters. Lima only has four teachers’ quarters to house its six teachers. At the time of

the fieldwork one of the teachers from a nearby village was staying at her village due to

24

the unavailability of staff quarters in the school. A classroom had had to be converted

into a staff quarter with shared facilities, for another teacher.

Table 2.7: School Staff Profile of Lima District School.

Class Class Teacher

Gender Ethnicity Qualification Years of Teaching

Years in Present School

1 Sai Female Ethnic Fijian Teaching Certificate 16 102 Sue Female Ethnic Fijian Teaching Certificate

B.Ed (Pursuing)

15 15

3 Mere Female Ethnic Fijian Teaching CertificateB.Ed

(Pursuing)

25 3

4 Ana Female Ethnic Fijian Teaching Certificate 9 25 Manoa Male Ethnic Fijian Teaching Certificate 17 16 Lai Male Ethnic Fijian Teaching Certificate 3 1

Source: Tuimavana, Field Notes (2007).

The community in which this school is located is predominantly agricultural, with most

people engaged in copra and yaqona farming. A few are employed as gardeners,

cleaners and handymen. All agricultural produce for sale have to be transported by boat

to the main road and the cost of this ranges from $5.00 - $10.00. The villagers also

assist with school clean up and maintenance as requested by school management. Most

of the work is done on an ad hoc and voluntary basis, as the villages tend to be spread

out and the terrain rather rugged does not help.

2.7.3 Ono District School

The challenge being faced by Ono District School is due to its small size. Being a

relatively small school, it had been allocated only four teachers who were engaged in

composite-class teaching. Teachers from Ono had earlier raised concerns when a female

teacher had to take maternity leave of three months, and the three remaining teachers

25

had to resort to multiple classes teaching because the school was not allocated a

relieving teacher. This is usually the case for very remote schools where the number of

teachers is kept to a minimum due to its small size. While there had been various

arguments in Fiji about the effectiveness of multiple class teaching in rural areas, rural

teachers are often unfairly judged because of their emphasis on examination results and

the fact that the strengths of multiple class-teaching is often undermined by teachers’

focus on their examination classes. All of the teachers at this school had attended

training colleges, with one exception.

Table 2.8: School Staff Profile of Ono District School.

Class Class Teacher

Gender Ethnicity Qualification Years of Teaching

Years in Present School

1 & 2 Marica Female Ethnic Fijian Teaching CertificateB.Ed (pursuing) 16 3

3 & 4 Isoa Male Ethnic Fijian Teaching Certificate 16 35 & 6 Viniana Female Ethnic Fijian Teaching Certificate 9 67 & 8 Viren Male Indo-Fijian Teaching Diploma 1 1

Source: Tuimavana, Field Notes (2007).

The Ono community is different from the other two communities as about 80% of

villagers are employed by the various government agencies that are located in the

vicinity. Children from Ono village and from Natau, (about 3 kilometers away), attend

Ono District School. Life begins early as villagers prepare to travel to their worksites by

7:00 am. Such a schedule is considered by many villages to be good as it meant that the

whole family is ready early for the working day. Fundraising activities are usually more

successful at Ono because people tend to have regular sources of income. In return,

villages expect the school management to be transparent and accountable especially in

relation to school budgets.

26

It has been an unwritten rule to have representatives from the different mataqalis and

other social groups that live in the village to be members of the school committees. For

example, the current school executive committee included a representative from a youth

group and a women’s group, something that is not a feature of the other two school

committees. This may be attributed to the active participation of old scholars in the

school, many of whom are university graduates and/or are professionals. There have

been occasions when former graduates who have well established careers have been

invited to give addresses at the school and help to inspire students and teachers alike.

Regular contact between such people, and grassroots people was seen to have a positive

impact on the school.

All three selected schools displayed features that are common to many rural schools in

Fiji, where most people in the school community are engaged in subsistence farming

while a few found work in nearby towns. The force of rural to urban migration has

resulted in the neglect of much of village infrastructure which was either undeveloped or

run down. According to some community members, there was some infrastructural

growth in the early 1980s, which included work on new roads, the construction of an

airstrip, and the establishment of a jetty. However, apart from the road, the others have

not been activated for two decades, something that many people attributed to the

political instability that has plagued the country since 1987.

27

2.8 Summary

In this section I have tried to provide the context of this study – more specifically, the

contexts in which the three schools are located. Some important issues raised in this

chapter included the historical legacy of formal education in Fiji, the amount of money

that is spent on education, the country’s continuing dependence on external aid donors

for much of its educational development agenda, and the kinds of services (or lack

thereof) that are generally available to rural schools (and therefore teachers). The next

chapter will be devoted to a review of the literature that has helped in the shaping study

especially its theoretical considerations.

28

3.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

…creating a synthesis is like trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle for which most of the pieces are missing and

many of the available pieces are not fully formed… Galvan (2006, 2).

3.1 Introduction

This chapter will review some of the literatures related to this study. It is generally

agreed that literature appraisal provides a sense of direction in the area of interest.

Depoy and Gitlin (1998) provide four main reasons for reviewing the literature; (1) to

identify previous research, (2) to help in theoretical and knowledge development, (3) to

provide relevant previous knowledge to the studied area and (4) to provide a rationale of

the research strategies. This chapter reviews the literature using these four principles,

and focusing specifically on quality education in rural schools.

In 1970, Bhagirathi noted a general dissatisfaction with education in Fiji by highlighting

that the foundation of the present education system was laid a long time ago (1916

Ordinance), which was to have a great impact on later educational developments. The

issue of quality education had been mooted as early as 1879 with the legislation of

Ordinance 10 which approved the formation of the public school system. The education

system at that time was limited to those educational services offered by various Missions

whose primary role was the conversion of the masses to Christianity. Ordinance 10 was

also meant to facilitate a more coordinated system that provided for a uniform

curriculum, increase in number of state assisted schools, properly legislate the

establishment of new schools and formalise the teaching profession.

29

Today, different people define quality differently. For example in the nineteenth

century, quality education generally meant the expansion of educational establishments

(a more of a quantitative expression). However, today quality education seems to focus

more on access to education of children from all walks of life and ensuring that all their

educational needs are catered for. A key concept in quality education assumes that

education is a basic human right. That quality education focuses on children seems

obvious and this is reflected in current educational policies as well as a number of

different international educational instruments that drive educational activities in Fiji.

In a study by Carron and Chau (1996) of the quality of education in primary schools in

four countries (China, India, Guinea and Mexico), teachers’ characteristics had the most

bearing on student’s attainment. In Fiji, Cokanasiga’s (1996) study had also included

creative teaching pedagogies and teacher professionalism in a list of important

indicators of quality education in Fiji. In a more recent report by Bacchus (2000), for

improving the quality of education in the community, the professional calibre of

teachers was among the major factors listed (the others being supervision and

monitoring of school performance and the decentralising of the work of the Ministry of

Education).

The centrality of teachers to the realizing of quality education means that educational

reforms need to consider teachers. Morrison and McIntyre (as cited in Teaero, 2004: 2)

succinctly express the view held by many today:

The quality of education depends primarily upon their (teachers) personal characteristics, their relationships with individual pupils and classes, and

30

their skills in motivating pupils and managing classroom activities. Unless they (teachers) are competent, neither conventional instruction nor innovation is likely to be successful.

The crucial role of teachers is also emphasised in the Delor’s Report (1996), which

devoted a whole chapter to teachers.

3.2 Defining Quality Teachers

Defining and outlining a common definition of ‘quality teaching’ is not an easy task and

remains problematic. This lack of a common, consistent, and explicit definition of

“quality” is not an insignificant factor in the debate about how to obtain quality teachers.

Afamasaga (1999) argues that the term quality is ‘elusive’ and ‘multi-dimensional’. We

often hear life stories of quality teachers but it is seldom that we directly experience

their presence and we often wonder whether it is a realistic goal to achieve. Not only is

there no universal agreement about what quality teaching is, but also there is

considerable controversy as to how quality is to be measured. The OECD (1989: 27)

addresses the issue by defining four features of quality namely: an attribute or defining

essence; a degree of relative worth; a description of something good or excellent; and a

non-quantifiable trait.

3.3 Quality Teaching in Fiji

The lack of a consistent definition or measurable features of a quality teacher has given

rise to further complications in defining quality in Fiji. According to Coxon (2000a:

420) quality teachers are basically “those who effectively enhance student learning and

outcomes and demonstrate high levels of commitment”. The Report further suggests

31

seven standards of quality teachers as, including: commitment to students and their

learning; wide knowledge of curriculum; excellent pedagogic skills and utilises effective

teaching strategies; the ability to be self-critical; empathy and acknowledging the dignity

of others; managerial competence for administrative roles; and collegial and

collaborative attitude (Coxon, 2000a: 420 – 421).

It is obvious from empirical evidence (such as Husen, 1975 & Bacchus, 2000) that the

teacher is the most important single input in determining quality education in schools.

Researchers such as Solomon, Bigler, Hanushek, Shulman and Walberg, (2004),

Glatthorn and Fox (1996) and Berliner (1986) have all highlighted the common

denominator in quality education being the character of teachers. The personal

attributes of teachers contribute enormously to their classroom effectiveness in three

particular ways. According to Glatthorn and Fox (1996), the first factor is ‘teacher input’

or what teachers bring into the classroom. This includes how they have been

professionally trained for the task at hand. Another factor is ‘teacher behaviour’ or what

they do in the classroom. This includes their personal characteristics, and the third and

final factor is ‘student outcomes’ or how they change the students for the better. This

takes into account how they put into practice what they have learned during their

training. According to Glatthorn and Fox (1996: 1) quality teaching is defined as

“teaching that maximises learning for all students”, a process that is guided, directed

and dictated by curriculum outcomes and expectations of stakeholders. Thaman

(2002b) whilst addressing the Council of Pacific Education (COPE) Bi-annual

Conference in Nadi had emphasised expertise, pedagogical know-how, understanding of

technology, organisational competence and collaboration, flexibility, mobility and

32

openness as integral ingredients of a professional teacher. However, Tavola (1991a &

1991b) in her study of secondary schools in Fiji suggests that quality teachers may not be

so crucial and that the school ethos and leadership were also important in the pursuance

of quality education. The school environment, she suggests, also plays an influential role

in contributing to quality education and cannot be left to teachers alone.

In Fiji the demand for education has increased over the years thus placing a huge

amount of pressure on the education system to fulfill its basic goal of delivering basic

quality education. In a country with over one third of schools located in rural areas

(Tavola, 2000a), the pursuit of quality education has become a very serious issue.

Hopkin (1972) in an earlier study, however, suggests that it is near impossible to talk

generally about rural schools in Fiji because each school has its own distinctive

characteristics. It is undeniable that Fiji’s geographical make-up of more than 300

islands places the rural population at a distinct disadvantage, as the logistics of domestic

travel are huge and local communities are forced to set-up their own schools, often an

uneconomical venture as communities have to bear the costs, some of which are

transferred to teachers. Bray (1987: 10) agrees with Hopkin stating that although small

schools are common they are not universally similar. However a common factor shared

by rural schools is their remoteness. It is an undeniable fact that in Fiji, rural schools are

here to stay and that we can only try to improve the services that are being rendered by

them. Modh and Landstrom (1996), in a study of rural primary schools found what

most Fijians already know - that rural primary school students face many challenges

and are disadvantaged compared to their urban counterparts. Rabukawaqa (2007) in

her closing address to the Fijian Teachers Association Annual General Meeting echoes

33

similar sentiments and suggests that it is everyone’s duty to ensure quality education for

all students.

A common indicator in Fiji for assessing quality in schools is examination results.

Schools and teachers alike are judged on the basis of students’ academic performances.

For instance a report in the Fiji Times of December 21st 2007, was titled “Villagers angry

at poor pass rates” highlighting the dismal performance of particular schools as reflected

in high students’ failure rate. The article notes:

Falling pass rates in primary schools in the Northern Division has prompted villagers to seek removal of teachers at Natewa District School. A spokesman for the concerned parents (Mr. Natewai) said over the past six years pass rates at the school had continued to drop …this has been happening for the past years and the ministry needs to do something. [Italics added]. (Silatoga, 2007: 3).

The above statement reflects the fact that teachers are often assessed on external

examination results and when these are poor, there are calls for their mass transfer.

However, Hari Ram (as cited in Puamau, 1999: 196) a former Permanent Secretary of

Education, believes that a “good teacher” should be able to teach a particular subject in a

somewhat different way in a rural area from the way he or she does in an urban centre,

by using examples with which rural students are familiar. Old scholars also consider a

school’s pass rate an indicator of quality. Old scholars of a prominent school once called

for the removal of its Principal after the school achieved low pass rates in external

examinations, (Singh, 2007). However, in an earlier article published in the Fiji Times,

the President of the Fijian Teachers Association Mr. Tevita Koroi had opposed using the

transfer of teachers as a solution to such problem of low pass rates. He was of the view

34

that the “students’ non-performance was beyond the teachers’ control,” (“Transfer not

answer: Koroi,” 2007: 4). Koroi a high school Principal himself highlighted two other

reasons for poor academic results, namely the lack of quality teachers, and inadequate

facilities and resources. He agreed that transferring teachers was only a quick-fix

solution for a serious problem.

3.4 The Centrality of Primary Schooling

Primary education is central to the achievement of basic education especially literacy

and numeric skills that are further developed in secondary schools. In the contemporary

world most countries rely on schooling to provide the necessary education for their

children. Many writers have recently argued for a more culturally democratic school

education for Pacific learners through the consideration and incorporation of more

indigenous knowledge and skills into the school curriculum (see Thaman, 1996 & 2003;

Teasdale & Teasdale 1992 & Teaero, 2002). Thaman (2003) in particular have long

argued that school education is not culture-free and there is a need for a more culturally

inclusive curriculum and teaching (Thaman, 2000 & 2003). Little (cited in Thaman

(2002a: 25) also refers to a “cultural gap” that exists between the local culture and the

formal classroom environment. This gap, according to Thaman (2002a: 25) is “the

distance between the expectations of the school curriculum and those of the cultures in

which students are socialised”. Most Fijian rural communities continue to be deeply

rooted in their cultures hence the discrepancies between the school curriculum and the

local culture are more widespread and evident in rural schools compared to their urban

counterparts where western influence is generally more pronounced. This cultural gap is

often seen by many as a necessary evil for achieving economic success as education has

35

come to be perceived as a vehicle to economic growth and a bridge between rural

communities and prosperity. Niumataiwalu (2007) for example believes that investing

in education would result in reaping maximum dividends in the long term. For example,

when a rural child, because of schooling becomes a health practitioner, there are

benefits not only to the family but also to the wider community. Teachers are therefore

expected to work towards bridging this gap between learners and the school culture,

especially in rural schools.

3.5 Rural Education

Formal education is generally viewed as one of the most important instruments for

social and economic reforms in Fiji. An FAO/UNESCO report (2002: 11) states, “if

investment in education is justified then investment in rural education is more so”.

Rural development has become part and parcel of a country’s political agenda, at least in

theory. In a study of single teacher primary schools in Great Britain, Muse, Hite and

Powely, (1997) note some of the general strengths of rural schools include small

numbers of pupils, learning groups of different ages, a caring atmosphere and good

communication with the parents all of which can result in a more positive school ethos.

However, small numbers can lead to the problem of “diseconomies” (Stern, 1994: 8) and

issues relating to the economic viability of facilitating education to a small group of

students. The “economies of scale” of maintaining educational services to a small

number of students are mammoth and the cost of demand and supply quite uneven.

Moreover, the small sizes of rural populations and rural schools often do not contribute

to their economic sustainability and often result in higher incidences of poverty (Narsey,

2008). Most rural communities continue to rely heavily on declining traditional

36

economies in the marine and agricultural sectors whilst their urban counterparts benefit

from the more stable market of the public sector, which is further, enhanced by the

availability of information and communication technologies (ICT). Finally globalisation

also has affected rural communities resulting in an uneven distribution of wealth across

the community by increasing the disparity between the rural and urban dwellers

(Tuinamuana, Burnett, Dorovolomo & Koya-Vaka’uta, 2006).

3.6 Teacher Status

In most developing countries like Fiji, teachers constitute the largest group of salaried

workers as well as being the major portion of government employees (Hallak, 1990). But

more significantly, the effectiveness and efficiency of the education system, which

receives the lion’s share of the national budget, rests on the teachers’ efforts.

Teaching has always been seen as a noble profession in Fiji. In a recent media article, a

primary school teacher who had recently graduated with a Masters of Education degree

from the University of the South Pacific had highlighted the importance of teaching as

“they work at grassroots level” (Panapasa, 2009). Views on teacher status are culturally

and socially embedded and are reflected in the reverence paid to the teaching profession

in Fijian culture. During colonial times, it was common practice to train individuals to

either be a qasenivuli (teacher) if they excelled academically or as a talatala (preacher)

if they were not. These two professions were both introduced by missionaries to assist in

conversion of the people (Scarr, 2001). However, over the years this high regard for

teachers seemed to have diminished and changed and has resulted partly in the

brightest school leavers opting for other professions. Rogovakalali (1992) as cited in

37

Lingam (1996) highlighted that it generally costs less to professionally prepare a

primary school teacher than most other professions with the exception of trade’s people.

Teacher remuneration is certainly one of the reasons for this. In 2007, the starting

salaries for beginning teachers were as follows;

• Degree with Teacher Training $18 299 pa • Degree $16 757 pa • Diploma in Education $13 540 pa • Diploma in a related field $12 455 pa

(MOE, 2007).

Williams (2000: 212) had emphasized that “teaching should be treated as a first class

profession and every effort should be made to ensure that this is so”. It would be also

appropriate for the government to ensure that teachers upgrade their skills and

provided incentives to do so. In a recent study in developing countries, (Vegas, 2007)

had noted that teacher salary and working conditions are important factors in

influencing teacher supply. However, Ladd (2007) in a study on teacher labour markets

in more developed countries indicated that students from countries with higher salary

teachers do not usually perform better those teachers from lower paid countries in

international tests. Hence, salary cannot be seen as the sole determinant for having

quality teachers.

3.7 Teacher Demand

Teacher demand usually depends on a number of factors. The exponential growth of the

school age population is a contributing factor. The quantitative expansion of the

education sector since independence meant more schools were established hence the

need for more teachers. For example in 1987, there were 677 primary schools, in 1994 it

has increased to 696 schools and in 2006 715 primary schools (MOE, 2006b). Policy

38

decisions on class size and teacher-pupil ratios also help to determine the number of

teachers needed. Tohmatsu and Deloitte (1993) study had recommended that an

optimum class roll of 30 pupils per teacher and strongly suggests that no classes should

exceed 40 pupils. The teacher-pupil ratio in Fiji’s primary schools has been set at 1:30

although in reality there are instances where this ratio is much lower as is the case in

some rural schools. Another important element is the employers’ willingness to absorb

more personnel into the workforce. For developing countries like Fiji where the

economy is not as buoyant as in many more developed nations, teachers are on the

government payroll and hence the teacher establishment depends on the country’s

financial state.

3.8 Teacher Supply

It is on the quality of teachers supplied to and utilised by the school system that the

quality of education is dependent upon. Two approaches are used in the supply of

teachers in Fiji (Lingam, 1996). The first is the proactive approach where the demand is

met according to a predicted quota level, and secondly there is the reactive approach

where recruitment mechanisms are put in place only when the need arises. Tora (1996)

identified three major determinants of teacher supply; wastage rate, number of new

graduates joining the teaching service and a number of previously trained teachers

rejoining the profession or entering it for the first time. There are also a number of

economic and political factors that influence the depletion of human resource. For

example recent developments in Fiji’s retirement policy (positioned at 55 years, reverted

to 60 and again went back to 55 years) would definitely have an impact on teacher

supply in future.

39

Teacher supply has also been affected by teacher migration to countries like New

Zealand and Australia where teachers see living and working conditions as more

favorable. This pursuit of ‘greener pastures’ has definitely created a vacuum that must

be replenished with trained professionals. Studies have indicated that Fiji’s centralized

system is laden with bureaucracy and tend to focus on creating an efficient and

manageable organization that has had a detrimental effect on teacher retention

(Velayutham 1994 & 1996). For instance, individual teachers’ aspirations are often not

taken into consideration by appointment bodies resulting in teachers’ sense of

disenchantment, aggravation and low morale (Tora, 1996: 13). Striking a balance

between teacher supply and demand is a real challenge in a developing country where

teacher migration often leave school districts without staff and the economic situation

especially when the (poor) economic situation of the country cannot meet teacher

demand.

3.9 Isolation Dilemmas

One factor that often impact on teachers’ decision to leave the workforce is teacher

isolation. Paia’s work though dated, points to various kinds of isolation that make rural

teaching unattractive. They include: professional/intellectual factors; social factors;

personal factors; and psychological factors (Paia, 1971). Teacher isolation also tends to

curtail teacher reflection, an important component in quality teaching. Jay (2003)

believes that teachers have little opportunity for collegial contact in the ‘egg-crate’

structure of schools and in rural communities where there are only a handful of

teachers, separated from other teachers by distance; reflection is very difficult to

accomplish. In the Fiji context Modh and Landstrom (1996) argue that isolated rural

40

schools have suffered the same fate as a result of their remoteness. Retaining teachers in

rural schools also has economic implications. Questions often arise about the cost of

attracting teachers to remote areas where schools are small and presumably

manageable. However, Bray and Packer (1993) believe that that these small institutions

are vulnerable, uneconomic and dependent, suggesting that the economies of the

communities with small schools are minimal and are not able to fully sustain teacher’s

needs nor can lure them to these remote locations.

3.10 Teacher Education

Teacher education with a focus on service in different contexts is also an important

consideration in teacher supply. A number of recent studies have looked at global

trends in teacher education [e.g. Moon, Vlasceanu and Burrows, (2003); Morris and

Williamson (2000) and OECD (2005)]. A concern raised in these studies was that

enrolment in teacher education programmes is often a fall back option in response to

deterioration in the graduate labour market. In Belgium, for example, more than half of

the trainee teachers that had enrolled at teacher training college had indicated that a

teaching career was initially their second or third choice option and they had opted for

this teaching as merely a means of securing a job. In the Pacific region, 20 percent of

students who enrolled in degree programmes at the University of the South Pacific in

2004 were studying some form of education courses (USP, 2004). A high proportion of

these students were in teacher education although many ended up in urban schools or

migrate overseas.

41

The concern about the fit between teacher education and the realities of teaching is

global (CEART, 2006). For Fiji, this is discussed by Lingam (2002) who suggests

changes in the teacher education curriculum to include multi-grade teaching especially

for rural schools is something that is considered difficult by teachers. Earlier, in 1995, in

a workshop for the Pacific Teacher Education Consultation Project (PTECP) held and

organised by the University of the South Pacific, participants identified key traits for the

ideal teacher, which included: (1) having a holistic view; (2) having the ability to

negotiate cultural democracy; (3) having the awareness of human resource principles;

(4) treating teaching as a profession not as a career; (5) flexibility; (6) being a problem

solver; (7) role modeling; (8) having the urge to learn; (9) being well-versed with

curriculum content; (10) being adaptable; (11) being a professional and (12) having the

ability to self-reflect. These were general traits that apply to all teachers and not specific

to any contexts. It was the intention of this study to gauge those abilities that relate to

quality teachers for rural and remote schools.

3.11 Teacher Education for Primary Schools

Teacher education globally is largely based on two models (OECD, 2005), the

consecutive and concurrent training models. The consecutive model is where

professional training in teaching pedagogy is taken after having completed a first degree

in another discipline. A trainee, for example, might have completed an undergraduate

degree in marine studies or information technology and by enrolling in a post graduate

certificate/diploma in education programme becomes equipped to impart knowledge to

students in the classroom. Such a form of teacher education is viewed as beneficial

considering that teachers are deferring their decision point to a later stage whereby they

42

are more certain that they are to take up teaching as a profession. In Fiji, this model is

used for high school teachers only. The concurrent model, which is a more integrated

approach to teacher education (the trainee teachers are simultaneously engaged in

teaching pedagogy courses and their subject fields) is used in the three primary teacher-

training institutions in Fiji, namely, the government owned Lautoka Teachers College,

the Catholic owned Corpus Christi Training College and the Seven Day Adventist Fulton

College (see Table 3.1).

Table 3.1: The different programmes used by the different teacher training institutions and the different models utilised Teacher Training

Institution. Programmes Offered. No of

Years. Model Utilised.

Lautoka Teachers College.

Certificate in Primary Teaching. (Phased out in 2005).

2 yrs. Concurrent.

Diploma in Primary Teaching 2yrs Concurrent Corpus Christi

Teachers College. Teachers Certificate. 3 yrs. Concurrent.

Fulton College. (Formerly Fulton

Missionary College).

Diploma 3 yrs. Concurrent Bachelor in Primary Teaching 4 yrs. Concurrent

Fiji College of Advanced Education

Diploma in Secondary Teaching. 2 yrs Concurrent

University of the South Pacific

Bachelor of Education (Prim) - In-service

2 yrs Concurrent

Bachelor of Education (Secondary) – Phased out in 2002.

3 yrs Concurrent

Bachelor of Arts/Science & Post-Graduate Certificate

4 yrs Consecutive

This study focuses on pre-service training for primary school teachers and thus excludes

the University of the South Pacific, which offers primary school teachers with an in-

service degree programme.

43

3.12 Lautoka Teachers College (LTC)

Established in 1977, LTC has been the major teacher training institution for primary

school teachers in Fiji. The institution’s responsibilities were transferred from Nasinu

Teachers College, which the MOE decided to close down. These move made LTC the sole

government-owned institution to train and offer re-fresher courses for primary school

teachers. According to a Public Service Commission [PSC] release (2003), there were

about 180 government scholarships on offer for the two-year training period. Over a

period of five years from 1996, LTC has managed to produce 857 graduates. At the

beginning of 2005, with the assistance of AusAID, the institution upgraded its

programme from a Certificate in Primary Teaching to the Diploma level.

3.13 Corpus Christi Training College (CCTC)

Corpus Christi Teachers College is a Catholic Church administered institution, which

was established in 1971. Its initial primary role was to provide a three-year Junior

Conversion Teachers Course. However, later on, this responsibility changed to the

training of teachers specifically for Classes one to four. In 1977 the Ministry of

Education ended this agreement as it had a surplus of teachers with the qualification. It

was then that it started a Primary Teachers Certificate for service in more than 60

Catholic-administered schools. The Public Service Commission (PSC) offers twenty

scholarships for trainee teachers at the institution. It has been a common practice for

the state scholarship holders to get first priority in being offered a job. The Government

needs such students to honour their bond agreement as part of their initial

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

44

3.14 Fulton College (FC)

In the 1940s, another teacher training college was established with the initiative of the

Seventh Day Adventist Mission. Three primary goals for Fulton College (FC) were:

teaching; business enterprise; and pastoral care. Since its establishment it has not only

catered for Fijian nationals but for people from other Pacific Island countries. However,

for this study the focus is on the two other major training institutions due to the non-

existence of graduates from Fulton College in the case study schools. Additionally, the

government has also restricted its recruitment of Fulton College’s graduates in the past

few years.

The University of the South Pacific offers an in-service degree program for primary

school teachers (BED primary) who have completed their primary training and had

taught at least three years. This program has proved popular with teachers throughout

the Pacific region many of whom have continued to pursue post-graduate studies

(Thaman, 2008).

3.15 Culture and Teacher Education

Quality teaching is often related to teachers’ ability to understand the cultural contexts

of schools and learners and many Pacific scholars have raised concern about the

importance of raising the awareness of teacher educators as well as MOE officials about

this aspect of Pacific education [see Thaman, 1977, 1992a, 1999a & 1999b, 2000 &

2002a), Tatafu, Booth and Wilson, (1997), Tuinamuana (2002), Nabobo (2000b),

Nabobo and Teasedale (1999), Sanga (1996), Baba (1999) and Teaero (1999 & 2004)].

45

Thaman, UNESCO Chair in Teacher Education and Culture at the University of the

South Pacific, has long argued the need to incorporate culture into the curriculum of

teacher education to enlighten and empower Pacific islands teachers. Teachers need to

have a fair idea of what they will face in the community that they will serve and most of

all to being culturally democratic to the students by considering their cultural

backgrounds. On the other hand Tuinamuana et al. (2006) emphasizes the need for

teachers to understand the local contexts because of the ever-increasing power of

globalization. Another teacher educator, Nabobo-Baba (2007), suggests that quality

teachers should be ‘vinaka vakaniu’, literally translated as being good and wholesome

and have utility value that benefit people. Like a coconut, a teacher should also be totally

useful. This holistic value of a quality teacher emphasised by Nabobo-Baba (2007) is

similar to that highlighted in the 1995 PTEC Project workshop.

3.16 Professional Development

Although teacher re-education exists in various forms, its basic function is to improve

staff skills and competencies in order to produce improved educational results for the

students (Hassel, 1999; Glathorn, 1995 & Villegas-Reimers, 2003). Some common

strategies to implement teacher re-education are workshops, seminars, conferences,

symposia, staff meeting/development, in-house training, work attachments and long-

term in-service training. The on-going training of teachers is really an important aspect

of teachers’ professional development. Kent (2004) had stated that professional

development is seen as the catalyst to modifying theory into current best teaching

pedagogies.

46

Although professional development is essential to improving the quality of education

teachers who are posted to rural areas are more likely to miss out on in-service training

because of their geographical location. Moreover, due to logistical issues concerning

postal and communication services, workshops and seminar notifications are usually

late in arriving, resulting in most rural schools missing out on professional development

opportunities. Williams (2000) agrees that teachers in rural schools are more likely to

miss out on in-service training compared to their urban counterparts. The issue is

compounded with the great expense that teachers have to meet in order to attend and

benefit from short-term courses, which are usually held in urban centres. In a Strategic

Plan for the Ministry of Education in Fiji for 2006–2015, it was recommended that staff

and professional development activities be pursued for the purpose of increasing

teacher competencies (MOE, 2005).

3.17 Education Policies

Various governments in Fiji have put in place policies that address the special needs of

rural schools. In theory, teachers applying for promotion, for example, usually need to

have served at least a term of three years in order to be eligible for promotion. In

practice, it is not known whether this legislation is being adhered to or not. An incentive

allowance for teachers in rural areas also needs assessing. Tavola (2000a) says that it is

generally believed that teachers are willing to serve in rural areas for their first

appointment in order to secure a promotion. However, once they have been confirmed

as civil servants or into their new posts they then apply for transfer to urban schools

because of the perceived advantages there. There is also a widespread view that the

47

quality of teachers in rural schools, including school heads, may not be as high as in

their urban counterparts (Tavola, 2000a).

Another policy that is being brought to the forefront is the current formula of grant

allocation, which is being predetermined by the school roll. This implied that schools

with bigger rolls receive substantial amount whilst rural schools basically receive a

trivial sum due to their relatively smaller rolls.

Education policy makers have an enormous influence on rural education as their

decisions often ‘trickle down’ to many ordinary people. The repercussions of education

is so far reaching that there must be an immediate questioning as to whether the

existing legislation for education is adequate to deal with changed circumstances. Senge

(1990) suggests that an organisation be studied as a whole, taking into consideration the

interrelationships among its parts and its relationship with the external environment.

The school as an organisation is no exception as it is a result of the interplay of

influences from the different stakeholders or interest groups and as Izquierdo and

Minquez (2003) argue, an education system is changeable depending on the nature of

society and how open it is to its environment. A school system is composed of many

distinct subsystems or parts, each with goals and together these parts make up a

functioning whole. For example in Fiji, the school system comprises of: the

Administration (Head Teachers and Assistant Head Teachers and Executive Teachers);

teachers and students; general staff such as librarians, cleaners, and secretaries. If one

of these parts experiences problems, or a breakdown, or does not carry out its function,

the other interdependent parts are affected. Each part is dependent on the others for a

smooth operation, for the materials or resources it needs to function and even for its

48

existence (Ballentine, 1997). Furthermore, the goals of the school system serve several

purposes within its social system. They provide guidelines for the activities of the system

and focus the activities of members. They imply social acceptance of the stated purposes

and the means to achieve them. This is probably why school systems are often at the

center of political struggles for control of resources and ideas (Torres, 1994).

3.18 Leadership Qualities

School leadership is an important consideration in the recruitment and retaining of

rural teachers. Leadership is an essential component of any organization as leaders are

usually pillars of strength during trying times and members will always rely on their

leaders to guide them whenever the need arises. Maxwell (1998: 11) states that; “the true

measure of leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less”. People can work

together through the thick and thin with their leaders if they are inclined or motivated to

do so. Since the quality of education often largely depends on the quality of leaders, it is

imperative to consider this key factor in rural schools. Rika, (1980) alludes to the fact

that the quality of teachers in rural schools, including school heads, may not be as high

as that of their urban counterparts.

The current policy of linking school size to salary levels does not assist much in

improving the situation, as many qualified head teachers may be reluctant to serve in

small rural schools because the remuneration is much less attractive. Furthermore,

studies by Rika (1980), Singh (1986), and Likuseniuwa (1999) find a grossly inadequate

number of well-trained teachers in outer islands leading to lower status and lower

morale. It is interesting to note that most teacher vacancies exist only in rural settings. If

49

by chance a vacant post emerges in an urban or peri-urban area, it is quickly filled by

someone in a long list of rural teachers who apply for urban transfers. This means that

many new graduates are regularly posted to rural and remote schools.

In relation to qualifications, Bray (1987: 32) suggests that teachers in rural schools have

fewer formal qualifications because better qualified staffs are often able to arrange

postings in more desirable environments (suburban and urban). Furthermore,

administrators themselves often choose to post the good teachers to suburban and

urban communities often leaving schools in remote areas for teachers who may be

rebellious and/or are incompetent. Professional isolation and lack of staff to consult

with also hinders rural teachers in any attempt to improve their qualifications.

The same isolation may be said of head teachers who are often unable to attend

professional development workshops because of their geographic isolation. As Tavola

(2000a) states the quality of leadership in rural schools is generally poor. There have

also been recent incidences of school head teachers behaving unprofessionally and who

are not good role models in their schools and their communities. This type of situation

leads to frustrations on the part of many teachers.

Singh (2007) provides a partial explanation for the lack of good leadership in schools

suggesting that many assistant heads in primary schools, are more concerned with

maintaining the status quo rather than opening up opportunities and providing for a

vibrant learning working and learning environment. He also suggests that teachers too

tend to avoid risk-taking activities such as research or other supervised inquiry-based

50

activities (Singh, 2007). This situation calls for capable leadership in terms of the

demands from teachers and students. Quality education therefore depends to a large

extent on quality teachers and in the case of rural schools, Tavola believes that the

personality of individual teachers ‘makes or breaks’ the whole educational process

(Tavola, 2000b: 93).

3.19 School Management

The management of schools in rural areas in Fiji is another area that needs to be

considered. The controlling bodies of most schools in rural areas are the management

committees. In most cases, committees control the finances of the school. They handle

grants from the government and supplement this amount with money from their own

fundraising activities. It is their responsibility to maintain the school and its equipment

and provide resources such as textbooks, library books and stationery. With increasing

urban drift, schools located close to urban areas are more able to access resources and

the further away from urban areas the more difficult it is to manage school resources

and/or have access to management expertise to guide school development financially

and professionally. Rika (1980: 54) states that in rural areas it is a case of the “blind

leading the blind” as management teams tend to have an unplanned approach, which

sometimes can be misleading to community members. Tavola (2000a: 176) again

highlights the lack of professional development for school management staff. In the Fiji

islands Education Commission Report, she says that:

In many cases, school managers and their management committees have not undergone any type of training for their roles and responsibilities. There is often a lack of clarity over the exact roles and boundaries that the various stakeholders play in the managing of schools and this usually results in confusion. This misunderstanding would later on result in

51

mismanagement and misappropriation of school funds, which was also being stated as ‘endemic’ in rural schools. (Ibid).

Since there is no formal management training, the general administration of school

tends to be carried out on an ad hoc basis and there is no clear sense of direction or

vision for many schools. Management elections are usually held every three years and

once a new team is at the helm, they pursue whatever they think is important for the

school as many do not have development or strategic plans. It is quite common to find a

few ‘unfinished projects’ or ‘white elephants’ in rural schools as evidence of this type of

ad hoc management. Singh (in Nabobo 2000a: 64) discusses a lack of a business-like

approach to schooling in general by indigenous Fijians, something he attributes to the

“lack of efficient school management, as one of the reasons why many teachers are

reluctant to take up management positions themselves”. Ad hoc styles of management

also tend to be exacerbated by the existence of micro politics in schools. Hoyle (1982)

states that micro politics involves strategies by which individuals and groups in

organisational contexts try to further their interests by influencing others. In rural

communities everything are interlinked or inter-related and almost everything is

communally owned. For example, stakeholders such as the local chiefs, catechists,

elders and even members of the local community often influence decision-making by the

school committee members. This means that a more collegial system of work should be

preferred as suggested by writers such as Blasé and Blasé (1996), and Townsend (1984).

This model of management suggests that school leaders should not alienate themselves

from their colleagues, but work together to produce a more conducive working

environment for teachers. This is particularly important because, as Tavola (1991a: 369)

states, if the prevailing ethos of the school is negative and the leadership and

52

management are weak, even the best-trained teachers find it difficult to perform

effectively. School head teachers as ex officio members of the management committee

ought to live up to everyone’s expectations work together with stakeholders to manage

schools.

Lack of planning, management and evaluation of school programs by the Ministry of

Education is often a factor in the management confusion of rural schools (Singh, 1986).

There is a need for the central body to constantly liaise with individual management

committees and guide them along in their development plan as the rural community

often lacks these necessary skills. Likuseniuwa (1999) in a study of secondary schools in

Fiji suggests that there is no future planning on the part of much school management

and this is evident in the general set-up of many schools. Though this study focussed on

rural high schools many of the challenges also apply to primary schools.

Socio-economic problems also make teaching in rural schools challenging. Most people

who live in villages survive on subsistence agricultural and fishing practices. School

fundraising activities require people with small incomes to help the school to

supplement its resource needs. Bray and Packer (1993) suggestion that small island

states like Fiji could rely on tourism to support its rural communities which have an

abundance of white sandy beaches and palm trees cannot be applied to schools located

inland where not too many tourists go.

53

3.20Community and Cultural Challenges

Another challenge for teachers working in rural areas in Fiji, relates to the cultural

expectations of people in the community within which schools are located. Every teacher

must be aware that every school has deeply rooted cultural histories and foundations

within the community. Sometimes pressure from communities and stakeholders lead to

financial and other difficulties. Tavola (2000a) suggests that mismanagement and

misappropriation of funds are endemic to rural schools. Such community and

management problems seem to have emerged from a colonial past, bringing with them

some of the best and worst aspects of a colonial heritage. According to Bray (1987)

Pacific states have embraced too many models derived from larger states. This view is

supported by Singh (1986) who suggests that some of Fiji’s problems are hangovers

from the colonial rule (overemphasis of examinations and western oriented curriculum),

which he had termed system-specific. The examination system, for example, puts an

enormous pressure on rural schools to compete with the well-equipped urban ones.

Rural schools are usually small schools both in size and in numbers and the grants they

get are also small and inadequate for their proper development.

Today, the increasing politicisation of education is seen by some as further contributing

to the disparity between rural and urban schools (Baba, 1985a). Although over 20 years

old, the study nevertheless reflects the work of Sarup (1995) who states that education

policies are being interpreted in rather different ways and a fund might be allocated to a

particular school but the education official may re-direct that fund to another school,

with which the officer is better acquainted.

54

3.21 Remuneration and Allowances

Teachers’ remuneration and stipends for serving in rural schools is also another

important factor in recruitment for rural schools. Williams (2000) indicates that there

are no incentives to send good teachers to rural schools and qualified teachers are

reluctant to serve in these schools because it does not augur well for them in terms of

their personal careers. Many teachers are encouraged by MOE officials to opt for rural

schools to further their aspirations by being promoted to leadership positions. However,

the findings of the Education Commission (2000) indicate that a higher proportion of

rural teachers were in acting positions compared to urban teachers. The current rural

allowance is also not very attractive in being $F15 per fortnight for the most remote

schools, a sum that is inadequate given the high costs of travel that rural teachers have

to face. The absence of many essential services like water, telephones and electricity also

creates hardship for teachers.

Table 3.2: Classification of Rural Schools Rural Category Description/Markers Allowance Allocated

Fortnightly Category 1 Very remote (more than 10km

from an urban centre inaccessible by road but

accessible on sea or by foot)

$15.38 ($400 per annum)

Category 2 Remote (more than 10km from an urban center and accessible

by road)

$11.53 ($300 per annum)

Most schools in rural areas are boarding institutions that require of teachers the added

responsibility of supervision after working hours. In such cases, the teachers may wear

several ‘hats’ to accommodate the needs of the children. Likuseniuwa (1999) in her

study of a rural secondary school highlighted the need of good headship and provision of

good staff quarters as essential for the retention of qualified teachers in rural schools.

55

The challenges discussed above are often lost on many teacher trainees who are more

familiar with urban school contexts. The school practicum is one way of familiarizing

trainees with these aspects of life in a Fiji’s rural contexts as the Lautoka Teachers’

College recently restructured its practicum’s to include much needed rural experience

for future teachers of Fiji (Lingam’s 1996 & 2002).

3.22 Summary

The literature review has revealed some important factors that influence the recruitment

and retention of teachers in rural areas. Some of these include the way in which

teachers are prepared; the education policies of the MOE in relation to recruitment and

treatment of teachers in rural schools; opportunities for professional development both

for teachers as well as head-teachers; the leadership qualities of head-teachers; the type

of school management; cultural expectations and commitments of the community to

welfare of teachers and the school; and teacher incentives and remunerations.

The next chapter will focus on the methodology used for gathering information in this

study.

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4.0RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

…you can never empirically or logically determine the best approach. This can only be done reflectively by considering a situation to be studied and your own opinion of life… (Arbnor & Bjerke, 1997: 5).

4.1 Introduction

This study used a qualitative, phenomenological case study approach because of its

appropriateness for providing an understanding of people’s perceptions of the impact of

ruralness on quality teacher supply in three rural schools in Fiji. The qualitative

approach usually involves the collection of a variety of empirical materials-case study;

personal experiences; introspection; life stories; interview; artifacts; cultural texts and

productions; observational, historical interactional, and visual texts – that describe

routine and problematic moments and meanings in individual lives (Denzin & Lincoln,

2000). The (qualitative) phenomenological approach is generally seen as good for

discovering individual’s and groups’ perceptions and interpretations of their social

realities, as well as provides for an understanding of how participants relate these to

their everyday behavior and decision making (Sharma, 1996).

According to Leedy and Ormrod (2005), phenomenology is the study that attempts to

understand people’s perceptions, perspectives and understanding of a particular

situation. The phenomelogical approach tends to explore every day realities of people

within settings, arguing that we each view the world somewhat differently (Raggard,

1983: 5). The approach also seeks to identify models of reality constructed by people and

groups within systems and in doing so, offer an interpretive account of the issue under

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study. The phenomelogical approach was seen as appropriate for this study as it was

concerned with finding out how teachers think within the (rural) contexts that they were

in, rather than analyzing the education system as it was, according to some preconceived

criteria using a systems approach.

Qualitative approaches were chosen for this study for several reasons. Firstly, qualitative

researchers focus on the process rather than the emphasis on the product as advocated

in quantitative studies. Furthermore, the research process is flexible and dependent

upon the contexts and settings of the research environment. The second significant

factor about qualitative research is that a researcher is interested in how people make

sense of their lives, their opinions and worldview, the way they interpret events, and

how they structure their lives. A third distinctive feature of qualitative research is the

emphasis on the researcher as an instrument rather that the use of normative tools such

as questionnaires or machines to process the data to be later interpreted by the

researcher. Finally because of a focus on fieldwork, the researcher would be physically

present among participants and in the setting, site or institution in order to get a ‘feel

and absorb’ the atmosphere on the ground. This is in contrast; to quantitative studies

where the researcher may have research assistants administering research tools to the

participants in a study. A number of qualitative research methods were used for this

particular study including interviews, policy document analysis, field notes and

talanoa sessions.

Research participants expressed their views mostly through one to one interview and

talanoa sessions. Interviews are a common method of qualitative research, because it

permits the exploration of topics and elicit responses that convey unique meaning of the

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respondents’ words (Gall, Borg & Gall, 1996). Some researchers such as Miles and

Huberman (1984), Charles (1988), Krathwohl (1993) and Vierra and Pollock (1998)

have questioned the reliability of qualitative research given its rootedness in social

reality. Burns (1997) and Borg, Gall and Gall (1993) suggested that a solution to this

limitation lies in the use of triangulation in which different methods can be used to

validate one’s standpoint. For this research, this was done by comparing what

informants say against what has been said by other informants, or against records or

written accounts.

Talanoa is a valid and reliable means of gathering information, where several

individuals may relate their experiences and views in an in-formal setting. Talanoa is

also a common method of gathering information in many Pacific Island cultures,

including Fiji, and has become very popular among Pacific qualitative researchers such

as Sharma (1996) and Nabobo-Baba (2006). Many Pacific people tend to feel more

comfortable about sharing and relating their views in an in-formal setting. Talanoa is

also regarded as a more culturally appropriate means of data gathering. It involves the

continual and free-flow of ideas and information, which can originate by a mere

conversation of two people sitting under a tree or even a group of people enjoying a grog

session. The talanoa seems to have emerged from the Pacific’s philosophical roots of

oral and non-written traditions and basically operates without a defined parameter

where participants may talk about anything in the context of a changing environment

(Schmidt, 1988; Tavola, 1991a; Vaioleti, 2003 & Otsuka, 2005). Talanoa also provides

opportunities for Pacific people to share time as well as concern for one another.

Although some regard talanoa as just another form of focus group discussion, Otsuka

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(2006) argues that talanoa is different in its entirety, as it has to be done in the

vernacular and, follow traditional protocol such as sevusevu, and may use traditional

relaxants such as yaqona (in Fiji).

The facilitation of a talanoa forum is sensitive to the local culture and vanua. Sharma

(1996) and Nabobo-Baba (2006) advocate the use of talanoa sessions as they create a

transcendental and light-hearted atmosphere that encourages participants to feel free to

voice their opinions. As the study is located in a rural Fijian setting where most of the

participants interviewed are indigenous, it also necessitated the need for the researcher

to be fully aware of the local ethos that exists. The use of talanoa sessions around a bowl

of yaqona was considered most suitable. Within this case study, multiple tools were

used to tease out and appraise various issues that interact to illuminate the topic under

discussion.

4.2 The Use of Case Studies

This study utilised purposeful sampling of three case studies (schools) for investigation.

According to Yin (2003; 1993; 1989 & 1988), a case study is an empirical inquiry that

examines a phenomenon within its natural setting, when the issues under investigation

is difficult to elicit from a large number of real life contexts, and several sources are used

to validate the data gathered. Yin (1989) also describes different types of case study

designs depending on what is being studied. For example, in holistic case studies the

case under review is being looked at as a whole whilst the embedded case study

approach views units as sub-parts that influence the entire unit. Within different case

study designs researchers can opt to study a single case or a number of cases, although

60

Leedy and Ormond (2005) seem to prefer the multiple case approaches for theorizing,

comparing or making generalizations. In this study three schools were chosen because

they provided real life contexts for studying the problem of teacher supply and retention

in rural areas (see Bogdan & Biklen, 1992 & Kemmis, 1980), and the need to gain a

deeper understanding of the nature or meaning of teachers’ everyday experiences

working in rural schools. The schools all engaged in composite class teaching so there

were about 4-6 teachers in each school, hence a total of 16 teachers participated in this

study.

4.3 Justification of Methodology

The three selected schools were chosen in order to identify key issues pertaining to

developing, recruiting and retaining quality teachers in rural primary schools. The

rationale for using the case study approach in this investigation is based on the

reasoning of DePoy and Gitlin (1998: 142) who suggest the use of case studies when it is

not possible to randomize; when it is not possible to study a particular population as a

group (i.e. all teachers); when it is desirable to determine intervention outcomes or

change in a behavior over time as a consequence of one or multiple interventions; and

when it is desirable to obtain information in a cost efficient way.

The above rationale for the use of case studies was made on the assumption that the

researcher wanted to discover, understand and gain insight into several phenomena.

The researcher chose the participants who he hoped would lead him to improved

understanding of the issues of teacher quality, recruitment and retention (Merriam,

1988). As the issues discussed occur on a normal day to day basis, it was impossible to

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eliminate variables and manipulate them so it was thought best to study the processes as

they evolve in their entirety. However, as Walsh (2005: 104) reminds us, “qualitative

researchers can only penetrate beneath the surface of their research and find deeper

meanings and roots of causation by being or becoming an insider.” A lot of data was

collected from participants because of the mutual understanding between the researcher

and the host communities, including teachers, in getting to the heart of the matter

(Wolcott, 1999: 137).

The researcher’s prolonged absence from the study area might have compromised his

position as an insider. In this study therefore, the researcher played both an

insider/outsider role. In Fiji outsiders are usually treated with caution and respect

(Ravuvu, 1987). In some areas, visitors are ceremoniously considered sacred and thus

supremely powerful and command respect from their host. This is reflected in the

accommodating culture that exists in many Fijian communities. Strangers are

immediately made to feel at home and barriers are conveniently put aside (Ibid).

4.4 Fieldwork

Preliminary preparations for the fieldwork were done between February and April 2007

with the acceptance of a research proposal. A comprehensive but flexible timetable was

drawn up in order to minimize problems that might be encountered during the

fieldwork period. The initial plan was to spend a week in each of the three schools and a

tentative time frame of an alternative week was allocated if unforeseen problems were

experienced. However, the research phase in the selected schools was concluded after

two months from the first interview. At this initial stage, letters were sent out to the

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appropriate authorities for approval together with work to address ethical

considerations.

Patton (2002: 105) describes phenomenology as the “study of how people describe

things and experience them through their senses”. Attracting and retaining teachers in

rural schools may be considered a phenomenon that warrants investigation and

provides the motivation for this study. Although Hays (2004) maintains that the case

study should never be confused with ethnography, using case studies here served to

illuminate the problems faced by the selected schools as well as the teachers in those

schools. This study has followed closely what Lodico, Spaulding and Voegtle, (2006) say

about qualitative research approaches, where data is gathered through interviews,

observations and policy document analysis, and the findings are presented through

narrative or verbal means. Furthermore, as Miles and Huberman (1994: 10) claims,

qualitative research is also a “useful way of developing and testing hypotheses as well as

validating and explaining data”.

4.5 Selection of Schools

The three selected schools were indigenous Fijian schools. It was initially planned to

include a non-indigenous rural school but the nearest one was seventy kilometers away.

With the limited time, it was clear that the three selected schools were close to one

another and provided a good platform for the study. Coincidently the three schools fall

into the three categories of Fiji’s primary schools classification system (ED6D – small,

ED5E - medium and ED4C – large in rural contexts). The main criteria for selecting

these schools were: rural location; familiarity to the researcher (including use of a

common language); and accessibility.

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Fictitious names were given to the three schools - Va, Lima and Ono, which were all

pseudonyms of the respective schools (representing three distinct school grades) namely

ED4C (Va), ED5E (Lima) and ED6D (Ono). A personal motivation for studying the

three schools was the fact that the researcher was a teacher in two of the three selected

schools (Va and Ono) Problems faced during the researcher’s time teaching in these

rural areas prompted the researcher to ask the type of questions that had helped guide

this study.

4.6 Data Collection

As fieldwork normally involved going out into the community to solicit data, it often

meant intruding in the social environment of people which some may see as

antagonizing. Researchers such as Burgess (1991) and Morris (2006) had strongly

suggested that researchers have to convince and gain the confidence of the gatekeepers

in order to collect the data. Gatekeepers are persons who have authority and

information in a community. It could range from a chief executive officer in a corporate

institution to an elder in a village settlement. In a village setting, the gatekeeper may not

be the leader but the traditional storyteller who may include myths and meaning within

a story that has to be analyzed and validated. Gatekeepers need to be clear about the

purpose of someone’s research in order to gain community consent for the research. The

range of approval may be formalized through letters or by a small traditional gift of

kava/yaqona (Fiji and other Polynesian countries) or bettle nut (in Vanuatu, Solomon

Islands and Papua New Guinea). In some cases the desired information may not be

available from the gatekeeper but is at the discretion of another member of the

community who may seek the agreement of the gatekeeper as to whether to divulge such

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information or not. While the school heads were the main gatekeepers in the rural

schools and had given approval for the research to proceed, there was still the presence

of ‘satellite’ gatekeepers in the schools. In one incident, when the researcher sought

clarification from the School Head regarding an issue, he suggested that the researcher

seek an interview with another teacher who, he thought, was well versed with school

management policies. This person seemed to be the school’s gatekeeper; this seemed to

suggest that the further the community is from the Ministry of Education, the more

likely it is for the presence of a ‘satellite gatekeeper’ who may serve as guardian of

important information about a school.

4.7 Research Participants

Participants in this research included teachers of the study schools; committee members

(talanoa sessions), community workers, education officials and parents. Interviews

were also carried out with the teacher organisations officials in Suva and their respective

representatives in the district. A summary of the research participants is provided:

Table 4.1: Summary of Research Participants

Subjects Method Total Sample

3 school (16 teachers) 16 questionnaires 6 semi-structured interviews (2 from each school)

16 6

MOE officials (2) � SEO (Head Office - 2) � EO (Cakaudrove – 1)

3 semi-structured Interviews

3

Committee/School Board (2) 2 schools

1 semi-structured interview session in 2 schools.

2

Teacher Union Organisations (2) (Suva).

2 semi-structured Interviews with the respective representatives.

2

Teacher Training Institutions (2) i. LTC

ii. CCTC

1 semi-structured interviews with the Principals

1

Total 30

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4.8 The Research Process

The research process began when I decided to study the issues of rural teaching and

teachers. These issues had captured my interest ever since I served as a teacher in a

rural area and my interest has not ended with the completion of this study. Like many

studies, there were some interesting challenges encountered. A colleague of mine, an

established researcher herself, once comforted me during one of those ‘frustrating

moments’ by saying that “if there are no problems encountered during the research

process then it is not research”. One of the difficulties that I encountered early in the

process was obtaining access to key informants among a hierarchy of stakeholders. I had

initially planned to interview senior education personnel in the Fiji Ministry of

Education (MOE) and I had fully understood that in any organization the further up the

hierarchical structure a person is, the more difficult it would be to gain access. Being

young and a novice researcher with just a few years of teaching experience affected my

ability to obtain access to people in high places. Some, when approached, suggested

that I left a questionnaire and they would complete and send the completed ones to me

later. In many cases, this never eventuated. In one incident I had tried to book an

appointment with a senior bureaucrat in an organisation three times, and was

unsuccessful every time. The first time I entered his office, I realized that I was being

carefully observed and scrutinised on my appearance and the purpose of my visit. A

senior official took the letter outlining the purpose of my visit and within a few seconds

referred me to another senior official in the institution. However when I handed the

letter to this senior official he told me that the one whom I met the first time was the

best person to contact, as he was in-charge of the affairs relating to my intended study.

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When I explained to the senior executive that the same individual was the one I had just

been to, he apologized to me for being given the ‘runaround’. He then referred me to

another officer who happily assisted me. I later made another appointment with the first

senior official with whom I had an unpleasant encounter, but again I was referred to

another official. At my third attempt, I was waiting outside his office for the interview,

when he came out and asked me what I was doing at his office. I politely replied that I

had an appointment with him but if he was busy I could return at a time convenient to

him. However he replied in a most unwelcome tone that he was a busy man who did not

have time for interviews, and went away presumably to attend to other matters. I felt

bad not for myself but for the many rural teachers whose concerns I thought I was trying

to address. I subsequently had to re-organise my activities and made appointments

with mid level administrators. There were other unfortunate encounters such as when I

was supposed to interview a person who was a paternal uncle but was not able to do so

because of my kinship ties with him and therefore not allowed to question him. He

however, offered instead to complete a questionnaire for me, which he did.

Another problem encountered during the research process was related to a nation-wide

strike by a group of civil servants who were dissatisfied with salary cuts imposed by the

Interim Regime after the December 5, 2006 coup de at. I was into the second week of

my fieldwork and I had to suspend all research activities in the schools as well as the

district education office as most of the teachers had to take their holidays whilst the

MOE officials were busy compiling reports about the strike. However, I used this

opportunity to interview some school management representatives who had remained

in their respective villages. These frustrating experiences helped me to gain some

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insights into the difficulties associated with conducting research especially the political

and social contexts of research. In such circumstances it is good to use a variety of

methods with which to collect and collate data.

4.8.1 Questionnaire Survey and Interviews

A questionnaire survey was used to obtain demographic data, views, perceptions and

feelings of respondents. Questionnaires are commonly used in quantitative research,

because of the basic underlying assumption that participants will be willing and able to

give truthful responses (Burns, 1997). It is usually standardized and highly structured in

design so that it is compatible with gathering as much information as possible from

different people without actually having to travel to their place of work. The

questionnaire survey (see Appendix B1) was used to gather information mainly from

teachers. Depoy and Gitlin (1998) suggest that questionnaires are written instruments

and may be administered face-to-face, by proxy, through the mail or through

technological machines such as computers. It involves acquiring information about their

characteristics, experiences, attitudes, and opinions and then tabulating their answers.

Verma and Mallick (1999) identify two types of questionnaires surveys: closed ended

(which is designed for self-completion) and open-ended (which usually warrants the

assistance of the researcher in responding to the queries). For this study, the

questionnaire constituted a mixture of both types of questions. Whilst the first type

focused on getting the teachers perceptions, the latter was used to solicit answers during

interviews. Hence the research employed a sequential, mixed-method approach since

the line of enquiry of the interview was based on the responses being offered in the

questionnaires. The use of questionnaires was useful for getting sincere responses from

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many people in a short span of time with responses being compared across groups

(DePoy & Gitlin, 1998). However a major weakness of surveys is attributed to its

inadequate contextualization because of its snapshot and rigid approach.

A total of sixteen (16) teachers were surveyed from the three schools under study. The

questions were arranged into twenty-one (21) categories with some responses provided

for the participant to choose from (see Appendix B1 for details). The other items were to

act as leading questions to the interviews and the selection of the participants for the

interview were based on the responses to these questions. The main purpose of the

questionnaires was to obtain responses that could then be used during interviews.

Research interviews can be used solely as a tool in an investigation or in conjunction

with other methodological instruments to verify responses that have been previously

acquired. Keats (1993: 18) had described interviews being used to “elicit opinions,

attitudes and values and to reveal the basis of the respondents reasoning”. As suggested

by Schostak (2006) interviewing involves a social process of communication and the

interviewer interprets and analyses for understanding and then explains to the

respondents. This parroting or mirroring according to Burns (1997) is to ensure that the

information garnered is the same as the data being provided by the interviewees. The

respondents will only truthfully and mutually respond when there is an element of trust

towards the interviewer. This could only be achieved by displaying empathy, acceptance

and conveying respect towards the respondent. During this study the first initial

moments of the interview were used for this purpose and questions asked focused on

some trivial issues. Sometimes the researcher had to read between the lines in order to

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find the underlying meanings of participants’ verbal responses as well as non-verbal

responses including silences and uneasiness (see Krueger, 1994). The interviews for this

study were verbal and face-to-face.

Two teachers from each school were selected for the interview sessions on the basis of

their responses to the questionnaires. Additionally, all the school management

representatives and other stakeholders were also interviewed which resulted in a total

number of interviewees being fourteen (14). Interview questions were modified to suit

different respondents and interview durations generally ranged from 30 to 60 minutes

with three sessions lasting less than half an hour.

More than half of the interview respondents were acquainted with the researcher, so it

was easy to arrange meetings. The majority of the interviews were done at the normal

working environment of the participants. Only the sessions with the school

management were conducted in the homes of the various respondents since most of the

school committee members were encountering their first formal interview and it was

decided that the home environments were more comfortable for the respondents. This

strategy proved to be successful, as interviewees ‘opened up’ with one participant

apologizing for his absence at school at a previously agreed date, as his earlier reluctance

to be interviewed.

At the end of each interview, attempts were made to transcribe data but with limited

electricity to power my laptop, this proved difficult at times. However, the audiotapes

were listened to for a ‘feel’ of what questions were repetitive so that they could be

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modified for the next round of interviews. This process continued as interviews

progressed and enabled the researcher to validate some of the information raised in

earlier sessions.

4.8.1.1 Formulating Questions

The selection of questions to be used in the survey and interviews centred on five

themes, derived from the research questions. Questions relating to demographics,

opinions, feelings and views were assessed in order to obtain some background

information about the participants. In the interview, questions were not limited to the

four themes as they were often leading or probing questions. In the beginning of each

interview rapport-establishing questions were used to institute empathy between the

interviewer and the interviewee (see Appendix B2). At the interview conclusion, the

interviewee was given the impression that another session might be necessary for

further clarification of points raised during the first interview. The survey and interview

questions were set out originally in English but had to be translated to the Bauan dialect

for the interviews with teachers and school management. Some teachers’ interview

schedule was conducted in the local dialect because they were more comfortable

speaking in their dialect. Because of its affinity to normal social conversations

interviews provided useful and accurate information that might have not been

forthcoming in the questionnaire survey. Of course there are some criticisms relating to

the reflexitivity of interviews, and the possibility that an interviewee will give what the

interviewer wants to hear. Such weaknesses were minimized by advanced formulation

of the interview questions in order to eliminate its partiality. To anticipate possible

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inaccuracies arising from poor recall, a voice recorder was used during the course of an

interview in order to capture the whole conversation.

4.8.2 Observations

Direct observations were also used in this study in order to capture the realities of the

three cases. Although Krathwohl (1993: 315) claims that observation is like a flashlight:

it lights up only where it is directed, Gorard and Taylor (2004: 3) simply defines

observation as a direct assessment of a phenomenon of study.

The strength of observation, however, lies in its realistic nature that provides a

contextual reference to the research process. Some responses given in an interview

could be cross-examined in reality, through observation. Further insights can also be

gained from the behavior and motives of the participants as they go about their normal

daily activities. During the course of the fieldwork, observations were made on the

general conditions of the school. It was also important that activities such as staff

meetings, community clean-ups and fundraising were observed in order for the

researcher to gain further insights into the normal functioning of each school.

However like other methods, observation has its share of weaknesses. The influence of

the presence of an observer/researcher cannot be denied in some cases especially if the

researcher is an outsider to the community. Observation is also time consuming

although this is only a weakness from a Western perspective since in many Fijian

communities, one needs to stay in a community for some length of time in order to

observe and obtain information that is accurate and meaningful. And of course there is

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the element of possible bias of an observer’s interpretation of events as seen through his

eyes rather than that of an ordinary member of a village community.

4.8.3 Policy Document Analysis

Information for this study was also obtained from different policy documents that were

made available to the researcher. Patton and Sawicki (1986) define policy analysis as a

process through which we classify and appraise optional strategies or programs that are

intended to minimize or resolve socio-economic problems. Document research or

archival research is used to evaluate documents, official files and records that govern

existing practices. The benefits of policy analysis have been attributed to its minimal

obtrusiveness into the sample without interfering with the participants. Documents

obtained and analysed in this study included some from the MOE Annual reports,

teacher transfer guidelines and teacher recruitment policies. A major drawback for this

method is its selective nature. It is possible that researchers’ preconceptions would

influence the process. The researchers’ opinions of a certain policy may be misleading,

even erroneous and a document is being analysed only for evidence that justify his

views. To assist in minimizing the setback for such methods it is generally necessary to

examine a range of policy documents. However, in the case of this study, there were not

that many documents to choose from.

Various policy documents relating to policies as well as rural education were analyzed in

order to obtain insight about how the Ministry of Education deals with issues relating to

teacher recruitment and how these policies might affect rural educational delivery.

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Policy document analysed includes the teacher appointment, transfer and promotions.

Other guidelines like the classification of rural schools, 3-year rural service were also

analysed and appraised.

4.8.4 Field Notes

During the course of the fieldwork, the researcher kept a diary and as the research

proceeded, all professional activities, which provided information about work patterns,

were noted down. Field notes are particularly important as they provided a record of the

research process and captured the reality of the exercise as it happened rather than the

researcher relying on participants to recall events later on. This documentation involved

a lot of meticulous work and had to be carried out in a consistent manner throughout

the process. However, certain aspects of the research process, especially those relating

to emotional interactions are difficult to be captured in writing with field notes. Also

some of the observations could not be adequately translated from the local dialect.

4.9 After the Fieldwork

An immediate concern upon the completion of the fieldwork was to transcribe data into

retrievable form for later use and analysis. This tedious and painstaking task in trying to

translate the interview cassettes into word documents had to be done immediately when

it was still fresh in the researcher’s mind. The fact that some of the tapes were in the

researcher’s own dialect also posed some difficulty. The transcription process took

about three months to complete. Once they were transcribed they had to be sent to the

research participants for verification. This proved to be so time consuming especially

when some of the participants had moved to other localities in the process.

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4.9.1 Data Analysis

The questionnaire survey responses were entered into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet

that was later generated into graphs and tables to represent the opinions of the

respondents in a sample. The results were tabulated under corresponding themes that

were then validated by other methodological tools. Data analysis was similar to

Puamau’s (1999) work on Affirmative Action in Fiji and Logavatu’s (2002) study on

Teacher Induction. Observations, interviews and talanoa sessions with the respective

participants were printed and categorized into themes. Notes were made on the piece of

paper as some of the responses were inter-thematic and had to be analyzed in such a

way that it did not diminish their significance. Different folders were labeled for the five

questions and the corresponding responses were itemized into the various folders.

However because of the real nature of the study some themes had unexpectedly

emerged which warranted the extension of main themes. A running commentary was

provided to narrate and ensure that the participants ‘speak out’ rather than researcher

making self-explanatory remarks. The gist of this approach is to let the research speak

for itself and engage the reader in witnessing some of the realities in rural schools.

4.9.2 Data Triangulation

A mixed-method approach was employed where the questionnaires were used to

highlight pertinent issues that were to be further explained and explored using the

descriptive approach that includes observations, talanoa with teachers interviews,

education officers, school board members, participant observation and also an analysis

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of policies regarding teachers’ appointments and teacher’s transfer. This mixed method

proved useful as the methods complemented one another. Perlesz and Lindsay (2003)

had indicated that using mixed methods would increase the concurrent, convergent and

construct validity of the research, thus giving an impression of multiple perspectives;

thus the weakness of a single method could be complemented by another method that

could decrease its limitations. Gorard and Taylor (2004) have also recommended that

education researchers need to use a wider range of methods. Questionnaires,

interviews, talanoa sessions, direct observations and document analysis proved useful

in capturing facts, people’s belief and perspectives, feelings, motives, present and past

behaviors as well as people’s reasons for their actions or feelings (Silverman, 1993).

4.9.3 Validity

Validity is essential for any research to be accountable to its research questions, which

are the foci of any study. It could be seen as a matter of degree rather than an absolute

utopian state that is nearly impossible to achieve. Cohen, Manion and Morrison, (2000)

had rightly argued that validity at its best is plainly to ensure that a piece of research’s

accuracy is maximized and its inconsistency minimized if not eliminated altogether.

Some researchers have argued that there is always a high probability of a research being

invalid as “it can be both insidious and pernicious” and can enter at every stage of a

piece of research (Cohen et al., 2000: 115). It could be said that the extent to which this

researcher’s findings are accurate should be reflected in the achievement of the purposes

of the study.

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4.10 Ethical Considerations

As an indigenous researcher one is aware of the need to protect the knowledge that is

being obtained as well as the people who own that knowledge. The most obvious ethical

issue, which was likely to arise, was that of confidentiality. DePoy and Gitlin (1998)

explicitly state also that informed consent is an official statement developed by the

researcher that informs study participants of the purpose and the scope of study. The

first task was to obtain consent from participants after fully informing them of the aims

of the study, the methods to be employed, the lengths to which confidentiality will be

ensured and the final representation of data. A letter accompanied every survey

questionnaire detailing the purpose of the study and ensuring the participants

confidentiality (See Appendix B1). The very last item (question) on the survey was for

the respondents to fill in their names and details if they were willing to participate in an

interview. Only those who had filled out this section were considered for the interviews.

Ministry of Education officials, teacher training college principals and teacher union

representatives, were also informed in advance of the purpose of the interview when

making appointments. All teacher interviews were transcribed using pseudonyms in

order to ensure participant confidentiality (Appendix A3).

For many years, the Pacific Island region has been one of the favourite theatres for some

of the very best examples of unethical practices (for a detailed example see Mead, 2007;

Senituli, 2007 & Ritte & Kanehe, 2007). Most researchers in the Pacific region were

outsiders who would have lacked an insider view and had no inkling of how the

philosophical cultural heritage of knowledge had been protected and perfected for many

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generations. Dissatisfactions with largely insensitive researchers arose largely because

of ignorance and misinterpretations (Tuhiwai-Smith, 2007). Consequently when

research is mentioned in the indigenous context, “it stirs up silence, conjures up bad

memories, and raises a smile that is knowing and distrustful…” (Smith, 1999 cited in

Nabobo-Baba, 2006: 18). Hence it is important that in research for the researcher tries

to adhere to local ethical procedures, as ethics are culture-specific (Thaman, 2006).

In indigenous Fijian settings such as that in which the schools are located, the local

culture is vibrant, and local customs must be followed and respected and observed in

order to ensure participants’ willingness and ability to provide information. Traditional

Fijian protocol like ‘i sevusevu’ and ‘i tatau’ were observed and this helped people to be

willing partners in the study. However, while these observances of traditions helped

with the research process it tended to prolong it. For example, after the presentation of

a ‘sevusevu’ (presentation of gifts) it was the custom for the researcher to remain in the

village until the hosts ‘releases’ him, as is their prerogative. In other words, the

researcher does not come and go as he pleases after the presentation is made. The i

tatau’ on the other hand, is an ethical exit strategy that ensures a smooth transitional

phase for a visitor’s exit from the host community. It is also where the researcher, as a

guest of the community, receives blessings from community elders, often by way of a

small feast and a yaqona ceremony called ‘bili ni mua’. The ‘bili ni mua’ originated in

ancient times when visitors arrived in canoes, and when they departed, someone has to

push (bili) one end of the canoe (muana) with all the passengers onboard, into the deep

waters before the sails were put up. It is important that the people performing this task

had good faith and gave their blessings for a smooth voyage. Common blessings given

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during yaqona ceremonies, include me qai cagi donu tu na i la’ola’o’ (may the journey

be successful), ‘me qai rawa tu mada va’asi’a na nomu vuli’ (may your educational

endeavor be successful) and ‘me ra qai ‘alougata tu mada ga na yalai ena nodra vuli ‘a’

(may the students be blessed in their education). Such utterances during the ‘i tatau’

indicate that the host community is prepared to release the visitor/researcher in good

faith hence. This is the most ethical way for a researcher to depart from a given area.

Another ethical element worthy of note in research among indigenous people of the

Pacific including Fijians is what has come to be known as the “culture of silence”.

Indigenous researchers such as Nabobo-Baba (2006 & 2002), Tuwere (2002), Veramu

(1992), Ravuvu, (1987 & 1983) and Illich (1970), have highlighted the presence of the

‘silence’ culture in indigenous communities. Silence often does not indicate that Pacific

respondents do not have a contribution to make but are curtailed from being involved

because of cultural and contextual settings. Nabobo-Baba (2006) describes eighteen

(18) philosophical meanings of cultural silence for her study area. The culture of silence

is an important aspect to consider whilst gathering information for research purposes.

Griffin (2003) had suggested that the lack of response from Fijians reflected something

more than just the deafening silence that one receives. In order to break through the

barrier of silence, the researcher has to consider an issue that may be contextual to that

environment. For example brothers and sisters are not allowed to intermingle with one

another; hence the oral participation of one would depend on the presence of other

‘restricted’ relations in the room. In such cases, interviews and/or talanoa sessions

would be held separately in a context where there are no ‘strained’ relations known to be

in existence.

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Another important aspect of research ethics relates to particular relationship taboos. In

this study context, maternal and paternal cousins are treated as if they are brothers and

sisters from the same nuclear family, and often these ‘cousin brothers and sisters’ do not

‘talk’ to each other. If a researcher has this type of relationship with some people within

the community this would imply that he and they could not be at the same place at the

same time. If they were, they would need to be on their best behavior in order to avoid

being ridiculed by others in front of their tabu relations. In some schools, the

researcher experienced such challenges although they were limited to teachers’ spouses

so it did not greatly hinder the research process although there were some embarrassing

moments.

Finally in relation to ethical considerations, there may also be certain relatives who may

be participants in a research study and who may try to dictate the terms of the research

process because of their relationship to the researcher. Some have been known to go as

far as suggesting what was to be written down in the final report. In such cases the

researcher may need to be patient and probe the real reason behind such suggestions.

4.11 Summary

This chapter has highlighted the methodological framework that was used in this study.

It has briefly discussed how data was obtained and the methods used to gather that data.

It also dealt with some ethical considerations relating to doing research in a Fijian

context as well as identifies some of the problems encountered during the course of

fieldwork.

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In the next chapter the voices of the research participants are heard together with those

of other stakeholders – as they provide their perspectives on the issues and questions

relating to the study topic.

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5.0 RESEARCH FINDINGS

5.1 Introduction

This chapter summarises the main findings of this study, according to the main research

questions. Data for this chapter were obtained from questionnaires, open-ended

interviews, observations, talanoa sessions and policy documents reviewed.

5.1 RESEARCH QUESTION 1

HOW DO STAKEHOLDERS DEFINE QUALITY TEACHERS? From the data gathered, it was interesting to note the multi-facet definitions of a quality

teacher. The participants gave varying responses on defining quality teachers. At times

their views were conflicting on various attributes of a quality teacher. For example the

Industrial Relations Officer of the Fiji Teachers Union notes the importance of context

in defining quality teachers especially in urban as opposed to rural ones. In rural areas,

teachers’ multiple roles are important. He points out that:

In towns and cities schools, you basically have all your resources but in rural schools you have to improvise a lot. If you go to Kadavu and talk about taxis, cinemas, they don’t have any so you’ll have to adjust to the environment.

On the other hand, another representative of the Fijian Teachers Union regards a

quality teacher as someone who is perfect in every sphere of the school curriculum; is

up-to-date with all his teaching records and materials; has the best interest of the

students at heart; and blends well with his professional colleagues, the school

community and other stakeholders. A school manager stated that a quality teacher is

one who maintains cordial relations with others, pointing out the importance of the

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ability to communicate well with peers, parents and other stakeholders in order to

ensure the smooth sharing of information and capacity to deal with the workload. Yet

another committee representative defines a quality teacher as one who can

accommodate all students that he finds in the classroom – from the slow learners to the

brightest students.

The teachers’ responses displayed varying views on what a quality teacher is, from those

who are skilled, committed, love their work, multi–skilled and talented to one who is a

good problem solver, sacrifices his time to look after the children, hardworking and

dedicated.

Quality teachers are those who know what to do at the right place and right time. An

informant from Lima District School highlights the influential role of teachers in rural

communities:

Some of the teachers may be competent inside the classroom but the (positive) personal attitudes may be lacking. They can have mood swings, which reflect badly on the teaching profession in the rural areas. There are others who can have good public relations and can sway the community members to be on their side but their work inside the classroom is not good. Sometimes this causes a rift among teachers thus affecting teacher morale.

Another informant has similar views:

I think a quality teacher does not only concentrate on the 100 % pass in exam results but also on the outcome that the students get to enable them to survive in the realistic world (good citizenship, virtues, etc).

Teachers in remote schools often find it difficult to balance their professional and

personal lives. Unlike urban teachers who are under observation only during working

hours, rural teachers seem to be scrutinized 24 hours and seven days a week. Although

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attending church/community functions is not normally part of a teacher’s professional

role, it is important that rural teachers to do this and maintain good school-community

relations.

During the fieldwork, teachers were asked to identify some of the values that are

normally associated with a quality teacher. Table 5.1 shows the responses obtained from

the teachers’ questionnaire which asked respondents to identify five indicators of a

quality teacher. From the 82 suggestions, responses were categorized into four

components, which were knowledge, skills, attitudes and others.

Table 5.1: Table Indicating Teachers Responses to Defining Quality.

Quality Category No. of Responses (n) Percentage (%)Attitudes 43 56

Skills 27 35Knowledge 5 6

Others 2 6Total 82 100

Source: Tuimavana, Field Notes (2007).

The results were a clear indication that most respondents were concerned with the

attitudinal behaviours of teachers (56 percent) rather than their knowledge (6 percent)

or skilful attributes (35 percent). Quality in the holistic sense seems to be an ability to

demonstrate excellence in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes. It is more often that

educators are tasked with the “three H’s” which denotes the head (knowledge), hand

(skills) and heart (attitudes). Knowledge of subjects and students, cognitive and

psychomotor skills together with positive attitudes seem to be important in a quality

teacher. Most respondents seemed to advocate a more holistic approach to defining

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quality teaching as including all the 3 H’s, thus emphasis on the development of the

total child. One union representative suggests that a quality teacher is:

One who is able to effectively deliver the curriculum to the student and the approach would be holistic which would mean the total development of the child. That particular teacher should be able to adjust to that particular environment very easily and try to find methods and means to suit the quality of children that he/she has. It is not only the academic results that determine the quality of teachers.

The school manager of Ono District School sees a quality teacher as someone who: Is competent in teaching and management of students in the class, with a good professional approach… maintains quality work and has good moral and ethical values.

Many others including a principal of a teachers training college as well as an assistant

Head Teacher echoed similar sentiments about the holistic nature of the teaching act

and hence of a quality teacher.

5.2 RESEARCH QUESTION 2

HOW ARE TEACHERS PREPARED TO TEACH IN RURAL SCHOOLS?

Teacher education is important as it prepare teachers for the world of work. As teacher

trainees comes from all walks of life, it is important to have a vibrant syllabus that

ensures that the trainees are able to adapt to whatever context they are being posted to

– urban or rural.

Many teachers expressed their concern about the lack of relevance for rural schools of

the curriculum of teacher education. One respondent asserts:

There are no programs that are tailor-made for teachers coming to rural schools.

However, some of the younger teachers referred to some slight changes in their teacher

training programmes. The principal of a teacher training institution agreed claiming

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that his College’s new Diploma program catered for rural experience, something that

has been strengthened through aid from the European Union and the Australian

government. A new graduate teaching at Ono District School, who was trained under

this new programme, says:

The (Diploma) programme had me ninety percent prepared for rural schools. There were components that required us to spend a six-week based practicum in a rural school. There is also a prerequisite to have a one-week rural home stay that trainee teachers spend in rural areas.

Because the new Diploma programme was introduced only in 2005, the majority of LTC

graduates who are now in the field did not have access to it. Ema, an older teacher, said

that during her training years, students went only to urban schools. Teaching in rural

schools require different classroom skills such as multi-class or composite class skills

since in rural schools, classes are often small compared to urban schools.

A representative from the FTA highlighted some special issues that he thought needed

inclusion in teacher training programmes, which rural teachers might find useful. They

include:

• preparedness and improvisation of teaching materials and teaching aids, • inclusion of local cultures and tradition, and adaptation to these, • Community outreach programmes.

With the challenging trends of rural education it is important for teachers to be well

equipped for working in rural contexts. An Indo-Fijian teacher (Jagjit) who was

amongst the participants highlights the need for cultural knowledge:

I had initially no idea about the Fijian custom and asked for forgiveness if I had wronged the traditional society.

As a result of cultural incompetence many teachers find teaching in rural places

frustrating.

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Another area that can help prepare teachers for rural service is the various forms of

rural teacher preparedness may also be realized through professional development.

5.2.1 Professional Development in Rural Schools

The professional development of rural teachers comes in the form of staff meetings,

executive meetings, teacher inductions, short term and long-term programs that

teachers may undergo. Staff and executive meetings are school-based programmes that

are the responsibility of specially appointed teachers. Most professional development

sessions are usually carried out during school staff meetings that are held regularly and

chaired by the head teachers, with participants being all the teaching staff.

The main purpose for these meetings is to focus on administration and management

issues in the school. For instance, agenda items may include:

• fundraising activities, • teacher’s duties and responsibilities, • teachers concerns or grievances on quarters, and • supervisory roles for extra-curricular activities.

Source: Tuimavana, Field Notes (2007).

Discussions during staff meetings tend to focus on how teachers can keep records, term

and lesson plans, and other things related responsibilities.

5.2.2 Executive Team Meetings

Another avenue for professional development in schools is through executive meetings.

These are fortnightly meetings held at the prerogative of the executive teacher (ET) and

discussions are regarding often on professional issues, related to students’ learning. An

ET is usually selected for professional development a purpose is the most qualified or

experienced staff member that is a non-post holder. However, this is usually not the case

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in rural schools due to limited opportunities for professional upgrading. The ET position

was established in 1998 after the recommendation of the Job Evaluation Report (JER)

in 1993. A selection is made by the MOE is also based on the recommendation of Head

Teachers. Whilst the status is not officially acknowledged as a post, (which helps

towards transfer if the teacher is being posted to another school), an ET gets a sum of

$2000 per annum for his/her work. In large urban primary schools there are numerous

ET’s that are responsible for the professional development of a team of teachers.

However, in small rural schools there is usually one ET.

ET’s in the study schools raised concerns about the lack of clear about what they

supposed to do with teachers, because staff meetings and executive meetings seem to be

dealing with the same issues, and then lack direction. An Executive Teacher who wished

not to be identified says:

I do not know where to draw the line. Sometimes the HT dictates what is to be done in the different classrooms, which I intend to discuss in Executive meetings and get the views of the teachers and agree on a resolution.

Such role conflict was sometimes seen to undermine teacher’s roles as classroom

practitioners and limit teachers’ creativity and resourcefulness of individual teachers.

5.2.3 Professional Development Programs

Professional programs exist and teachers could use these to upgrade their qualification.

A common one is the program offered through Distance and Flexible Learning (DFL) by

the USP. However, all the teachers who were enrolled in this program were paying for

this out of their own pockets. Whilst there are provisions within the MOE for study

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awards, the vagueness and lack of transparency in the selection process, often frustrate

teachers, as this respondent reflects:

I don’t know what the criteria that they are selecting people on are. I have fulfilled all the stated requirements but somehow I seem to fail to get through. And most of the time this has been attributed to lack of funds. I have been serving in rural primary schools for a number of years and this is what I get in return.

An analysis of the 2006 MOE Annual report (Graph 5.2) shows that the proportion of

primary school teachers being awarded study leave with salary was only 17 per cent,

compared to secondary teachers (39%), technical teachers (24%) and professional

administration officers (20%), as provided.

Figure 5.2: Bar Graph Indicating the Number of Teachers on Study Leave with Salary in 2006.

Source: MOE Annual Report 2006.

This small number of awards does not contribute much to the upgrading of primary

school teachers, among whom less than 1 per cent (of the 5000 plus workforce) have a

Bachelors Degree or higher (MOE, 2006). As a result of this limitation, most primary

school teachers either opt to study on leave without salary or continue part time studies

by DFL. All the teachers from Va Primary School with the exception of the Head

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Teacher had enrolled in this mode of study, something that may be attributed to the

Assistant Head Teacher who is a Bed (Prim) graduate and posted to the school in 2006.

The teacher encourages the staff to take up the initiative:

My personal view is that a lot of teachers in rural schools generally lack competency and need a lot of training… If there can be some policies in the MOE that after how many years of teaching such teachers should be available for training … or it should be made compulsory that there should be some kind of courses or staff development programmes that one has to undergo…

It was evident from the teachers’ response that they are often neglected either because

of their isolation or an administrative structure that does not place much emphasis on

primary teacher’s professional development.

5.2.4 Other Short-Term Programs

Many respondents felt that seminars and workshops by the District Education Office

tended to be held irregularly. In general the teachers from the case study schools did not

experience many short-term courses for professional development. One Head Teacher

lamented the fact that workshops are usually held close to the district office and rural

schools are once again left out. Many head teachers said that workshop notifications

were usually late and often reached them after the scheduled seminars or workshops.

There were some visits to rural schools by staff of the District Education Office but these

often depend on a variety of factors such as availability of transport, staff, resources and

weather. Some teachers expressed dismay at the lack of school visits by education

officers. An informant from Ono District School says that:

Another thing is the communication breakdown from MOE . . . A good example is that in this year we had only one visit from the District

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Education office. They don’t bother to check our record; it is being different to what had been previously experienced. They don’t go through the official documents.

Another participant expresses similar view:

It is usually very difficult to develop our knowledge in educational related issues since they either hardly gets a chance to attend workshops or seminars or they do not bother to inform us.

This apparent lack of communication from administrative centres tend to be very

discouraging for rural teachers who seem to be doing their best, under demanding

circumstances, and who sometimes blame Education Officers for not taking them

seriously enough. The lack of support visits and acknowledgement of teachers’ work

seems to have a profound effect on the teachers. The Executive Teacher at Va Primary

School emphasizes that:

The Education Officers must visit each rural school once a term. This is to enable head teachers to be on their toes every day. Also to make them aware of what they have to do and not just the assistant teachers doing it. Like here the … Education officers should at least come around every term.

Irregular visits by the district officers were seen to further isolate the teachers whom

were already in dire need of professional support.

5.2.5 Long-Term Professional Programs

Long-term courses for primary school teachers are mainly available through the

University of the South Pacific’s (USP) Distance and Flexible Learning (DFL) program.

Exactly half of the teachers interviewed were continuing their professional development

through this avenue. Most are these are enrolled in the Bachelor of Education (Primary)

programme, which is now available through distance and flexible modes. None of the

head teachers in the case study schools were enrolled in this program.

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Most of the teachers who were involved in the Bed program are doing so at their own

expense. Hence attending tutorials and other academic related activities have to be done

after hours and costs have to be met from their own pockets. Most of the participants

indicated that they have been utilizing their super-annuation funds in the form of Fiji

National Provident Fund (FNPF) educational assistance, to meet their study needs. The

MOE also have provisions for In-service training that award study leave (with salary) to

applicants that have completed more than half of the required number of units into their

programmes. Some of the teachers in the case study schools expressed their

disappointment at their failure to receive such assistance after many unsuccessful

applications.

All the teachers from Va Primary School with the exception of the Head Teacher have

enrolled in this mode of study. This could be attributed to the Assistant Head Teacher a

B.Ed (Prim) graduate who was posted to the school in 2006. The teacher had explicitly

encouraged the staff to take up the initiative:

My personal view is that a lot of teachers in rural schools generally lack competency and need a lot of training… If there can be some policies in the MOE that after how many years of teaching such teachers should be available for training … or it should be made compulsory that there should be some kind of courses or staff development programmes that one has to undergo…

Teachers’ frustrations often lead them to apply for transfers to urban schools where they

can improve their qualifications.

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5.2.6 Teacher Induction

Teacher preparation for rural service is often considered as part of an induction

program although this study found no formal induction being carried out for new

teachers. Most teacher respondents expressed their concern with this lack of induction

for people entering the profession. Since new teachers are usually posted to a rural

school it would have been good to institute an induction programme for graduates of the

two teacher training institutions to prepare them for rural service. It is unrealistic to

expect novice teachers to be able to function well in rural areas if there is no attempt to

prepare them for this. Teacher training only provide them with ‘a glimpse’ of what it is

like to teach in a rural school.

Ema (not her real name), for example, an experienced rural teacher suggested that such

a programme “be focused on rural experience and what to expect from their rural

postings and some challenges that would be faced”. This resonates with the comments

by the SEO (Special Projects) who argues, “an awareness programme of the area the

teacher is posted must be done first”. Another participant shares this concern when he

says:

When I came last year there was no such thing as an induction or mentoring programme. I had to fend myself and learn the ropes along the way. The Head Teacher did not do an orientation with me, so I have to look around and ask the teachers what are the happenings around. But when I approached him, he stated, “You should know better.” This is a different context where different issues are being raised. I need to know what the system is. There is a need for someone here like the Assistant Head Teacher or Executive Teacher to guide new teachers into the school environment.

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Even though teachers may have already served in other rural schools the context of each

rural community is different and should be treated differently. The comment made by

Ema reflects the influence of school culture on new teachers.

5.3 RESEARCH QUESTION 3

HOW ARE TEACHERS SELECTED FOR RURAL SERVICE IN RURAL SCHOOLS?

From the interviews conducted it was interesting to find that many teachers were quite

oblivious to the selection policies of the Fiji’s Ministry of Education. In relation to first

appointments in general, teachers have a vague understanding of what is being done.

According to Ema (Va Primary School), “there are no real criteria for selection and even

transfer”. She claimed that if there was one then it should be made explicit so that

teachers are aware of it. Another teacher Marica (Ono District School) was of the view

that the main aim of the postings was to ensure that all the schools were fully staffed.

Most teachers interviewed had similar views. They provided a range of ideas on teacher

selection procedures.

Leo (Va Primary School):

During my time we chose the schools that we wanted to go to. We choose three schools and submit to the MOE and they have the last say. Most times we get an entirely different school from that we had applied for.

Manoa (Lima District School):

Well in the past, when I graduated we were given forms to fill & indicate where we would like to go for our posting… but when the postings are out it would be entirely different from our preferred choices.

The school management, on the other hand seemed passive about teacher selection and

recruitment. The committee chairperson for Va Primary School says:

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No, we do not have any authority in the selection of teachers but sometimes we are being consulted in the appointments of Head Teachers. I think that the current procedure is okay, as getting consulted in the selection of all the teachers is a lot of work.

As far as the MOE is concerned, recent financial constraints have prompted a close

monitoring of teacher recruitment as this press release shows:

The policy of the Ministry of Education is to appoint teachers only when vacancies exist. New teachers cannot be appointed unless vacancies are available through wastages like retirements, deaths, migrations, etc. In other words, the whole process of appointment of new teachers is on a one-on-one basis, where one teacher goes out and a new one can then be brought into the civil service. MOE Press Release 17/01/08.

It can be concluded that while young graduates were given opportunities to indicate

where they want to be posted, the authorities were not obliged to follow their

preferences. New graduates are likely to be posted to rural schools regardless of their

preferences. Responses from the Ministry of Education officials indicate that those who

wish to enter the teaching profession should be prepared to be posted anywhere in Fiji,

as this officer says:

When teachers apply for their postings, they do not select the schools but they select the district to which they wish to be posted to.

The Acting Principal Education Officer (Primary) is more precise:

A condition that exists is that all teachers must serve in rural locations – three years. They must fulfil that condition before they are eligible for promotions. But now it also relates to job security. If they want to be part of the teaching profession then they must go to the rural schools.

Another Senior Education Officer (Special Projects Unit) provides an update:

At present it is those that are interested and appear for interview at HQ that is normally given their first choice. The MOE is now working on the new

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Registration Board for Teachers where only the qualified teachers and those who meet the expectations of the Board are recruited.

The school manager of Ono District School said that school management was not clear

about the selection of teachers but thought that teacher retention could be improved if

school committees were involved in the appointment process. A teacher at Va Primary

School echoes similar sentiments. She says:

There are no real criteria for selection or even transfer (of teachers). If they have any selection policies then it should be made explicit in the name of accountability and transparency.

Another way in which teachers get selected for schools is through transfers. Transfers

occur either upon request by teachers on personal grounds or initiated by the MOE

because of a need expressed. Transfer costs are subsidized by the MOE in the form of a

transfer allowance ($150:00 for single teachers and $300:00 for married teachers).

Travel costs are also met by the MOE. There is also a disturbance allowance if a transfer

occurs in the middle of the academic year although this is usually applicable only after a

teacher has served three years. All teachers may apply for a transfer. The teachers in the

case study schools had acknowledged that it is very difficult to go for a transfer to an

urban school.

An issue that emerged during talanoa sessions on teacher recruitment and retention

was an apparent mismatch between policy and practice. Teachers reported that some

education officials transfer young teachers in their first three years of teaching because

they have no entitlement to a transfer allowance making the transfer less costly for the

MOE. Such transfers sometimes result in teachers’ apparent lack of interest in their new

school, as it was not their choice. A teacher at Ono District School highlights this:

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First of all the strategy (that) is being employed by the SEO is just to make sure that all the allocated places are filled; that there are no complaints received from the respective school to Headquarters. They do not bother about the quality or competency of the teacher (that) being sent out to rural schools.

Another teacher expresses her concern about the reasons for teacher transfers:

In the case of Ms X, she has a black mark in her record from the previous school. So the (MOE) office thought that by transferring her to a different school, it would solve her (absenteeism) problem but instead she continued with the problem. So her transfer was like a band-aid solution to a problem.

The teacher was referring to a young female teacher who was transferred to a school in

the middle of the year to a remote district school after some discipline problems (mainly

absenteeism). The young teacher has since resigned. A respondent from Ono District

School thought that it was the education system that was the problem when it came to

teacher transfers, and suggested that teachers should be allowed to have a say in where

they work, while another from Va Primary School suggested that teachers should be

selected to serve in an area that s/he knows and understand well can be counted when

they get to their new school. It was clear from teacher’s comments that if they were

consulted in their transfer or appointment process they would be more committed to

their schools. Some teacher participants in this study reported that they had made

several attempts to be transferred to other areas, mainly urban ones. Eleven out of

sixteen teachers said that it was likely that they would be transferred to other schools

within five years. However, this study found that very few teachers had been transferred

from the study schools in the past few years.

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Members of school management seemed rather indifferent to the teacher selection

process and had few suggestions about improving it. The committee representative of

Va Primary School maintained that it was important for teachers to have professional

attitudes to their work, irrespective of whether they were new or not. On the other hand

many community members were quite comfortable with the presence of new graduates

in their respective schools. They realised that graduates take time to develop their career

in a new school environment and some just need more experience. However, many

believed that if new teachers have a professional attitude to their work then adjusting to

their new environment should not be a problem. It was important however for all

teachers to understand that they were role models who would have a lot of impact upon

students.

Teacher transfer also arises as a result of promotion and is generally understood (by

teachers) that one of the attractions of serving in rural schools has to do with improved

chances of promotion. In the Minimum Qualification Requirements (MQR) restructured

under the 1993 Job Evaluation Report (JER), potential candidates for ED6A (one of the

middle level positions) posts are required to “have completed 3 years rural service or a

superior assessment in the past three years”. This ‘superior assessment’ has tended to

replace the rural service requirement making it redundant. Consequently teachers may

and often do apply for higher-level posts without having served in a rural area thus

making rural service even more unattractive to teachers.

It was the view of many participants that teacher recruitment should involve the school

community, as it would help in the maintenance of good relations. From my experience

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teaching in rural areas this consideration in the teacher selection process is often

ignored to the detriment of the school. Internal bickering amongst some teachers often

creates tensions in the community and makes cooperation between school and

community difficult to achieve. In advocating for the involvement of the school

committee in teacher selection, a School Manager argued that, “when we involve

everyone then there can be commitment - if there is no involvement, then there is no

commitment”.

5.4 RESEARCH QUESTION 4 WHY ARE SOME TEACHERS RELUCTANT TO SERVE IN RURAL SCHOOLS?

Most of the teachers showed their frustrations in serving in rural schools. The distance

was mainly seen as the main contributing factor that generates reluctance for teachers to

serve in rural schools. Teachers in rural schools felt a certain kind of professional, social,

personal and psychological remoteness. This was a common complaint during talanoa

sessions, especially if teachers wish to pursue further studies. This teacher expressed the

social isolation faced by some teachers:

As young teachers there is excitement of life in the urban areas. That is probably why they are reluctant to start here. As young teachers brought up in the urban areas, they lack the social skills of living (in a rural area) so they would be reluctant to come out.

Another teacher supports this by saying, that “they do not want to go the rural because

their friends are in urban centre’s; they want to stay with their parents and children and

they fear staying in a totally new environment and being the only aliens there”.

A Principal of a Teacher training college agreed. He says that:

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The beginning teachers are all young, and all the teacher-training institutions are urban based or have semi-urban locations. So in the two or three years that they spend at these institutions, they experience the fun of the bright lights and the entertainment that are accessible to people living towns and cities.

However, the above perspective is not shared by two other novice (Indo-Fijian) teachers

who had been sent to a rural district on their very first posting. Unlike their colleagues,

they have adapted well into the rural community and said that claims about

geographical isolation might have some truth a few years ago, but today jobs are scarce

and you have to take whatever may come your way. Over the years most rural school

managements have tried to improve facilities in their schools as a way of attracting new

teachers. However, upon closer observation this has been limited to the construction of

teacher’s quarters. In a school that had constructed a new two-bedroom house for

teachers not far from the study areas, it was found that there was no regular water

supply servicing the area. As this teacher said, availability of services is important for

teachers who work in rural schools.

In rural areas education services in terms of facilities are considered second-class. The

facilities and the environment are challenging and most teachers are of the view that it is

better for us to be posted to an urban school so that we can upgrade our qualifications. A

union representative agreed: he said that lack of resources including food and other

basic items like water, electricity, etc. is the main obstacle for rural teachers. Ono

District School was slightly different from the other two being located in a relatively

more developed rural centre that was home to government agencies (such as the P.W.D

depot, Government Supplies outlet, Police Post and District Administrator). Many

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teachers in the study bemoaned the lack of infrastructure and facilities that are normally

available to urban schools as expressed by these respondents:

Ema (Va) agrees:

The problem lies with infrastructure. For example in rainy weather, in my classroom all the mud and water comes inside. We have to go to another classroom and disturb that class. I think it is the responsibility of the school committee to ensure that the classrooms are up to a standard.

Isoa (Ono):

We blame the facilities all along; the barrier is always on infrastructure. I think the number one need is the facilities then transport needs, because of geographical isolation.

Manoa (Lima):

One of the reasons that teacher are reluctant to serve in rural schools are the facilities - not up to standard. So if the community can fully support the schools then there would be no problem in teachers coming into rural or remote schools. Another reason is the distance. They perceive it as the farther you are from urban centers the lower the standard of living. This is at times the wrong impression as in this district the farther up you go to Udu Point the standard of teachers’ quarters are much better than the ones that are in the vicinity the town.

Over the years most rural school managements have tried to improve facilities in their

schools as a way of attracting new teachers. However, upon closer observation this has

been limited to the construction of teacher’s quarters. In a school that had constructed a

new two-bedroom house for teachers not far from the study areas, it was found that

there was no regular water supply servicing the area. As this teacher emphasized,

availability of basic services is important for teachers who work in rural schools.

Urban and rural are two distinct words, which have contrastingly different meanings in our minds. In rural areas education services in terms of facilities are considered second-class. The facilities and the environment are challenging and most teachers are of the view that it is better for them to be posted to an urban school so that they can upgrade their qualifications.

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A Union (FTU) representative said that lack of resources including food and other basic

items like water, electricity, etc. was a major obstacle for rural teachers. Most of the

sixteen teachers in the case study schools indicated in their questionnaire that it was

likely that they will be transferred to other schools within the next five years. However,

it was found that very few teachers had been transferred from the study areas in the past

few years.

5.4.1 Heavy Workload

A relatively heavy workload was another reason that was given for the unattractive

nature of serving in rural schools. Many teachers expressed the need to reduce their

workload in many talanoa sessions. Some had composite or multiple classes teaching

where they were teaching different grades in the same school. Multi-grade teachers

voiced concerns saying that it was “bothersome, frustrating and difficult”. Furthermore

it was extremely arduous and highly demanding especially when some teachers go on

(maternity) leave and those left behind had to shoulder the teaching load. Worse, in

Fiji, the staffing needs of a school is derived from the number of pupils enrolled in a

school hence small rural schools will get a minimal amount to big urban schools.

5.4.2 Lack of Professional Support

Another disadvantage of serving in rural schools is the apparent lack of continuing

professional support for teachers. This tends to be mainly in the form of school visits

from education officers and/or professional development workshops. Rural teachers

look forward to these visits, which tend to be infrequent. The visits serve two main

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purposes: monitoring teacher’s work and helping teachers improve their teaching. Most

of the respondents in this study expressed disappointment at the infrequent nature of

visits of MOE officials. They felt these sporadic visits led to diminish school and teacher

morale. This teacher echoes the concern:

Another obvious issue is the communication breakdown from MOE. A good example is that in this year we had only one visit from the District Education office. They don’t bother to check our records; this is different to what had been previously experienced. They don’t go through the official documents.

When officials do visit, they often do not carefully examine each teacher’s work. A

teacher relates:

Like in one visit we had, we felt that their ignorance from not sighting the official documents had really dampened our spirits. They should comment on the work being done by the teachers in the rural outback. In such monitoring we may also get to know where we are within the wider education community, and they should also provide administrative support.

Because a rural school is often isolated, teachers regard visits to be more important for

keeping in touch administratively. But isolation is often given as an excuse for a lack of

regular visits, as this senior executive with the FTA and a former Principal of LTC says:

Isolation prevents Ministry officials from making school visits for advisory and professional guidance for teachers. No visits lead to low motivation and a hunger for further professional development.

Often visits by education officials occur only when a problem arises, as this Acting

Assistant Head Teacher (Lima) asserts:

It is only when there is a problem in the school then they (Education Officers) will come. They should come for regular school visits so that we can sit down and have talanoa.

School visits from MOE officials appear to be desired by teachers because they help in

their professional development. In rural areas, professional development activities are

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very rare anyway, as most in-service training is normally held in urban centres. This was

not always the case in the past as indicated in an undated visitor’s book entry in one of

the case study schools (believed to have been written during the colonial era), where an

item was logged by an education inspector who wrote that he (the officer), had been “on

the road” for about a week conducting staff development along the way. This was

interesting given that at that time, there were no proper roads and the remote, rugged

terrain was accessible only by foot or by boat.

When professional development is offered in the form of workshops, rural teachers are

often not able to participate. A teacher from Ono District School shows concern about

where workshops are normally held. He says:

Another issue is that when there is a workshop being done it usually goes to the schools that are close to the district office. So rural schools are again left out and are at a disadvantaged.

The phrase ‘out of sight, out of mind’ situation means that very remote schools are often

neglected. With the absence of a reliable mode of communication, workshop and/or

seminar notifications are usually sent via the post, which is often slow and unreliable.

This would contribute to too many delays in sending applications which means rural

teachers get left out. All teachers interviewed wanted some form of professional

development as it helps widening their knowledge and improve their work.

5.4.3 Lack of Policy Implementation and Monitoring

Another reason for teachers’ reluctance to serve in rural areas seemed to be the lack of

policy implementation and monitoring. Policies exist regarding things such as: stipend

allowances for rural schools ($11:00 for category 2 and $15:00 for category 1 remote

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schools); mandatory term of three years of rural service for all teachers before being

legible for promotions; and eligibility for in-service training scholarships at the

completion of rural service.

However, information gathered during this study indicated that some teachers were

aware of cases where these policies were not implemented or followed. If implemented,

there were reports of bias and nepotism. Insufficient monitoring of policy

implementation often resulted in some teachers getting promoted ahead of other, more

deserving teachers as this participant reports:

There is another criterion - whom you know policy - where promotions and getting scholarships depend on how we are connected to the top people (italics added for emphasis).

Ana (Lima) highlighted the case of a teacher who was a son of an Education Officer who

did not get posted to a rural school while all his fellow graduates spent time in rural

areas. This might have been regarded as a minor transgression similar to the wantok

systems highlighted in other Melanesian countries but this is the type of behaviour that

tend to undermine teachers’ confidence in the education system

5.4.4 Communal Support

Most of the teachers interviewed admitted that communal support was vital for their

school projects and should provide a sense of ownership of the school by the

community.

Marica of Ono District School agrees:

Another reason (for teachers’ reluctance to serve) is the community. Some communities are not very supportive enough as their support would be evident in the infrastructure or facilities in the school.

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Different school management in the study area expressed concern about communication

breakdown between school and community as an important issue. School management

in the study area expressed concern about communication breakdown between school

and community as an important issue. The lack of continuous communication amongst

the stakeholders is important for school management, a view expressed by a school

manager who was a former policeman. He says:

We have different administrations that are functioning in the rural community. For example “lotu, vanua and matanitu” all operate in the vanua and hence has to closely adhere to traditional protocols. Like we levy a soli to parents then only parents are liable to participate but if we address it to the vanua then the-would- be parents, current parents, parents of former students and traditional supporters would be likely to come and participate.

The comments were mindful of the different cultures of service in a Fijian community.

For instance, a head teacher wanting parents for the parents’ interview would use a

newsletter or make an announcement in the school assembly. But to get support from

the local community to clear land for a new school structure would require yaqona to

facilitate the school’s request.

The chairman of one school committee on the other hand highlighted the positive use of

vakavanua by saying:

All the fundraising activities or any other activity that is being levied by the school should be administered by the vanua. We have seen lately when we call parents to come and clean the school compound, majority of them did not turn up as they have other traditional obligations (vanua) or religious tasks (lotu) that they have to accomplish. These are things that a Fijian person will not refuse to participate in. So if the school activities are inculcated in these conventional tasks (vanua and lotu) then I strongly believe that state of affairs in the school will definitely improve.

Another positive view of the role of the school community in the school affairs was a

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principal of a training institution. He says:

Involving the community is a good way of enhancing the school – community relations but it can also impede the retention of teachers in rural schools because of the obligation that comes with culture. So it’s is good in that it will assist in the development of the school and make the teachers feel at home but it may also increase the workload of teachers if it is taken out of the context.

A former rural high school principal agrees:

It (vakavanua) can contribute to some extent. But there must be a line drawn somewhere that should be respected. If a teacher does not know how to or when to draw the line there could be some awkward experiences where for example the teacher is not at work due to a hangover from a village function. Yes, of course our culture is very rich and complex and can help teachers to remain in rural schools for many years.

The Head teacher of Ono also highlights the need not to abuse vakavanua despite its

importance. He says:

Education (formal) is also not value-free and it is a foreign element to our society. And culture has been instilled in us and it is natural that at times we try to appraise these issues into the modern times. Sometimes we try to vakavanua the administration of formal education – e.g. use of school facilities for traditional functions in the village. The government is providing these things so we should not abuse them

During talanoa session’s community members indicated the need for teachers to

distinguish between the culture of the village and that of professionalism in the school, a

sentiment echoed by an education officer who says:

Teachers are trained on certain principles that they are teachers and they should at all times maintain their standards. I know some are definitely lost in their community. For that matter the standard of teaching is also lost with it. So I think if a new teacher comes in and is well trained and well founded in their beliefs I do not think the community can alter that very much.

The view that a school needs to serve its community and vice versa seemed to be

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appreciated by most participants. It was obvious that, according to them, the vanua was

indispensable to the smooth running of the school and vakavanua, in both its positive

and negative aspects, was part of the realities of those who serve in rural schools.

Another community disincentive had to do with the lack of maintenance and capital

development in some schools, attributed by some participants to the relatively short

tenure of the school management. When a management group gets in, sometime it was

seen as trying to compete with the previous one to see whose tenure was better, an

attitude that negatively school.

5.5 RESEARCH QUESTION 5

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO RETAIN TEACHERS IN RURAL SCHOOLS? Almost all teachers in the study saw a need to re-address rural education policies in

order to entice quality teachers to rural schools. Most of the participants in this study

said that there was a need to improve infrastructure in order to make rural schools more

attractive to teachers.

Marika (Va) says:

I think the school management should see that staff quarters are in good conditions. For example my quarters [sic] leaking, steps are shaky, the toilet and bathroom far away – a problem in the night. I’ve been occupying a Fiji Hardwood facility for more than a year and my house is still not repaired. Instead the kindergarten children have used it as their classroom. It is certain that any Fiji Hardwood staff will take back their quarters and I’ll go nowhere.

Manoa (Va) has a suggestion to make:

I think that the Ministry of Education should work hand in hand with the school committee and the parents to see that the teachers’ quarters are of good quality and satisfying. But it is sad to say that most quarters provided

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in our school still have water seal and pit toilets. This can be one drawback to attracting and retaining quality teachers in rural schools.

Water is a basic resource but it is often not available even in some rural areas. The

school management Va Primary School has been trying to rectify the problem over the

years but with no apparent luck. Manoa (Lima) says:

The committee must first of all ensure that the facilities that are offered in the school are of usable and good standard so that teachers are willing to serve those areas using those facilities. If we have good facilities then why are we applying for a transfer or go to urban schools? Teachers who do not have good quarters are not being happy to come to that school. They have families and they would not want to see their families living in houses that are in a deplorable state.

Others agree about improving working conditions and infrastructure. Two other

teachers suggested:

• Improve the infrastructure – see that the facilities are up to standard. When we say the infrastructure we mean the computers and Internet that are available to urban schools.

• Improve public transport. • Improve essential services like health and communication.

An education officer also agrees:

I think we should lift the standard of these rural schools to that of the level of urban schools. We raise facilities and put in more work, which is lacking. Electricity and water are some of the basic facilities. If we have electricity then computers would come in then Internet would be next. If we use internet teaching here in town and the a rural school on Yacata island is also teaching using internet it will be a more level playing field.

It is generally understandable that rural schools with low economic turnover may have

inferior infrastructure than their urban counterparts.

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5.5.1 Incentives in Rural Service Incentives have also been highlighted as one area in which the Ministry could use to

attract quality teachers to rural schools. The following comments were from

stakeholders who were sympathetic towards the teacher’s current meagre allowances.

From the MOE:

Provide the incentives that would attract Teachers there in the first place and keep them there.

From the Principal of a training institution:

Give them incentives such as a rural allowance. People who teach in the rural areas should be given an allowance to help them in their professional work and also outside their scope of work. For example rural teachers are heavily involved with community projects.

From a teachers’ organisation’s representative:

Provide different types of allowances e.g. Establishment Allowance on the first year only; Education Allowance for the Teacher and children; Cost of Living Adjustment Allowance; and Difficulty Allowance.

Like infrastructure, funds which could provide incentives are something that most third

world countries do not have in abundance.

Another area that was worth considering was proper implementation of educational

policies.

5.5.2 Policy Implementation

A point system was suggested as a way of retaining teachers in rural schools. This

system would recognize a teacher’s rural service and may be used for promotions and

in-service awards.

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While it is good to provide incentives for teachers to go and remain in rural schools, it

may not be a good idea for them to stay for too long. Participants had raised this point a

number of times. For instance a teacher from Lima says:

In my view, the MOE should rotate the teachers in rural schools and keep them in the rural areas. When they are already serving in a rural school, they show that they are competent have already adapted to such extreme life.

Another participant, a union representative asserts:

After they serve a three-year term (in a rural area) and they want to come out the MOE is not able to take them to another school. They can remain there for five years, (like me - I was stuck there for five years). The MOE should put them in a school of their choice after their first tour (which is three years); this way you will have people who are ready to serve. If you put them in a rural school and leave them there they will be reluctant to go in the first place.

Many teachers expressed similar sentiments suggesting that district officers were only

interested in fulfilling their quota of teachers. In some cases there were promises made

to teachers by Education Officials to post them to rural schools for a certain period and

in return they will either be posted to an urban school or get promoted. Not all of these

promised were kept. A principal of a training institution, a former rural primary school

teacher, expresses a similar view:

Another way that the MOE can look at it is once (a teacher) serves a term, consider him for in-service scholarships. In many instances once teachers are posted to outer islands they tend to forget you and it is really hard to come out of the rural districts; at times they have to fight tooth and nail to be transferred to an urban school.

According to this ex-teacher, the neglect of rural teachers’ needs by the MOE was like a

life sentence. After serving in difficult rural conditions teachers’ applications for transfer

to urban schools are often rejected causing much frustration while teachers in urban

schools continue to enjoy their working and living conditions. The ‘whom you know

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policy’ that has been highlighted by some participants tend to diminish the commitment

and sacrifice that rural schoolteachers may have. Better policies and policy monitoring

could mean that all teachers might be able to more fully contribute to rural education.

5.6 Summary

The participants in this study had varying perceptions of what a quality teacher ought to

be. Some definitions were limited to classroom teaching competence, while others

highlighted the additional importance of understanding local cultures and contexts. The

way teachers were assessed, especially by education officials, seemed to influence their

perceptions of a quality teacher, and officials often defined quality teacher by the results

of their formal assessments. Other stakeholders also gave their views which usually had

to do not just with qualifications but also work outside the classroom.

There was also an emphasis of the relevance of teacher education for rural service. Some

teachers felt that teacher training institutions could try to incorporate issues affecting

rural schools in pre-service training. Whilst there has been a push in that direction

lately, participants still felt that a lot could still be accomplished. Concerns were also

raised about the effectiveness of school-based professional development such as staff

and executive meetings. In all of these activities, good school leadership is a key to a

more effective and creative staff development process. For instance, the creativity and

innovativeness of an executive teacher was often seen as ‘limited’ if the school heads

were making the decisions about what needed to be done.

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Teachers were critical of what they regarded as a top- down approach in selecting and

posting of teachers to rural schools, with little input from teachers themselves.

According to them there were no clear guidelines for teacher induction either and their

orientation into the school culture was dependent on local politics as well as the

relationship between a school and its community.

The teachers expressed their frustrations in serving in rural schools. Some indicated

that some of rural education policies were not strictly adhered to and often led to

teachers’ diminished morale. The distance from urban centres was seen as the major

impediment for rural schools. This together with a general absence of essential services,

teachers had to face more daily challenges compared to their urban counterparts. Often

they had to extend their work in order to meet community expectations. All of these are

occurring in a context of limited resources, support and guidance from the Ministry of

Education, which tend to demoralise many rural teachers.

The participants also provided opinions about ways to entice and keep quality teachers

in rural primary schools. These strategies together with other findings will be discussed

in the next chapter.

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6.0 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

…no education reform is likely to succeed without the active participation and

ownership of teachers (Dakar Framework for Action, 2000: 20).

6.1 Introduction

This chapter discusses the research findings of this study based on the answers to each

of the research questions. The approach follows Miles and Huberman’s (1984 & 1994)

threefold model of: data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing/verification.

The five research questions addressed the main themes of the study namely: quality

teachers, preparing/selecting teachers for rural schools, teachers’ reluctance to work in

rural schools and ways of retaining teachers in rural schools.

6.2 RESEARCH QUESTION 1

WHAT DOES QUALITY TEACHER MEANS? As mentioned earlier, quality is now a catch phrase in almost all educational endeavours

worldwide, and in Fiji. While the focus of the educational system in the (colonial) past

seemed to be access to basic educational services, today the emphasis has shifted to

accessing quality education and this means quality teachers. Fullan (1993: 103) argues;

A high quality teaching workforce – always learning – is a sine qua non of coping with dynamic complexity, i.e., of helping to produce citizens who can manage their lives and relate to those around them in a continually changing world. There is no substitute to having better teachers.

It is an acknowledged fact that quality of schools impinges on the quality of teachers.

However, the geographical context and the realistic atmosphere of the schools can also

affect the performance of teachers. In the next few sections, discussions on the various

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informants’ responses will focus on finding a common understanding for what a quality

teacher is.

6.2.1 A Variety of Definitions

Most informants regarded personal characteristics as most important in defining a

quality teacher, a rather broad view. This view for instance from the acting Principal

Education Officer (Primary) who raises the importance of agreeing on a set of criteria,

depending on the purpose of teaching reflects this. He says:

Quality will depend on the indicators. When they graduate from the teacher institutions they are all quality teachers. But when they are in the field that determines how competent the teachers are. There are different indicators like examination results, attendance, and absences i.e. missing school because of health reasons that need to be taken into consideration.

Most participants agreed that there were factors contributing to quality teaching, which

includes exam results, punctuality and being regular. Secondly, qualifications are

important. When trainee teachers graduate from their respective teacher training

colleges, they are expected to have the necessary know-how with which to perform their

tasks. The education official regards teacher competence as a contributing factor to

teacher quality although there may be other roles a teacher may assume such as

supervision of boarders, fundraising and involvement with communal activities.

However, these extra responsibilities some regarded to be of secondary importance as

teaching should be the primary focus. Then there is the Annual Confidential Reports

(ACR) which other participants regarded as important. The ACR is administered by

senior officials in the Ministry of Education. This assessment document lists an array of

attributes that range from the quality of work, ability to communicate (written and oral)

as well as numeracy skills. Teachers are assessed twice yearly - on their first

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appointment and then once a year thereafter. The reports prepared by the senior officers

do not give teachers the opportunity to see the assessment nor note areas of strength or

weaknesses. Several authors have criticised this method of assessment. While Teaero

(1997) regards it as a major drawback Lingam says that it is a method that “lacks any

feedback mechanism to those who are being evaluated and therefore does not augur well

for teacher morale that tends to make professional development redundant and limited”

(Lingam, 2008: 155).

The adaptability of teachers to their new environments was considered very important

for their overall good performance. One will expect that if teachers are well trained that

there should not be any problems in their adjustment. However, the Head Teacher of

Ono had regarded quality as not just being confined to an ability to teach subjects:

rather he thought that teachers should help make children grow in wisdom and stature

help children become a good citizen and more importantly grow spiritually. This

broader definition of quality is a common one among the general population and is

probably one that needs to be taken more seriously by teacher education institutions

which do not necessarily emphasise the spiritual needs of students in designing their

curricula.

6.2.2 Quality as High Examination Pass Rates

Most participants agreed that often a quality teacher is one who produces high

examination pass rates. Many teachers understand that despite the multiplicity of their

roles in delivering educational services, they are expected to produce excellent

examination results, as this teacher from Ono reminds us:

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The Education Officers and Senior Education Officers also have their own version of quality teachers and some of them (teachers) are being pre-judged according to the academic results that are being produced by the teachers.

Often schools are ranked according to their performance in various examinations. Often

this ranking is done without due recognition of the different contexts of schools,

something that is widely regarded as unfair and unjust. Perhaps if pass rates are to be

used, there needs to be a formula which takes into account the context of the school,

such as its location, access to resources etc. Teachers were obviously frustrated with the

comparison between their performances with those of other teachers who may happen

to work in more advantaged, urban schools. It is well known that most rural schools lack

resources and are often left to fend for themselves. Tavola (1991b: 86) had singled out

resources as a ‘critical factor’ in improving school quality.

The use of examination pass rates to judge quality teachers and teaching has been

rejected by a number of people including this principal of a teachers’ training college,

who said:

I do not agree with that (judging teachers from examination results). There are many numbers of ways to make students pass with high percentage but it does not mean that effective teaching strategies are being utilised. The students can be coached like going over the previous exams papers that will eventually result in having good marks and people will identify that with a quality teacher. But when we look at it in the long run these students are at a disadvantage as they have only been coached to pass the exam but they were not given the opportunity to properly develop their life skills.

The revision of previous years’ examination papers has been a standard practice of many

teachers who are preparing students for external examinations. When schools register

high overall pass rates, they are deemed by many people, including teachers themselves

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to have quality teachers even though students may be lacking in other attributes such as

knowledge of local culture, ability to contribute to community and social events. The

revision of previous year’s National Examination papers had been noted by

Dakuidreketi’s (2006) especially in the examination classes of Class 6 and Class 8.

For the MOE, a quality teacher was one who is able to implement the vision of the

institution in collaboration with the MOE. This means that a quality teacher should

ensure the alignment of what they do in the school with the Strategic Plans of the School

which in turn is aligned to that of the MOE. This would ownership of work plans by

school and by teachers. According to Puamau, educational professionals and

administrative staff need needed to have a clear sense of ownership of a school plan,

otherwise their “commitment and zeal for its implementation may not be strong”

(Puamau, 2005a:32). Other stakeholders would also need to have a sense of ownership

of a school’s plan as they too have a vested interest in their school.

MOE officials appeared to focus more on school and classroom work when they are

talking about quality teachers. According to the SEO (Special Projects), a quality teacher

is ‘always punctual, humble, diligent, responsible, focussed and consistent’. One

education officer echoed the need to be fully committed, be physically present at school

all the time and put in quality time and teaching. Focusing on the core function of

teaching was important for many education officials, with other activities seen as

important for building and creating a classroom atmosphere that is conducive to

learning. This functionalist perspective is understandably taken by the MOE officials

because of their roles in supervision and management of teachers, which might become

problematic and arduous if a more ‘out of the box’ definition of quality was encouraged.

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Functionalists tend to encourage compliance to rules and regulations seen as important

for enhancing continuity and stability in the system. Upon closer examination it was

evident that the only assessment tools that the MOE was using to judge quality teachers

were external examination results and the Annual Confidential Report (ACR).

Assessing teachers based on student outcomes is sometimes problematic. According to

Tuckman, effective teachers as “those teachers whose students learn and grow the most”

(Tuckman, 1995:127-128). He also cautions about the difficulties in assessing teachers

based on student outcomes. The first relates to out of school factors that affect the

learning of students such as the parents and the school environment. The second relates

to the time frame used when measuring what the students have learnt and what subjects

are to be measured in this specific period of time. In the United States, for example,

large scale so-called process-product studies were carried out in the late 1980s to the

early 1990s (see Evertson, Emmer & Clements, 1993; Good & Brophy, 1991; Porter &

Brophy, 1988) where student learning and growth were measured using standardised

achievement tests in reading and mathematics. It was argued that results from these

tests should not be used to generalise about other curriculum areas like art & craft,

music, physical education or even practical daily survival skills like maintaining

relations and conflict resolutions, which are important to all societies. The recent

introduction of the Fiji Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (FILNA), to replace

the Fiji Intermediate Examination (FIE) and Fiji Eighth Year Examination (FEYE) may

be a good example where the focus of student assessment has been narrowed down to

numeracy and literacy skills.

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Many researchers such as Muijs, Campbell, Kyriades and Olsen, (2005) and Friedman

and Kass (2002) have argued against using narrow foci for student assessment

particularly given that teachers have an extensive range of tasks and roles to fulfill. They

point out that often the benchmarks that are usually defined by excellent results in tests

is limiting in nature and overlooks teachers who participate in extensive and ‘out of the

box’ roles which are often seen as beneficial to the school such as helping create positive

relationships with parents and the local community, effective mentoring of

inexperienced staff and/or assisting out-of-school youth in ‘start your own’ business

programmes. These more diffused views of quality inevitably lead to a more holistic

definition of quality teachers, as one participant reminds us:

. . . a quality teacher should look at the whole being (of students). . . social, mental, spiritual and physical. When they develop these four aspects then we can call them quality teachers. (Italics added for emphasis).

A teacher training college principal agrees:

A quality teacher is one who is not only competent in the professional aspect but espouses ways that are morally right and embraces good values.

The moral aspect of teaching often tends to be neglected not only in teacher education

but also in teacher assessment. It was evident from the responses of many participants

that both professional capacity and moral stature were important considerations in

judging and defining quality and that the perception of the teacher as a role model was

widespread. This was also reflected in a newspaper article (“Teacher faces attack

charge,” Fiji Times 2008) which highlighted the need for teachers to have high moral

values. The high court judge concerned emphasised this by reminding teachers that

they were role models in the community. Unfortunately not all teachers are able to live

up to this high expectation.

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Teacher quality also encompasses cultural knowledge and competence among teachers.

There have been instances where teachers have found it difficult to cope with their lack

of cultural knowledge. Cultural advocates such Thaman (1998, 1996 & 1992b), Nabobo

(2000a & 2000b), Sanga (2000) and Taufe’ulungaki (2000) propose the inclusion of

culture in all teacher education syllabuses. This would ensure the acknowledgement of

local cultures including local pedagogies, and helping to ensure that children are not

alienated from the teaching and learning processes.

Thaman (1992b) had long argued that schools are not only a venue to disseminate

cognitive and knowledge skills a place where culture is transmitted to students. The

Fiji’s acting Principal Education Officer (Primary) suggests that teachers must be

conversant in at least two vernacular languages to ensure that the children’s needs and

cultural backgrounds are catered for. A teacher training college principal had also

agreed that teachers needed to be taught the values of the local community otherwise

teachers would have a culture shock and behave inappropriately.

It seems from the responses that participants gave cultural competency was part of their

definition of a quality teacher. This is important for students so that they are not

alienated from the learning process. Knowledge of local cultures will also contribute

positively to the pedagogical process and help maintain good relations with the

community, something that is particularly important in rural schools.

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6.2.3 Holistic Notion of Quality

The study found that many stakeholders generally agreed on what constitutes quality

teachers - as those with appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes. This finding is in

accordance with Teaero’s (2004) work on ideal qualities of i-Kiribati teachers where

honesty was ranked first by the majority of respondents as an essential ingredient of a

quality teacher. While teachers themselves seemed worried about what they saw as

inappropriate values of some teachers, MOE officials emphasised the idea of a teacher

as a professional classroom practitioner.

The diagram below shows an idealised framework that depicts quality teachers. This

study assumes that that there are no definite parameters of a quality teacher. Rather it is

a progression towards quality that is important. Once teachers strive for this, the

qualitative characteristics that have been highlighted by many informants might begin

to emerge. These attributes are essential for teachers especially in rural schools where

they are in close proximity with the community and are usually perceived as role

models.

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Figure 6.1: Framework Depicting Quality Teachers.

Source: Tuimavana, Fieldwork Data, (2007).

6.2.4 Summary

In Fiji, different people define quality teaching and quality teachers differently,

emphasizing different things. An important part of people’s notion of quality had to do

with students’ learning measured in terms of examination results, a rather narrow

definition of quality. For the purposes of this study quality teachers are those who have

the appropriate knowledge, skills and values for implementing curricula and developing

students’ full potential.

The next section will consider the second research question: How are teachers prepared

to teach in rural schools”?

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6.3 RESEARCH QUESTION 2 HOW ARE TEACHERS PREPARED TO TEACH IN RURAL SCHOOLS?

In Fiji primary teacher training is generic and does not focus specifically on teachers for

rural areas. Trainees come from different locations and backgrounds and many have

little experience of rural life. Educationists including Thaman (1998), Baba (1999),

Bacchus (2000), Williams (2000), Coxon (2000a), Tavola (2000a), Lingam (2001a &

2002) and Logavatu (2002), have expressed concern about the need for regular review

of the teacher education curriculum in order to address the changing needs and

demands of education in the Pacific and Fiji in particular.

Teacher education programs generally aim at equipping trainees with the necessary

knowledge, skills and attitudes for the world of work. Over the years some training

colleges have tried to adapt their syllabuses to specifically target trainees who may be

posted to rural schools. According to Lingam (2004: 20) teacher training institutions

need to expose trainees to a variety of educational settings and for this, the place for the

teaching practicum is important. One way of addressing the concerns of rural schools

including multi-class teaching will be by focusing on teacher preparation at the pre-

service level (Lingam, 2001b). It is also interesting to note that LTC’s current teacher

education syllabi have been re-modeled to include contexts of rural education.

Another institution that has taken the needs of rural schools on board is Corpus Christi

Teachers College. The principal said that:

We are fortunate in a way as the students here are trained to look after themselves from cooking their food to cleaning their dormitory, gardening to the charges they have compared to other teacher training institutions here they would only wash their own clothes and other chores are being done by ancillary staff. We even fundraise for field trips and other projects.

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As a non-government institution Corpus Christi Teachers College (CCTC) has to struggle

to meet the demands of preparation of the trainee teachers. Hence, most of its students

involve themselves in extra-curricular activities in order to assist the administration.

These extra duties augur well for trainee teachers who end up in rural schools. The

principal also informed me that many of their trainee teachers often go to catholic-

managed primary schools, most of which are located in rural areas, for their school

practicum.

6.3.1 Professional Development

As well as the normal diploma program at LTC and CCTC, there are short-term

professional development programs for teachers with the aim of building the quality of

teachers either individually or collectively within the school. With the current reforms in

the National Curriculum Framework and the introduction of an alternative assessment

to the FIE and FEYE, it has become necessary for all teachers to be equipped with the

necessary skills in order to implement these changes.

It was evident from meeting records and upon discussion with participants that school

heads were trying to maintain their position in the administration hierarchy by ironing

out potential issues. For instance, head teachers are solely deciding agendas for such

meetings. This maintenance of the school hierarchy is mainly to gain influence and

leadership from colleagues. According to Bambino (2007: 358), school leaders tend to:

Feel isolated and beaten down by those issuing directives from above, and teachers feel victimised by an approach that treats them like robots who must teach from a standard script and follow a standardised timetable, leaving them no time to build relationships with their students or experience the joys of shared learning that brought them into this profession in the first place.

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Such a management or administration style is often unproductive. According to Singh

(2007) many assistant Head Teachers leadership styles were centred mainly on

maintenance rather than the developmental functions of the schools.

6.3.2 Executive Meetings (Level Meetings)

The lack of a clear demarcation of purpose between the staff meeting and executive

meeting as highlighted in Chapter 5 has made the role of the Executive Teachers

redundant in this case. This also demonstrates a clash of authoritarian and collegial

leadership models where the former reserves the power at the apex (Head Teacher) and

manipulates it to get efficiency in management. According to Weber (1947), one of the

proponents of bureaucratic leadership; this form of management was largely concerned

with planning, organizing and control of meticulous daily issues. Understandably, Head

Teachers employ such tactics, as they need to establish order in their schools, as they are

the custodians of the educational responsibilities in their various locations. On the other

hand, collegial type of management, which is being embraced by the Executive

Teachers, is an ingredient for shared power, which equates to the translation of aims

and intentions into realistic results as members pursue shared goals. This form of

leadership also encourages the participation of members and nurtures the development

of all teachers.

Another teacher who was not an ET raised the point that Executive Teachers needed to

further their own training before developing others. These comments emerged after the

appointment of an Executive Teacher who had similar qualifications and comparable

experience to the complainant. All three executive teachers indicated that they received

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no specialized training. Even a Head Teacher reported being “thrown into the deep end

of a pool without knowing how to swim”. Although during their appointment they

experienced sporadic training from the Ministry of Education there were no clear

guidelines for such training. Executive teachers, as next in line to appointments to

future leadership posts, expressed their need for training to further their professional

roles. Poskitt and Taylor (2008) had alluded to the challenging nature of having a

sustainable professional development model of teachers in New Zealand. They had

identified some strategic areas that needs to be addressed in order to sustain

professional development programmes or “deep change”) which includes new

knowledge, skills, attitudes and dispositions of the organisational culture (Poskitt &

Taylor, 2008: 31). This attributes have been earlier highlighted in this chapter as the

necessary characteristics of a quality teacher.

6.3.3 Long-Term Programs

Long-term courses for primary school teachers are mainly available through the

University of the South Pacific’s (USP) Distance and Flexible Learning (DFL) program.

Exactly half of the sampled teachers are continuing their professional development

through this program. Most of these are enrolled in the Bachelor of Education (Primary)

programme, which is now available through distance education mode. None of the head

teachers in the case study schools were enrolled in this personal initiative exercise. The

Head Teachers who were in the pre-retirement group (Tora, 1996) are often reluctant to

take up such courses as they are on the verge of retirement. The teachers undergo this

professional development at their own expense, hence attending tutorials and other

academic related activities after hours and costs have to be met from their own pockets.

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Most teacher participants indicated that they have been utilizing their super-annuation

funds in the form of Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) educational assistance, to

accommodate their study needs. The MOE also have provisions which are being

facilitated through the In-service Section to award study leave with salary to applicants

that have previously “completed more than half of the required number of units into

their programmes”. Some of the teachers in the case study schools have expressed their

dismay that they have applied numerous times for such assistance without success. This

may be, due to restricted funds being available, only a limited number of applicants are

accepted for this assistance, which are given on programme basis.

A study by Hoy and Woolfolk (1993: 14) in the US indicates that teacher’s educational

levels uniquely predicted their personal teaching efficiency as “teachers who went to

graduate school had registered a higher sense of efficacy”. In a Fijian study Singh (1996)

registered the low status given to the teaching profession and the diminishing morale of

teachers. However, Goldhaber and Brewer (1997) and more recently Hanushek and

Rivkin (2007) and Raiyawa (2007) suggest that connecting teacher qualifications and

competency is often deceptive and illusionary.

6.3.4 Teacher Induction

Teacher preparation for rural service might also be part of an induction program. This

study, however, found no formal induction was done for most new teachers. Most

teacher respondents expressed their concern with this lack of induction for people

entering the profession. Since new teachers are usually posted to a rural school it will be

good to institute an induction programme for graduates of the two teacher training

institutions to prepare them for rural service. It is unrealistic to expect novice teachers

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to be able to function well in rural areas if there is no attempt to prepare them for this.

Teacher training only provide them with ‘a glimpse’ of what it is like to teach in a rural

school.

Teachers shared similar sentiments. Ema, for example, an experienced rural teacher

suggested that such a programme “be focused on rural experience and what to expect

from their rural postings and some challenges that will be faced”. This resonates with

the comments by the SEO (Special Projects) who argues, “an awareness programme of

the area the teacher is posted must be done first”. Teaero (1997: 234) also highlights the

“useful component of teacher development is teacher induction”.

Even though teachers may have already served in other rural schools the context of each

rural community is distinct and should be treated differently. The comment made by

Ema reflects the overarching influence of school culture on new teachers. This need for

induction has been clearly identified by Logavatu’s (2002) work on teacher induction in

Fiji.

Amongst the highlighted issues were the absence of teacher induction policies, which

reflected the general attitude towards beginning teachers, a need for a formal policy on

teacher education and a need for a close collaboration of all stakeholders in inducting

teachers for the world of work.

6.3.5 Induction into the School Culture

Teachers need to be inducted into their schools’ culture, which includes normal daily

activities that actually define what are acceptable and legitimate to a particular

institution (Sparkes, 1989). The process of learning the school culture can be arduous

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especially if it is done without the assistance of an old hand. Once new members adapt

themselves to the school culture it increases their chances of being influential and

joining in the decision making of the institution. Although Ema was a senior teacher and

has justifiable privileges to exercise her rights her inability to adapt to the culture of the

institution limits her powers in her new school. Often school micro politics influence

relationships among staff in a school and between the school and the community. Blasé

(1991) refers to micro politics as the use of power (formal and informal) by individuals

and groups to achieve their goals. The power distribution reflects the political economy

of the group. For instance, power may be shared only in the hands of a few in a group

(authoritarian) or even just a member (totalitarian) whilst in a collegial group power

may be distributed equally amongst peers.

This study also highlights the need for a collegial type of management in schools. A

young novice teacher was also dismayed by the lack of a clear and explicit structure for

new teachers. He said that, “there was no professional induction or mentoring

programmes carried out and that he had to learn his way throughout”. He was clearly

frustrated.

6.3.6 Communal Induction

Acclimatising new teachers to the local community is also an important part of teacher

induction. A common Fijian practice in some places when new teachers are being posted

to a rural school is the presentation of the ‘i sevusevu’, to the host community’s chiefly

household to seek permission and blessing before commencement of work. According to

Degei (2007) the ‘sevusevu’ is a ceremonial offering of yaqona by the host to the guest,

or the guest to his or her host and done in respect, recognition and acceptance of one

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another. This ancient traditional practice is reciprocal in nature and usually requires the

host community to return the favour by looking after the presenter‘s welfare such as

accommodation and general daily needs. For visitors who have traditional or familial

ties to the community this may involve the presentation of a ‘tabua’ (a whale’s tooth).

The tabua is an important symbol in the Fijian cultural economy and this is done to

honour the dead ancestors who may have passed away whilst the newcomer was away.

School management, as representative of the community, is usually present in such

cultural transactions and advises the chiefdoms on the protocol. Different groups in Fiji

have different ways of performing these sacred rituals. In the local district where the

study was carried out, this process involves the host community preparing a ‘magiti’

(feast) for the new visitor. These acts may be regarded as a kind of induction programme

into the community that is culturally appropriate.

The comments made by a school manager is interesting when he said that whenever a

new teacher arrives, it is the committee’s responsibility to make them feel at home and

identify some of their needs that he/she has in order to make the community their

home. Teachers are often allocated a ‘mataqali’ (a social unit) and are shown locations

where they can plant food crops. Whenever there is a function in the village, they are

shown their ‘ta’ari’ (traditional doorway) to the community. In this way teachers are

made to feel welcome in their new home.

From a community talanoa session it was highlighted that traditionally Fijians regarded

teachers in the same way they looked upon like medical practitioners and church

ministers and were held in high regard. Whenever there was surplus food in the village

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the best were kept for these groups, as they were the ‘sola’ (visitor) to the community

and were accorded honorific or privileged positions (Ravuvu, 1983 & Nabobo-Baba,

2006). The Head Teacher of Ono District School as well as many others lamented the

fading away of this traditional high regard for teachers, a change that might have been

attributed to economic hardships in some villages together with the fact that teachers

themselves may also be responsible by not expecting the community to behave in this

way. Some community members saw teachers as career professionals who did not

expect such treatment. It is therefore important for teachers to be made aware of this

form of communal induction if they are to be regarded as a ‘qasenivuli’ in the

community.

6.3.7 Summary

Most participants in this study considered teacher induction for rural service essential

and many highlighted the need to learn about rural life very early in their career. It was

evident from the findings of this study that teacher induction was being carried out on

an ad hoc basis with no clear guidelines or developed framework. The recent Diploma in

Primary Teaching provided by Lautoka Teachers College seems to provide something for

trainees but there needs to be conscious efforts to prepare new teachers to operate in

their rural communities.

The next section will examine the selection of teachers for rural schools, their reluctance

to serve in rural areas and some of the strategies for keeping them there.

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6.4 RESEARCH QUESTION 3 TEACHERS SELECTION FOR RURAL SCHOOLS

Teacher selection generally is predominantly the responsibility of the MOE with little or

no involvement of stakeholders. Teachers usually find themselves in rural schools after

one of the following. (i) Selection after a period of teacher training; (ii) a transfer from

another school; (iii) a promotion, which involves taking up a leadership role in a school.

Hence in the next section the three education policies that govern teacher appointments,

transfers and promotions will be examined.

6.4.1 Teacher Appointment Policies

It is generally agreed that Fiji needs well-motivated and well-prepared teachers for rural

schools. The selection of teachers to serve in rural schools seems to be done on an ad

hoc basis with no clear guidelines or selection criteria. Most teachers in this study said

that they had no idea of the measures used to select teachers to different postings. The

current focus of teacher posting seems to be on meeting the quota provided by the

Public Service Commission rather than careful consideration of individual teacher’s

strengths and weaknesses. It is common knowledge that all teacher appointments,

transfers and promotions have to be endorsed by the Public Service Commission (PSC)

the principal employer for all the governmental organisations in the country.

This study found that the appointment of teachers for rural schools rests entirely in the

hands of MOE officials. It was revealed that trainee teachers upon their first

appointment are only temporary. This provisional selection suggests that in order for

new teachers to be confirmed in their new positions they have to accept any posting

given them including in a rural school. The extract below suggests that new graduates

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are not usually given options on their very first appointment and perhaps in subsequent

appointments.

Brief Terms and Conditions on Appointment

• In the first instance you will be posted to the school location named on the letter of appointment, which accompanies these, terms and conditions. You should report in the first instance to the Head teacher at the school named.

• You will be liable to be transferred at any time to any school or any branch or department of the Public Service within the Fiji Islands during your employment in the Public Service.

MOE (1998). The apparent neglect of teachers’ views on their postings is perhaps understandable

given the expectation that civil servants should be willing to serve anywhere. As the

Acting Principal Education Officer (Primary) explains; “one of the most important

questions in the interview was – If you are given an opportunity to teach, are you willing

to serve in any school in the country?”

The appointment of new graduates from the teacher training institutions seems to

depend on factors such as sponsorship and individual performance. Lautoka Teachers

College, students are sponsored by the government through the Public Service

Commission’s cost-sharing scheme. A bond agreement requires students to partially

reimburse government’s money once they gain employment. Corpus Christi students

are in a slightly different situation as the principal explained:

The situation in Corpus Christi Training College is determined by the Catholic Education Board office. So at the end of every year when student graduate we send them two lists (Catholic Education Office & MOE). The Catholic Education Office usually offers student teachers positions in Catholic schools and the MOE will select teachers who have PSC scholarships.

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The principal brought up an interesting point in that from his experience, students who

have PSC scholarships are usually the ones with academic merit only based on

standardized examinations, and many tend to lack other important skills and attitudes.

He suggested that if they had a say in postings, then they will use their own broader

criteria and other students with more than just high grades, priority in postings.

Given the increasing demands on teachers, it is important for the authorities to carefully

consider teachers’ choices so that they are able to work in a conducive and positive

environment. Another very important issue in relation to teacher recruitment and

retention is the stereotype of rural schools. One teacher recalled that during his training

period he was always warned (by other students) that those teachers who have problems

with discipline would be posted to outlying islands as a form of punishment. An

informant who was posted to an outlying island on his first appointment said that when

he was at teachers’ college he had discipline problems and was always reminded that he

would be posted to a far-flung school for that. There were incidences of teachers being

transferred to rural areas for discipline reasons.

The view that being posted to a rural school is a punishment for wrongdoings or

incompetence was quite prevalent among some teachers and education officials. Rural

and isolated communities are the real victims of these urban-centric attitudes. This

means that some teachers are often alienated from the professional help that they need

to strengthen their performance and improve their work.

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6.4.2 Teacher Transfers

Teacher transfer is another issue that is related to teacher recruitment and retention.

Transfers occur either upon request by teachers on personal grounds or initiated by the

MOE because of a need expressed. Transfer costs are subsidised by the MOE in the

form of a transfer allowance ($150:00 for single teachers and $300:00 for married

teachers). Travel costs are also met by the MOE. There is also a disturbance allowance if

a transfer occurs in the middle of the academic year although this is usually applicable

only after a teacher has served three years. All teachers may apply for a transfer.

Another issue that emerged during talanoa sessions was the mismatch between policy

and practice. Teachers reported that some education officials target young teachers in

their first three years of teaching for transfers because they have no entitlement to a

transfer allowance making the transfer less costly for the MOE. Such transfers

sometimes result in teachers’ apparent lack of interest in their new school, as it was not

their choice. A teacher at Ono District School had highlighted this, saying that:

First of all the strategy (that) is being employed by the SEO is just to make sure that all the allocated places are filled; that there are no complaints received from the respective school to Headquarters. They do not bother about the quality or competency of the teacher (that) being sent out to rural schools.

Another teacher expressed her concern about transferring teachers because they had

problems, rather than trying to address the problem. She that:

In the case of Ms X, she has a black mark in her record from the previous school. So the (MOE) office thought that by transferring her to a different school, it would solve her (absenteeism) problem but instead she continued doing those things. So her transfer was like a band-aid solution to a problem.

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She was referring to a young female teacher who was transferred to a school in the

middle of the year to a remote district school after some discipline problems (mainly

absenteeism). She has since resigned.

An informant from Ono District School thought that it was the education system that

was the problem when it came to teacher transfers, and suggested that teachers should

be allowed to have a say in where they work. However another teacher from Va Primary

School on the other hand suggested that teachers should be selected for an area that

s/he knows and understand. A participant agreed with this by stating that:

It is really difficult to have a policy that governs teacher’s selection because the education system is too strong and we cannot control it. But I would really encourage the idea that the teachers have a say in their postings so that they can be counted when they get to their new school.

It was clear from teachers’ comments that if more teachers were consulted in their

transfer or appointment process they will be more committed to their schools. Some

teacher participants in this study said that they had made several attempts to be

transferred to other areas, mainly urban ones.

Members of school management seemed indifferent to the teacher selection process and

had few suggestions about improving it. The chair of the school management of Va

Primary School maintained that it was important for teachers to have professional

attitudes to their work, irrespective of whether they were new or not. On the other hand

many community members were quite comfortable with the presence of new graduates

in their respective schools. They realised that graduates take time to develop their career

in a new school environment and some just need more experience. However, many

believed that if new teachers have a professional attitude to their work then adjusting

would not be a problem. It was important however for all teachers to understand that

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they were role models who will have a lot of impact upon students.

6.4.3 Teacher Promotion

Another reason for teacher transfer is related to promotions. It is commonly

understood by teachers that an attraction of rural schools has to do with improved

chances of promotion although there is currently no special recognition of rural service.

In the Minimum Qualification Requirements (MQR) restructured under the 1993 Job

Evaluation Report (JER), potential candidates for ED6A (one of the middle level

positions) posts are required to “have completed 3 years rural service or a superior

assessment in the past three years”. This ‘superior assessment’ has tended to replace the

rural service requirement making it redundant.

Consequently teachers may and often do apply for higher-level posts without having

served in a rural area thus making rural service even more unattractive to teachers.

Finally maintenance of good relations with the school community is an important

consideration in teacher selection. From my experience teaching in rural areas this

consideration in the teacher selection process is often ignored to the detriment of the

school. Internal bickering amongst some teachers often creates tensions in the

community and makes cooperation between school and community difficult to achieve.

In advocating for the involvement of the school committee in teacher selection, a School

Manager argues, “when we involve everyone then there can be commitment - if there is

no involvement, then there is no commitment”, thus reflecting Nandlal’s (2002) view

that stakeholders must contribute to school policy. School management needs to be

consulted in the appointment of head teachers or acting head teachers even though this

is a matter for the MOE Stakeholder participation in teacher recruitment and selection

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should be based on mutual respect and consensus.

6.4.4 Summary

This section has addressed the question of –how teachers were selected for rural service.

It has dealt with issues of teacher appointment, transfers and promotions and a number

of key issues relating to these were raised. These include the one-sidedness of teacher

selection to posts; the lack of consideration of teachers’ wishes in relation to postings to

rural schools; loopholes in the teacher transfers and promotions; and the unattractive

nature of working in rural areas compared to urban areas.

6.5 RESEARCH QUESTION 4

WHY ARE TEACHERS RELUCTANT TO SERVE IN RURAL SCHOOLS? Many teachers were reluctant to serve in rural schools for several reasons, including

geographic isolation, poor and difficult living and working conditions, heavy workloads,

poor infrastructure, lack of resources to meet demands of students and school, limited

support from communities and other stakeholders, lack of incentives, and indifferent

leadership.

6.5.1 Rurality: A Spatial Disadvantage

Geographical location can be an advantage as well as a disadvantage for people. In the

case of rural schools, it is definitely a disadvantage. Most of the challenges that face

rural dwellers basically originate from their distances from urban centres. Spatial

isolation has been highlighted in studies such as Dorovolomo (2008); Raiyawa (2007)

and Puamau (1999) to be one of the main obstacles of education in rural areas.

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According to Puamau (1999: 154), a key factor in the disparity of academic achievement

of indigenous Fijians compared to other ethnic groups is the “portrayal of spatial

disadvantage of Fijian villages, associated with distance from urban centres”. Rural

people face some insecurity due to the erratic and unreliable services they receive. Rural

schools are isolated in senses other than purely geographical.

6.5.2 Difficult Working Conditions

Rural schools are usually small in size and located in small settlements, with limited

choices in terms of shopping, transportation, and medical services with a heavy reliance

on erratic agricultural products. A number of studies (e.g. Dorovolomo, 2008; Monk,

2007; Ali, 2004; Logavatu, 2002; Likuseniuwa, 1999 & Hallein, 1985) suggest that lack

of resources is the greatest impediment to the effective delivery of the school curricula.

The three schools in this study displayed the deficiencies that are common to most rural

schools. Ono District School was slightly different from the other two being located in a

relatively more developed rural centre that was home to government agencies (such as

the P.W.D depot, Government Supplies outlet, Police Post and District Administrator).

Many teachers in the study bemoaned the lack of infrastructure and facilities that are

normally available to urban schools.

To make matters worse for some rural teachers, the old provision of school grants based

on the school roll was an injustice to rural schools. Bole (2000) had argued that fund

allocation by the government to schools should not just be based on the school roll.

Remote schools are mostly very small anyway and any assistance by the MOE based on

roll will be small compared to the (bigger) urban schools.

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6.5.3 Heavy Workload

Many teachers also expressed the need to reduce their workload an issue two main

purposes: monitoring teacher’s work and suggesting how to improve teaching. Most of

the respondents in this study express dismayed at the infrequent visits of MOE officials.

They feel that such sporadic visits tend to diminish school and teacher morale. Singh

(2007) had suggested that some education officials often endorse incomplete records,

and one head teacher was obviously dismayed and said that officials’ not sighting

documents really dampened her spirits.

A senior executive with the FTA and a former Principal of a teacher training college

shared this view and said that such isolation often prevented the Ministry officials from

making school visits for advisory and professional guidance for teachers. He said that

infrequent visits led to low motivation and a ‘hunger’ for further professional

development.

School visits by educational officials do contribute towards teachers’ professional

development. In rural areas, professional development activities are very rare anyway as

most in-service training is normally held in urban centres. This was not apparently so in

the past. Upon further analysis on logbook entries at the case study schools revealed

that colonial education inspectors’ visits were more frequent then the current

administrators. For instance, an undated entry in one of the case study schools (believed

to have been written during the colonial era), an education inspector noted that he had

been ‘on the road’ for more than a week conducting staff development in schools along

the way. This was interesting given that at that time, there were no proper roads and the

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remote, rugged terrain was accessible only by foot or by boat without modern modes of

transportation that are available to current administrators. A teacher from Ono District

School voiced his concerns about workshop venues saying that many workshops tend to

be held near district offices so rural schools were always left out Such ‘out of sight, out

of mind’ situation means that very remote schools are often neglected. With the absence

of a reliable mode of communication, workshop and/or seminar notifications are usually

sent via the post, which is often slow and unreliable. This contributes to too many delays

in sending applications which means rural teachers get left out. Such problems were

raised in a recent media report that highlighted the needs of rural schools in Naitasiri,

where teachers felt that school development had always been centered in urban areas,

with little or no emphasis on schools in remote areas (Nawaikama, 2008).

The need of teachers to have access to professional development was a major finding of

this study. Ema, a teacher from Va voiced many teachers’ opinions that workshops were

useful for widening teachers’ knowledge, saying that:

Over here I am happy with some of them who are doing their extension but for others they need to undergo some training. Even head teachers also need training and most of these leaders do not have any formal orientation to prepare them for such cases.

Baba (1985b) and Weeks (1994) had earlier suggested that the infrequent visits by

educational advisors are a challenge in rural schools. Visits are often affected by lack of

transportation, financial resources as well as human resources. Yet it is obvious that if

there were frequent visits to rural schools there might be more support from the

community and teacher morale will be boosted.

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6.5.4 Lack of Policy Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation

There are existing policies for rural education, which if implemented and reviewed

wisely will provide efficient services to and improve rural education in Fiji. These

include:

• A stipend allowance for rural schools constitutes of $11 for category 2 and $15 for category 1 remote school.

• Mandatory term of three years of rural service for all teachers before being legible for promotions.

• To have completed rural service to be eligible for in-service training scholarships provided by the state.

However, information gathered during this study indicated that some teachers in the

case study district were aware of some cases where some policies were not followed.

When implemented, there were reports of biasness and nepotism. Deficiencies in the

monitoring of some policies sometimes result in some teachers getting promoted ahead

of others as reported by this teacher who said that:

There is another criterion (for promotion) - the whom you know policy - where promotions and getting scholarships depend on how we are connected to the top people (italics added for emphasis).

Another teacher (from Lima) highlighted the case of a teacher who was a son of an

Education Officer who did not get posted to a rural school while all his fellow graduates

spent time in rural areas. This might have been regarded, as a minor transgression

similar to the wantok systems highlighted in other Melanesian countries but this is the

type of behaviour tends to dampen teachers’ confidence in the education system. A

recent study by Raiyawa (2007) on the selections of Centres of Excellence for

Affirmative Action in Fiji secondary schools highlighted the bias selection by some

MOE, of their former schools rather than more needy schools.

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6.5.5 Community Support

Communal support is an essential ingredient in attracting teachers to any school but

especially so to schools in rural areas. In rural and remote schools the main source of

support is from the local community. Likuseniuwa (1999: 250) had pointed out that “a

school is borne out of the community it serves”, and called from a more definite

structure of relations to be established between the school and its community. In

another study by Alifereti (2007: 121) it was pointed out that a “firm affiliation between

schools and the community” should be encouraged to ensure the utilization of the

knowledge base of elders in the community. Frequent communication amongst the

stakeholders is important for school management as this school manager (Semesa) said:

We have different administrations that are functioning in the rural community. For example “lotu, vanua and matanitu” all operate in the vanua and hence has to closely adhere to traditional protocols. Like we levy a soli to parents then only parents are liable to participate but if we address it to the vanua then the-would- be parents, current parents, parents of former students and traditional supporters would be likely to come and participate.

Semesa was mindful of the distinct institutions in a Fijian community – the trinity of

vanua, lotu and matanitu. For instance, a head teacher summoning parents for the

teacher-parent interview will use a newsletter or make an announcement in the school

assembly. However, to get support from the local community to clear a land for a new

school building will require yaqona to facilitate the school’s request. In traditional

contexts, the presentation of yaqona serves as a tool for fostering school-community

ties. Sometimes people say that this was vakavanua mentality. Rika (1980: 53) had

alluded to this vakavanua concept which seemed to have had an original noble

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connotation but has somehow become associated with the undisciplined use and

abusive consumption of yaqona and had taken on a somewhat negative connotation in

some communities. The benefit of the vakavanua concept to the school was highlighted

by one school chairman, who said,

All the fundraising activities or any other activity that is being levied by the school should be administered by the vanua. We have seen lately when we call parents to come and clean up of the school compound, majority of them did not turn up as they have other traditional obligations (vanua) or religious tasks (lotu) that they have to accomplish. These are things that a Fijian person will not refuse to participate in. So if the school activities are inculcated in these conventional tasks (vanua and lotu) then I strongly believe that state of affairs in the school will definitely improve.

It was obvious that for most people, serving the community and addressing the needs of

the vanua were important aspects of rural teachers’ role. In rural communities where

resources are scarce and external support limited, it is vital to obtain support from all

stakeholders. The vakavanua concept is useful to rural schools and in some places

indispensable. However, there were also some concerns regarding this as expressed by

a principal of a training institution who said that:

Involving the community is a good way of enhancing the school – community relations but it can also impede the retention of teachers in rural schools because of the obligation that comes with culture. Culture was definitely important for participants and cultural competence a desired trait in a teacher.

However, participants felt that there was a need for teachers to clearly distinguish

between the culture of the village and the requirement of the school a view expressed an

education officer who said:

Teachers are trained on certain principles that they are teachers and they should at all times maintain their standards. I know some are definitely lost in their community. For that matter the standard of teaching is also lost with it. So I think if a new teacher comes in and is well trained and

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well founded in their beliefs I do not think the community can alter that very much.

Aporosa (2006:121) in his study on the tensions created by excessive yaqona

consumption highlighted those teachers who were heavy yaqona consumers tended to

have low competency ratings. They were the ones who often arrived last, or late, to their

classes in the morning, and were also the same people who were occasionally discovered

at home sleeping when they should be teaching.

Another community related issue had to do with the lack of continuity of development

projects, attributed to the short tenure of the school management. Sometimes school

management groups tended to compete with one another to see whose tenure was best

with very little effectiveness and continuity in their work. This disjointed type of

development often negatively affects the school.

6.5.6 Lack of Incentives

A neo-classical economic theory suggests that people’s willingness to accept a particular

wage is tied to the attractiveness of the locality where the work is to be done (Monk,

2007 & Stone 2005). In highly attractive places like some urban schools, teachers will be

willing to accept lower wages with whatever conditions come with the position. Rural

schools usually provide free teachers quarters and other basic amenities like water.

However, over the years rural work has become unattractive to teachers. The

government’s rural allowance (categorized by degree of remoteness), is, according to

many participants was too low, inadequate and insignificant. Although teachers in

boarding institutions are provided with extra allowance for their supervision of students

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it is considered immaterial in light of the effort that they put in as expressed by this

teacher who said:

The responsibilities start from as early as 6:00 am to as late as 8:30 to even 9:00 pm. We even have to be on standby during the night if anyone is sick and remember these are primary school children and some of them are about six to seven years old, and they are staying away from their homes.

Boarding school teachers are provided with an additional stipend called a ‘boarding

allowance’, which ranges between $100 - $200 per term for each teacher in return for

the supervision and the extra duties that they undertake. A teacher who has been

recently posted to Lima District School considered the rural allowance inadequate and

said that $15.00 was not enough as the bus fare was about six to seven dollars one way

and he had to hire a boat which cost roughly about $80.00 for one way… a total of about

$87-90 for one way trip.

The teacher has been at Lima for about seven months. Lima is a Category 1 remote

school that entitles a teacher to an additional $11.00 per pay. Previously he was teaching

in a Category 2: very remote school with an entitlement of $15.00 per pay. Such

allowances were seen as grossly inadequate, as often there was no public transport and

teachers who wished to go to the nearest town had to hire carriers which cost about

$80-$120 - about half of a teacher’s pay in a fortnight.

Ema summed up the challenges for rural teachers and their reluctance to serve and stay

longer in rural schools. She said, “There is no use of committing to a rural service when

the incentives you get are negligible. It will be better for teachers to opt for urban

schools and enjoy the essential services that are available in the urban schools”.

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6.5.7 The Central Role of Leadership

Leadership is a central theme in any organisation. Like teachers, school principals and

head-teachers also face challenges in rural areas because teachers face professional and

social isolation in rural areas and visits from the Ministry of Education are few, they as

well as their school leaders face limited opportunities for further study or professional

development. Tavola (2000a: 173–174) reported a perception that the qualities of

leadership in rural schools were not as high as in urban schools. Most participants in

this study believed that good leadership helps in teacher retention in rural schools.

Because many teachers accept a rural posting in the hope of promotion it is important

for them to work under a good head-teacher. However, the conditions are such that

teachers do not have many opportunities for professional development and the type of

development, if any that exists must come from the head-teacher. However, even head-

teachers themselves need professional help. Mere, a head-teacher said that when she

first assumed the post of headship in a rural school it was “like being thrown into the

deep end of a pool and expected to either swim or sink” (Mere, 2007 Field notes). Good

head-teachers are often difficult to find and often schools suffer because the head-

teacher is not doing his/her job. A participant suggested that the MOE should focus

more on transferring good head teachers to rural areas. He lamented that fact that his

head teacher had been in the school for nearly ten years but still there were no proper

toilets for students; no proper tap water and no ‘anything’. His remark’s was in line with

the suggestion by Cokanasiga (1996) about effective leadership as an ingredient of

quality education. However, Raiyawa (2007: 178) is sympathetic of school leaders

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saying, “the issue over improvement of infrastructure is beyond the Principal’s decision

making role because of the external pressure the school is subjected to”.

Another teacher reported that education officers’ ignorance of their work had dampened

their spirits. Singh (2007: 99) in his exploratory study of the work of Primary School

Assistant Headships in Fiji discovered that “Education Officers actually signed

incomplete documents”. Endorsements denote that records have been sighted and

checked and are correct and complete in all respects.

6.5.8 Summary

Teacher reluctance to serve in and stay in rural schools may be attributed to many

factors caused mainly by geographical isolation which in turn has resulted in other

problems including include poor working conditions, lack of resources to meet teaching

demands and expectations, lack of opportunities for further professional development,

difficult community-school relations, and lack of good leadership. These factors were

evident in the study schools and experienced in different ways by the participants in this

study.

The next section will addresses the last research question about strategies for retain

quality teachers in rural schools.

6.6 RESEARCH QUESTION 5

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO RETAIN TEACHERS IN RURAL SCHOOLS? In earlier sections it was apparent that many teachers, for various reasons, are not

attracted to working in rural schools. Once they get there, however, it is important to

keep them there. Teacher satisfaction in their work is pivotal in their retention in rural

schools. Strategies need to be developed so that quality teachers remain in rural areas.

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In this study various suggestions emanated from the participants on strategies to retain

teachers in rural primary schools in Fiji.

6.6.1 Improved Working Conditions

Working conditions and salaries are important determinants of teacher supply

(Hanushek & Rivkin, 2007). To a large extent these depend very much on infrastructure,

and even a modest improvement can make a big difference (Tavola, 2000a: 172).

Members of school managements are also aware of the need to improve teachers’

working conditions as expressed by a chairperson who said:

First of all we have to improve their quarters so that they’re up to a standard. This would be their home for the duration of their stay here. Regardless of whatever type of house they are given it should be well maintained and also have the necessary amenities.

However, when further questioned about how the school management will accomplish

this development he simply replied – veivuke - referring to educational aid. A Fiji Rural

Education Programme (FREP) is currently being implemented but there needs to be

caution in using external aid as other authors have warned about their conditionalities

and the difficulties faced by those who were not fortunate to be part of the project

(Raiyawa 2007; Puamau 2005b, 2005c & Sanga 2005). The three schools in the case

study did not have proper documentation such as strategic plans, which are normally a

requirement in many aid projects. There appeared to be a lack of consultation with

community people also in the formulation of new policies. One member of a school

committee suggested that the ‘inner circle’ usually formulate policy and there was

minimal stakeholder involvement.

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Writers such as Ram 2009; Puamau; 2005b & Sanga 2005 have warned about the

“unsustainable effects of aid and how many projects tend to alienate many people

because they do not own the process nor the content of aid, (Pene, et. al, 2002:2).

Involvement often meant ownership and as the chairperson of Va Primary said, “if there

is no involvement there is no commitment” Furthermore, better infrastructure is usually

needed to implement educational aid projects. A newspaper article had highlighted a

visit to one of the study schools by government officials to place 10 computers at the

school but due to the lack of regular power supply they had to find a generator on their

own. He further added that his school could get another 30 computers in the beginning

of the new term but these will be useless without electricity (Singh, 2008). This is a clear

case of development where the principle stakeholders were not involved in the planning

or implementation of educational development (see also Ram, 2009).

One way of improving working and living conditions of rural teachers is through

genuine involvement of local communities in the administration of the school. As

mentioned earlier, the vakavanua concept could be used to enlist more communal

support. An initial suggestion given by a participant will be to name the different school

‘houses’ after things that are meaningful to the local community rather than after

different trees and birds that do not make sense to the community. Houses are the

bases for fund raising activities and it was thought that if they were named after local

mataqali, yavusa or vanua people might have a sense of ownership of them and could

rally towards their improvement and maintenance. It could further go to the extent of

allocating the teachers quarters to the vanua for their maintenance. These respective

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stakeholders can have the naming rights of the quarters as synonymous with indigenous

Fijians households.

6.6.2 Incentives for Rural Service

One of the intentions of this study was to generate possible and viable strategies for

attracting to and retaining teachers in rural schools. An obvious suggestion had to do

with increasing teachers’ salaries and benefits to teachers who are willing to work in

hard-to-staff schools. Many participants felt that additional allowances will make rural

schools attractive especially new teachers.

Providing financial incentives require money that the MOE does not have. However, as

Weeks (1994: 24) suggests: “with the best will in the world, even committed people

respond to a carrot or two rather than a stick”. In this case it is the carrot that will do the

trick and not the stick. However, the incentives, if provided, should be reasonable and

based on the rurality of the schools. The Blueprint for Affirmative Action on Fijian

Education had suggested “two increments [could] be added to the salaries of rural and

island teachers which become permanent after a tour,” (MOE, 2001b: 32). However, this

plan of action was never implemented due to the military takeover of 5th December

2006.

6.6.3 Policy Appraisal and Monitoring

While it has been acknowledged that increasing financial inducements are a way of

enticing teachers to remote schools, rural education policies play a pivotal role in

facilitating better recruitment of teachers to rural schools. This study suggests a need for

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a more stringent monitoring of the existing rural education policies so that they are

implemented for the benefit of everyone.

Another possibility was to re-visit the definition of a rural school. The current definition

identifies a rural school as an institution that is at least 10 kilometers from an urban

centre. A school along the coral coast of western Viti Levu, for example, which is being

serviced by regular transport, electricity, water, health and telephone services, may be

classified as a remote school (category 2) with another school along the Natewa Bay

coast in Vanua Levu that is plagued by boggy roads, an irregular transport system and

inefficient essential services. The difficulties that are faced by the teachers in these two

schools are quite different as the school on Viti Levu is more advantaged, being situated

in a tourism areas where parent usually earn regular incomes and tourism stakeholders

often assist the local community. The current classification of rural schools definitely

places schools in the outlying islands at a greater disadvantage.

The current formula of determining school grants from the school roll is considered

recaltariat and obsolete as urban schools continue to receive substantial amounts whilst

rural schools have to make-do with whatever is being allocated to them. The Interim

Minister for Education, Mr. Filipe Bole had elaborated that “this disparities have

resulted in a wide gap between student performance in the rural and urban schools”

(“Education gap identified,” 2009).

6.6.4 Professional Development and Growth

Lack of opportunities for professional development was a major drawback for rural

service and a common concern of teachers participating in this study. The need for

teachers to ‘refresh’ their knowledge was a concern of an official of the FTU, who said

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that, “As things keep changing and teachers need to attend in-service training so that

when they go back to their schools they have new ideas, otherwise they are be stuck with

the same knowledge of the same class for 10 – 20 years” (2007 Field notes). These

trainings could be planned at the district level with teachers identifying their

weaknesses and training.

Education officers should also try to visit rural schools more often. Velayutham (1994:

77) had argued that regular visits would enable education officers to grapple with the

realities of distance. During the course of their work they should also be able to try to

gauge the perceptions of teachers rather than singularly making decisions, as that

seemed too authoritarian for teachers. The MOE should also try to ensure that teachers

did not remain for too long in a particular community as Tavola (2000a: 174) had

warned as that meant that some teachers stand to “lose their professional focus”.

6.6.5 Professional Opportunities

Rural teachers do not often get study leave or scholarships. If they want to pursue

further study then they have to do so without salary. While teachers in urban areas have

access to programs offered by higher education institutions, rural teachers do not,

unless they can travel to university centres, such as those in Suva, Lautoka or Labasa. If

rural teachers need to pursue further studies they almost always need scholarships to do

this full time, a point raised by the FTU official interviewed. Since there is no level

playing field because of the vast differences in economic situations in favour of

metropolitan schools, there must be special considerations given to rural teachers when

it comes to selection for professional development, and scholarships for further studies.

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6.6.6 Improved Stakeholders Links

Effective dialogue with stakeholders is an important ingredient in the good functioning

of any organisation. For rural schools, their remoteness and isolation are real

impediments to effective dialogue. A head-teacher emphasized this need by saying that

if effective communication could be maintained amongst the three stakeholders –

teachers, MOE officers and community members – he did not see why it would be a

problem to service in rural schools. Head Teachers of course are responsible for keeping

many of the communication networks alive, although this is not an easy task given the

internal bickering amongst teachers that often result in strained relations and lack of

morale. Rural teachers according to the head teacher need to understand stakeholder

relationships and ensure good collegial and working environments. Fullan (1993) had

maintained that the quality and nature of leadership has always been seen as vital to the

success of any change initiative. School leadership in the form of the head teacher is

vital to enabling good links among teachers, MOE officials and the school community.

The Assistant Head Teacher of Va Primary School agreed saying that:

If we have good leadership in schools then teachers would be happy to stay. In some schools we just want to run away because the type of leadership that is being exercised discourages participation and teamwork.

Good leadership is important for other things as well, such as professional development

of teachers. As Fullan and Hargreaves (1992: 10) noted, the “professional isolation of

teachers limits access to new ideas and better solutions, drives stress inward to fester

and accumulate, fails to recognise and praise success, and permits incompetence to exist

and persist to the detriment of pupils, colleagues and the teachers themselves”. It is

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during these trying times that the essence of leadership is appraised, as they need to

negotiate between various stakeholders.

In relation to school community relations and how that might be improved the need for

teachers to understand the local culture cannot be overemphasised. Participants often

mentioned the use of aspects of local cultures to garner more assistance to improve the

conditions of schools. A former chairman of Va Primary School had earlier highlighted

the importance of cultural interactions. If someone summons the vanua then the

community members will come; the school and religious organisation lack that social

character to command such conviction.

6.7 Summary

This section had discussed some possible strategies that could be put in place in order to

improve teachers’ working conditions and make rural schools more attractive to

teachers so that they can stay longer. Improved infrastructure, more and better

incentives for rural teachers, increased opportunities for professional development and

better stakeholder relations were some of the things participants had mentioned. In

terms of posting teachers to rural schools there seemed to be a great need for more

consultation between the MOE and the teachers concerned, as well as with the school

leadership. This will ensure ownership of the parties concerned and may lead to

improved commitments on the part of teachers who are teaching in rural schools.

Professional development is a huge concern of rural teachers and if they are to improve

their professional knowledge they must be given more opportunities to learn. Head

teachers have a vital role to play in this area although they too need professional

development as well.

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The next chapter will make some suggestions as to what needs to be done given the

main findings of this study. It will also consider some of the implications of such

suggestions before finally drawing some conclusions.

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7.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Any piece of legislation is the outcome of the thinking of the people living under a set of conditions at a particular time. As time

changes, condition change as does people’s thinking (Bhagirathi 1970: 5).

7.1 Introduction

This final chapter summarises the findings of the research and makes recommendations

for future actions based on them. It also considers some of the implications of the

recommendations for various stakeholders.

7.2 How do stakeholders define quality teachers?

Research Question 1

There was no general agreement among respondents about a definition of quality

teachers’. The MOE officials, as expected, maintained a more functionalist approach by

espousing a more outcomes - focused view of teachers as professionals, and encouraging

compliance to rules and regulations perceived as contributing to classroom continuity,

stability leading to expected good learning outcomes – in other words, maintaining the

status quo.

Among teacher respondents however, a quality teacher was one that was should have a

good moral foundations and whose work was not confined to facilitating children’s

learning within the four walls of the classroom. Most of them viewed attitudes (56%) as

the essences of a quality teacher over skills (35%) and knowledge (6%) (Table 5.1). For

this research, the term quality teacher had to do with continuous developmental

enactment of knowledge, skills and attitudinal domains for the teaching – learning

process (see Tuckman (1995: 127-128) who had a similar view when defining effective

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teachers as “those whose students learn and grow the most”). Many teachers in the case

study schools believed that quality teachers are not only those who make their students

pass with excellent marks but those who instill life skills values that will be essential for

their later life. It is acknowledged here that it is a utopian ideal and that it is almost

impossible find such teachers but perhaps this is what rural schools need.

7.3 How are teachers prepared for rural schools? Research Question 2

The older cohorts of teachers had highlighted a certain missing dimension in the

training programs of colleges when preparing them for rural service. Respondents

indicated that there was a need for an element of cultural awareness of schools and their

cultural contexts in the teacher education programmes. Previous studies had also

emphasized the inclusion of cultural studies in the teacher education curriculum (see

Tuinamuana, 2002, Nabobo, 2000b & Thaman, 1999b). Teacher education in Fiji has

had a major input from external aid and consultants over the recent past, particularly at

the Lautoka Teachers College. In the case of Corpus Christi Teachers College, the

institution has managed to utilise the scarcity of their resources to try and prepare

teachers for rural world of work. It was obvious that much more is being attempted by

both institutions to prepare trainees for rural service although the sustainability of aid-

related programs is questionable at this stage.

There was also a clear indication that no systematic induction program was provided by

MOE on new teachers including rural teachers. Logavatu (2002) had recommended

having an induction programs for all new teachers to assist them in their new career.

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More recently Tokalauvere (2008) had highly recommended a mentoring and peer

coaching program for new teachers in order to improve Fijian education. With the

absence of induction or orientation programmes, new teachers have to learn along the

way, which has been explained by a study respondent as “either you swim or sink”. The

presence of micro politics in the schools also hinders many teachers’ adaptation to the

school and local cultures. A teachers’ induction program would be good for ushering in

new teachers into their roles especially in rural areas. The age-old practice of va’asolo

and va’amenemenei (pampering teachers with food crops and traditional gifts) to the

teachers in the three study schools seemed to be waning hence some teachers’ were

rather feeling neglected. The local community should also have a role in making the

teachers ‘feel at home’.

7.4 How are teachers selected for rural schools? Research Question 3

Teacher selections for rural schools are governed by three main policies; initial

appointments, transfers and promotions. The initial appointment policies requests

teachers to nominate schools for preferred postings but this hardly eventuates. Policy

implementation (especially the mandatory three years term) seems to be selective and

biased as some teachers still managed to avoid rural postings because they apparently

have influence among Senior Education officials. Most teachers in the case study

believed this to be the case and they seemed helpless to do anything about it their

morale and willingness to serve in rural schools often diminishing with time. Many out

that the MOE employs a quick-fix strategy aimed at filling quota allocation for the

number of teachers in a school often ignoring individual teachers’ needs. Many believed

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that more stakeholders need to be included in decision making. Some of the members of

the school management felt that they were passed over in some key decisions that had

initially required their ‘genuine participation’. Suggestions put forward by them

included one for the MOE to review appointments, transfers and teacher promotions on

a case-by-case basis with wider consultations with interested stakeholders. A special

feature of rural service is the ability of some teachers to move to more senior posts

compared to those in urban schools. However, the very lengthy process associated with

promotions tends to diminish teachers’ desire to apply and many therefore would think

twice before agreeing to be posted to rural schools.

7.5 Why are teachers reluctant to serve in rural schools?

Research Question 4

The geographic disadvantage of rural schools was considered by most participants to be

a major reason for many teachers’ reluctance to serve in rural schools. Teachers in the

case studies continuously highlighted the deplorable working/living conditions that they

were constantly faced with. There were also concerns about the general lack of support

from the MOE for teachers in rural and remote schools. Community support was also

minimal in the three rural schools adding to teacher’s frustrations. With the heavy

workload faced by all teachers in the three case schools, many felt that their efforts were

not reasonably rewarded nor recognized by the MOE or the local community. Incentives

received seem to be inadequate and insignificant given the transportation difficulties of

and other needs of teachers in rural schools. Teachers themselves often paid for the

extra costs from their own pockets, making rural service an even heavier burden on

them.

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The “out of sight and out of mind” adage rings true for the rural schools as the teacher’s

in the case study schools complained about infrequent visits by Ministry’s officials, with

visits only occurring when there was a problem in the schools. Many viewed such visits

as fault finding rather than for any desire for further teacher development purposes.

Many teachers also felt that despite the mandatory rural service which they had to go

through, some well-connected teachers managed to avoid this policy, remaining in

urban schools, thus adding insult to injury for their rural counterparts. Head teachers

did not seem to offer much support either, with many teachers reporting lack of support

from their bosses and attributing this to a lack of proper training for their role in

advocating for rural teachers’ advancement.

7.6 Strategies for retaining quality teachers in rural schools:

Research Question 5

Most study participants agreed with the need to improve rural school infrastructure in

order to make rural schools more attractive to teachers. The MOE should try to

benchmark resources allocation to schools in order to ensure that rural schools have the

basic level of facilities needed by rural teachers. This might be achieved by redefining

rural school classification and providing necessary remuneration to reflect the dramatic

increase in fuels and transportation costs for rural areas. Rural teachers should also be

rightly rewarded perhaps by introducing policies that recognise their efforts and

commitment towards rural school improvement. Such policies could see them being

allocated more scholarships to further their studies and accruing more points for

promotions. These rural education policies must be seen to be implemented fairly and

should be continuously monitored so that more teachers would benefit from it rather

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than just the fortunate few. Community relations were also seen as needing

improvement and a major contributor to teachers’ staying in rural service. Well

established community-school relationships such as – vakavanua must be further

utilized to help keep teachers in rural schools.

Another way of retaining teachers in rural schools was associated with the need for their

active participation in the decision making process relating to postings and transfer

processes. New graduates said that they were not against rural postings but wanted a

say in which rural school they should serve at. Many also felt that if they were given

priority for in-service training status that this would be an incentive for them to

continue to serve in rural schools.

It would seem that three themes emerged from the study relating to the need to attract

quality teachers and then retain them in rural areas: addressing the geographic

isolation; improving educational policies that favour rural service; and improving

school-community relations to support teachers’ work.

7.7 Dilemmas of Isolation

It is an undeniable fact that rural education is clearly at a distinct disadvantage. With

more than half of Fiji’s primary schools being classified as ‘rural’ and with most serving

indigenous Fijian students, this should be a major concern for all stakeholders involved.

People working in these schools daily face geographic and social isolation, deplorable

working conditions, lack of training opportunities and neglect by staff of the MOE.

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The absence of opportunities for professional development was seen as a major

drawback for rural service. Most teachers who were appointed to positions of

responsibility reported a ‘baptism of fire’ or ‘sink or swim’ syndrome. Training

opportunities seemed to be ad hoc relying heavily on external funding, resources and

availability of time. The recent establishment of the Professional Development Unit

(PDU) within the Ministry of Education was seen as a welcome gesture in addressing

this issue but accessibility of such programs by rural teachers was a concern. Many

teachers in the case study schools saw school leaders as having a pivotal role in the

maintenance of schools and an important link between teachers and the school

community. The often fragmented and disjointed approach by some head teachers was

seen as a major disadvantage to serving in rural schools. Singh (2007) highlights this

issue in his study of assistant headships in primary schools where they were seen as a

hindrance to effective education delivery.

This apparent lack of professional growth among primary school leaders tend to have a

trickle-down effect on teachers, and many teachers in the study felt that this tended to

result in their low morale and lack of direction. The study has found a low number of

awards being offered to primary school teachers compared to the total available on offer,

something that contributed to the alienation felt by rural teachers. Those teachers in the

case study schools who were undergoing further studies paid for their studies despite

the odds being stacked against them in taking such initiatives.

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7.8 Policy Ambiguities

Policy documents that were examined highlighted a deficiency in meeting the needs of

rural teachers. There also seemed to be a mismatch between policy and practice. At the

outset, there seems to be an uncertainty about the characteristics of a quality teacher

given different stakeholders’ interpretations. Nevertheless this study establishes a view

that quality teachers are those that continue to pursue improvement in their knowledge,

skills and attitudes for improving the teaching – learning process. This definition

reflects Glatthorn and Fox (1996: 1) description of learning as the “comprehensive

growth-development in knowledge, skills and attitudes”.

A policy that needs to be re-examined relates to the categorization and remuneration of

rural schools. MOE’s classification of rural schools into only two categories seems

archaic given the realities of rural communities. Hence teachers find it discouraging to

serve and in the end are not valued or recognised by the MOE. The current definition

seems to discredit teachers who are in ‘real’ rural schools and experiencing the

distinctive realities of remote communities, whilst there are other schools, which are

rural in definition but well developed in reality and within the reach of established

communities and transport networks. The proposed classification mimics a more

realistic and a multi-tiered index that distinguishes the distinctiveness of rural life.

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Whilst this study has been limited to three schools in a particular district it nevertheless

still proposes a multi-tiered rural definition that has been articulated below;

Table 7.1: Proposed Rural Classification.

Classification Type

Area Constituents Merits

Schedule 1 All schools within the cities of Suva and Lautoka, the towns of Ba, Lami, Nadi, Sigatoka, Tavua, Nausori and Nasinu and the areas on the island of Viti Levu within a radius of 5 kilometres from any post offices situated at Korovou, Navua or Rakiraki.

No merit points.

Schedule 2 Any school on the island of Viti Levu located within 1 kilometer from any public road except an area mentioned in Schedule 1.

1 merit point.

Schedule 3 Any school on the island of Viti Levu not mentioned in Schedule 1 or 2.

2 merit points.

Schedule 4 Schools within the towns of Labasa, Savusavu and Levuka and the areas on the island of Taveuni within a radius of 10 kilometers from the Post Office at Waiyevo.

1 merit point.

Schedule 5 All schools on the island of Taveuni not mentioned in Schedule 4.

3 merit points.

Schedule 6 All schools on the islands of Vanua Levu and Ovalau located within 1 kilometer from any public road except the towns of Labasa, Savusavu and Levuka.

3 merit points.

Schedule 7 Any school on the islands of Vanua Levu and Ovalau not mentioned in Schedule 4 or 6.

4 merit points.

Schedule 8 All schools in the Fiji Islands except the islands of Ovalau, Taveuni, Vanua Levu and Viti Levu.

5 merit points.

Adapted and modified from PIB (2007).

The schedule has been adapted and re-modified from the Prices and Incomes Board

Counter-Inflation Order (2007) on their price control for various retail outlets in the

country. The adoption of this schedule is not only relevant but also appropriate for

teachers in rural schools as they are also end consumers of the items that are being sold

in these various outlets where they take the ‘full brunt’ of the inflated prices in their

respective communities. Therefore it would be appropriate that corresponding

remuneration follows along a similar vein.

It is proposed that Schedules 1, 3 and 4 are considered urban or semi-urban schools

whilst rural categories apply to Schedules 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 who have varying degree of

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ruralness. Under this new classification all rural and very remote schools in Viti Levu

would be categorized under Schedule 2 as they still maintain an advantage over rural

schools in Vanua Levu and other outlying islands because of their accessibility over dry

land to the main administration centre in the country which is Suva. Teachers in other

parts of the country have to rely on boat or air services to get access to the main

administration center. It has been with the best intention of the study not to belittle the

rural classifications of schools in Viti Levu but with the exception of a minority few, they

clearly maintain their advantage over the Vanua Levu and other outlying islands. Whilst

there has not been any designated amount being assigned to this classification, it would

be in the best interest if the proposed rural allowance could begin with a similar amount

of $11:00 per fortnight for the least rural schools and henceforth.

Teacher selection policy for rural school was also a problem and was seen as too vague

for rural teachers. Postings to rural schools seem to be at the mere discretion of MOE

officials. Furthermore, the multi-tiered promotion process, was seen as time consuming

and frustrating by many teachers, and worked towards diminishing their willingness to

opt for rural posts. The general secretary of the Fijian Teachers Association had stated in

a Fiji Times report of December, 15, 2006 that about “15 per cent of teachers work for

years in difficult locations without being confirmed in positions of responsibilities”

(Nawaikama, 2008). Finally, the continuing perceptions that some teachers are treated

better than others by MOE officials cannot be ignored. The ‘whom you know’ policy,

mentioned many times by respondents need to be addressed and laid to rest so that all

teachers can benefit from MOE policies. Having the right connections should not

feature at all in where teachers are sent, their transfers, or their promotions.

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7.9 School-Community Relations

The role of the community in rural schools especially in relation to teacher retention was

also a recurring theme in this study. As the custodians of school development, it seemed

surprising that support was often ignored and/or not sought. School-community

communication breakdown was often mentioned by respondents and perhaps this was a

major reason for the type of sporadic development that was a feature of the three rural

schools. These communities were deeply loyal to the vanua, something which the

schools seemed to have failed to capitalize on. Community participation in school

matters remained passive. Degei (2007: 99) had shown that the “the vanua … cannot be

removed from the indigenous understanding of Fijian identity and, for Methodists; the

church is part of the vanua identity”. If the education system can emulate this

vakavanua concept to enlist support from the community then it will be unquestionably

a worthwhile venture. Srebrnik (2002: 202) too had noted reported a senior military

officer comment’s about Fijian soldier’s loyalties being first to his land or vanua, then to

God, and only finally to his government”. Indigenous communities often revere the ‘kaci

ni vanua’ (dignified call of the land) when referring to their traditional obligations,

which is a priority for them. If rural schools can capitalize on this cultural capital, where

efficient and transparent communication is being transformed into the local culture and

vice versa, and the loyalty of the community lies in the vanua version of schools then,

positive development might be achieved. However, cautionary concerns about some

negative aspects of culture in the schools such as overindulgences in yaqona drinking

may be in should be noted as well.

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7.10 Some Recommendations

The following recommendations are related to the main findings of this study. These

have been identified in the sections, which also reveal something of the realities faced by

rural schools. The first recommendation relate to the teacher education curriculum

which needs to be more focused on training quality teachers with the appropriate values

as well as knowledge and skills of the profession. This can only be achieved through

improved relations between training institutions and school communities. There is very

little to no communication between schools and the main teacher training college (with

the exception of those involved in teacher practicum). MOE can no longer rely on the

interview question “If you are given an opportunity to teach, are you willing to serve in

any school in the country?” to provide them with some indication of a teacher’s

preparedness for rural service. They must try to diligently and practically work out ways

of preparing them for the real world of work especially in rural areas.

Secondly, given the diversity of rural issues and problems faced by teachers, there needs

to be a redefinition of the current rural classification which seems to discredit teachers

who are in ‘real’ rural schools and experiencing the harsh realities of remote

communities, at the same time there are other ‘rural’ schools, which are rural in

definition only but are well developed and have good community and transport

networks. A more realistic classification needs to be established such a multi-tiered

index of rural schools be developed taking into account the distinctiveness of rural life.

Thirdly, it suggested that there is a need for rural education policies to be enhanced and

effectively monitored in order to ensure improved service to disadvantaged

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communities. Furthermore, it suggested that new graduates should be posted to rural

schools in their first postings but they should given the opportunity to choose which

rural district they are comfortable to serve at. It is acknowledged that this is generally

the current policy but in practice the policy has been widely viewed by teachers as

existing in theory only as many young graduates have managed to avoid rural service.

Once new graduates have served their mandatory term in a rural school they then can be

allowed to move to urban centres. This will also give all rural teachers the chance to

apply to be transferred to urban schools, which are again seen by some teachers as

possible only for the privileged few who have the right connections in the MOE. A

further possibility is to use a point system that recognises the efforts of rural teachers.

The proposed system should take into account the rural category, with schools in the

distant maritime division accruing the maximum points, and this decreasing towards

the main urban areas. The accumulated points should be taken into consideration when

teachers apply for new posts, transfers and in-service awards. However, teachers can

only accumulate points during their first five years in a school.

Fourthly, the study found the urgent need for the MOE to re-establish regular contacts

with rural schools. It is proposed here that MOE officials should attempt to make at

least one school visit per term in order to ensure that rural school practitioners are well

supported and their activities fairly documented. In some instances the MOE officials at

the district level might be encouraged to organize professional development sessions in

the schools or by utilizing well-established clusters and their activities, such as district

union meetings or local sports organizations.

170

Fifthly, it is recommended that school administrations should adopt a more consultative

approach to the running of rural schools. All school stakeholders need to participate in

school development as this would give them a sense of ownership of the school and may

provide sustainability and continuity that would benefit the school in the long-term.

Lastly, it has been recognized that a strong community forms a strong foundation for

rural schools. The findings of this research highlight the need for an effective school-

community relationship. For rural schools located in Fijian villages, it is recommended

that the school utilise the cultural capital of the vanua to garner more support for

schools and teachers, from the host community. This may help better facilitate effective

communication between the school and its host community thus helping reduce

misunderstanding between many stakeholders.

7.11 Implications of Findings

This study has highlighted the challenges faced by many rural teachers. Their remote

location in rural areas has resulted in social, intellectual and psychological isolation that

often tend to impede their delivery of quality education for rural students. It is of utmost

importance to have education policies that are well suited for rural practice in order to

ensure effectiveness and efficiency in rural schools. The assumption that current policies

will address the needs of all teachers, including rural teachers is inadequate for several

reasons. Firstly, the current administrative structure does not sufficiently encourage

rural education districts to be proactive in teacher selection and development. It seems

to have a ‘maintaining the status quo’ type of management and most of the decisions are

171

referred to the central office in Suva, which appears far removed from the realities of

rural schools.

Secondly, the implementation of current policies seems to be selective and biased in

nature, which calls into question the integrity and the accountability of the

administrators. Essential ingredients in good governance and ethical leadership include

effective implementation and monitoring; it is irresponsible to make sweeping policy

changes without adequate consultation with stakeholders and later finding out policies

are not being effectively implemented and/or monitored.

Thirdly, there seems to be an over-reliance on external assistance for rural school

development and it seems that aid programs are unduly influencing the direction of

education in Fiji. However this may ease with aid donors’ apparent reluctance to provide

more aid to a military-led government. However, the current political tensions seem to

further complicate the problem of rural education. For the past decade the country, has

experienced four governments, with their own political interests and agendas. A classic

example of this can be found in the recent change of government. The Qarase-led

government had initiated some policy changes regarding rural education under the

affirmative action policy in 2001. However, this was abolished by the current interim

regime as it considered it to be discriminatory. Additionally the current government’s

recent freeze on all the acting allowances is just adding salt to wound as far as rural

teachers are concerned. There is therefore an urgent need for the reclassification of

rural schools and consider on a case-by-case basis, as some schools are located in some

developmental ‘blind spots’ and tend to have many more day-to-day challenges.

172

Lastly, the proposed point system should not be taken in its entirety, as there will be

other factors considered in selecting incumbents for posts and awards - such as

qualification and experience. This is necessary considering the dynamic nature of the

education system.

7.12 Further Research

The study helps to identify other areas of further research that might contribute to our

understanding of rural education and rural teachers. Research is needed to find out the

extent to which rural education has contributed to educational inequalities in Fiji.

Another area might be related to the impact of local communities on rural primary

schools, especially ensuring to continuing commitments to rural service by teachers.

Future research that looks into the challenges facing students in boarding schools,

professional development of rural teachers, and leadership training for head teachers

are also (research) possibilities.

7.13 Concluding Thoughts

For many individuals, the term ‘rural school’ evokes images of dilapidated school

buildings, with limited essential services and erratic support from rural communities.

For a long time now, teachers have tried to avoid rural postings because of the perceived

disadvantages associated with it. This study is proposing some ways of attracting and

retaining quality teachers for rural schools in Fiji. It set out to find answers to five

questions using a mixture of questionnaire surveys, participant interviews, document

analyses and literature reviews. The study findings led to a number of recommendations

173

with some policy implications. This chapter also tries to tie together the theoretical

ends that have arisen from the study and summarises the findings of the research and

identify several areas for further study.

Several issues and challenges have also been identified. The first relates to the elusive

nature of quality teacher with different perceptions from different stakeholders. There

needs to be a common understanding and framework established in order for all

relevant players to pursue.

A second issue raised related to the ambiguous nature of some education policies

associated with rural education. Some of those were appraised during the course of the

study and found to be inadequate and in fact actually work against attracting and

retaining teachers in rural schools.

Another issue related to the relationship between rural schools and their communities.

This study has highlighted the importance of community involvement in the school. The

words of a school manager in a case study school rightly summed this up when he said:

“if there is no involvement then there will be no commitment”. Rural schools must work

harder to improve relations with their communities, and one way of doing this is to

capitalize on the vanua concept.

Finally, forming coalitions with all stakeholders has also been highlighted as vital for

rural schools. Local custodians need to play a more proactive role in school development

and have ownership of their institutions. Passivity does not assist strategic development.

174

Rural schools can utilise the cultural capital of the vanua to be the springboard for real

progress and participatory development.

There is an urgent need for a realignment of all the relevant stakeholders in rural

education. With the necessary will and commitment, a lot could be achieved in this

sphere of educational service. Rural teachers have a very demanding role given that

many rural communities are often disadvantaged and depend largely on schools to help

improve their living standards by educating their children.

The authentic voices of study respondents have permeated this report. Teachers in

particular in the three schools showed a lot of commitment to teaching and to doing a

good job. However there is a lot to be done to improve their living and working

conditions and ensure that fewer request transfers to better and more accessible

schools. Therefore, it is vital for the stakeholders to get involved and be aware that their

roles will not only assist teachers but also provide a more meaningful definition to the

development of educational services in rural communities. MOE needs also to ensure

that it more closely monitors the situations of rural schools and rural teachers in order

to meet the changing demands of school communities.

7.14 Post Script

Since this study was conducted, there have been some developments in the Fiji

education scene. For example, in early 2009 the Ministry of Education has decided to

review tuition fee grant allocations to schools. The previous practice was to allocate the

grants according to the school roll which was more beneficial to urban schools as they

175

had bigger rolls. The new policy may work towards alleviating the problems faced by

rural schools.

Another new development is the decentralizing of services to the various education

divisional/district offices. This will mean that the response rate from the district

education office is expected to be swifter as decisions will no longer need to go through

various bureaucratic tapes at MOE headquarters (which can take months). It would be

an added advantage if the post processing process undergoes similar changes in order to

reduce the duration of acting appointments of rural teachers. The leadership training

conducted through the Pacific Regional Initiatives for the Delivery of Basic Education

(PRIDE) is a welcome initiative which will help address the needs of head-teachers and

help prepare new leaders for rural schools. The recent mass retirement of the older

cohorts of teachers due to the new retirement age policy decree will influence the quality

of school leadership especially in rural schools.

There has been also a call for more recognition of rural teachers in a recent editorial in a

daily newspaper (Fiji Times, 26/05/09), which indicates that the public are becoming

more aware of the plight of rural schools and rural teachers, especially teachers’ salaries.

Issues such as multi-class teaching, difficult working conditions, accessibility, lack of

access to electricity, running water, shops and the modern ‘comforts’ of televisions,

newspapers and internet which this study has highlighted seems to have caught the

attention of the public. It is heartening to know that one is not alone and that more

people are beginning to be concerned about providing solutions to one of Fiji’s main

176

educational problem – that of recruiting and retaining quality teachers especially for

rural communities.

177

Rural Education

teachers shy away

they consider me obstinate politicians exploit me

i consider them ‘considerate’

however this is short lived

once in power i can be thrown out with relative ease

ages pass by

but we hear the same echoes resonating amongst the walls

what can we do? to help the rural folks

it has been often deliberated

developments are widespread foreign aids poured in with strings attached

policy and practice seem to be isolated

far removed needs re-negotiation

tulou to the vanua

for your past passive role now I realize

you will be my next goal

please leaders hear my call

to improve rural education let the people get involved

au vura!!!

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APPENDICES�

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Appendix A1 Request for Approval from MOE. P.O Box 11170, Laucala Beach Estate, Suva. 30/05/07. The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Marela House, Suva. Request for Approval to Research. I had just been granted approval for research by the School of Education Research and

Postgraduate Committee at the University of the South Pacific (USP) and would like to

request your permission to carry out the study with a selected group of schools in the

country. The research is a requirement for the Masters of Arts program (majoring in

Education), which I am currently pursuing at USP. Under the professional guidance of

the Professor of Education & Culture Dr. Konaiholeva Thaman who is my supervisor, I

am currently studying on a full-time basis, with the sponsorship from the Ministry of

Fijian Affairs.

The topic of my research is titled, “Developing and Retaining Quality Teachers in Rural

Fiji Primary Schools.”

The schools selected are;

• Ono District School.

• Va Primary School.

• Lima District School.

All the above primary schools are in the _______ Education District, in the ____

Division.

In addition to the above, I would also request for an approval from your office to collate

information from the respective officers and departments within the ministry

concerning the relevant policies in my topic of study. This would ensure that I have a

validated and reliable data for my study.

Some of the subjects mentioned above that I would like to visit are;

• Education District Office,

• Primary Section (Quality House),

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• Primary Teachers Training Institutions (LTC, FTC and CCTC).

The research aims to highlight some of the issues that could be strengthened to retain

the required quota of teachers to serve in rural areas. Furthermore it would also dwell

on how to develop quality practitioners in rural areas to offset the rural-urban drift by

suggesting programs that would enlighten the rural teachers.

Please find attached is a copy of proposal approval of study from the School of

Education at the University of the South Pacific.

Anticipating for a favourable response from your highly dignified office.

Thanking your organisation for the services rendered so far.

Sincerely,

__________________

Ruveni Tuimavana.

[Research Student]

(TPF: 66952)

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Appendix A2 Request for Approval from School Heads. P.O Box 11170, Laucala Beach Estate, Suva. 29/06/07. _____________________ _____________________ _____________________ Dear Sir/Madam, I am currently conducting research for my Masters research titled “Developing and

Retaining Quality Teachers in Rural Fiji Primary Schools,” at the University of the South

Pacific. I would like to seek your approval to carry out the research in your school.

The research would initially consists of questionnaires being given to the teachers in

your school and then carrying out interviews and talanoa session with individuals to

elicit out what they have been trying to suggest in their responded questionnaires.

Journals would also be distributed amongst your participants to capture perceptions or

issues during the period of study. Observations would also be employed to gain further

insight on the teacher’s views. Discussions would also be held with the management

committees on their views of how to retain quality teachers in their respective schools.

You are assured that complete confidentiality of the data gathered in this investigation.

Only my supervisor (Professor Konai Thaman) and I will see the raw data. Identity of

teachers, students and the school community will not be made public.

This particular research of mine is important for the following reasons;

It may assist in identifying ways of developing and retaining teachers in rural schools.

The study may indirectly help in bridging the gap between rural and urban education.

It could also indicate potential areas of further research and inform policies and

decision making for improving education services in rural schools.

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I will be happy to discuss any concerns you may have about your teachers’ participating

in the project. I can either be contacted by telephone on either of the following numbers.

3600480 (Business) or 9335840 (Cellular).

Your acceptance to my request is very much appreciated. I am looking forward to your

favourable response and consideration in taking part in this project.

Thank you,

Yours faithfully,

___________________

Ruveni Tuimavana

Please indicate with a tick in the box provided below whether or not you accept

my request to conduct my field study at your school during my visit. Tear off this part,

place it in the prepaid envelope provided and drop it in the nearest postal agency around

your area.

I accept your field research to be conducted

at my school.

I do not accept your field study to be conducted at my school.

Vina’a Va’alevu

Name: _______________________

SIGNATURE: __________________ Date: ________

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Appendix A3 Consent Forms. After Mr. Tuimavana explained the project to me, I understand what his study was about. On the basis, I agree to participate in the project. I agree that: He can observe me in my carrying out of normal duties and responsibilities. Yes/No He can interview me during the course of the study. Yes/No My interviews will be audio recorded. Yes/No I understand that I am free to stop participating in his project for any reason at any time. I also understand that I will be given the chance to listen to my interview replay. At that time, I can change or withdraw any comments I might have made during my interview. I consent to the result of the project being written up by Mr. Tuimavana with the understanding that the data collected will be confidential and anonymity will be preserved. Name: ______________________________ Signed: ______________________________ Date: _________ Contact Address: _______________________ Signed by Researcher: ____________________ Date: _________

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Instrumentation

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Appendix B1 Teacher Questionnaires. Dear Colleague, I am conducting a study on “Developing and Retaining Quality Teachers in Rural Fiji Primary Schools,” as part of my Masters of Arts (Education) research at the University of the South Pacific. Your school is one of the selected schools to participate in this very important study. The findings of this project will try to highlight some of the challenges that are being faced in rural schools. Enclosed with this mailing, you will find a brief questionnaire and a postage-paid return envelope. Please take a few moments to complete the questionnaire and return it to the address on the enclosed envelope. As a rural schoolteacher, your insights and experiences are crucial to helping me gain a better understanding of teacher development and retention strategies, successes, and needs in a typical rural Fiji school. Your participation in this project is voluntary and should involve no risks to you that are greater than those you encounter every day. All information gathered through this survey will be reported at the aggregate level; at no time and in no way will your name be associated with the data. However, due to distinct characteristics of the schools and the limited number of schools in the area it would still be possible to link the schools to the respective district. The research has also been approved by the Permanent Secretary of Education (Reference number: EDP 66952) and has also been endorsed by the Education Office. The data will be stored in secure locations until the results of the research have been fully reported; only my supervisor (Professor Konai Thaman) and I will have access to the data. As part of the research ethics credibility which being recently promoted by the University of the South Pacific, I would take considerable effort in taking reasonable precautions to protect the confidentiality of your survey responses. Again, I hope you will invest a few moments to complete and return the enclosed questionnaire. If you have any questions or concerns about this project, please feel free to contact me on my cellular phone (9335840) home (3600480/8208101) or e-mail address: tuimavana_ruveni@yahoo.com Thank you for your time and participation in this important project! Sincerely, Ruveni Tuimavana (Research Student).

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TEACHERS QUESTIONNAIRE

Background Information

Please complete the following details about yourself by filling in appropriate boxes:

Q1 Sex Male Female Q2 Age years

Q3 Marital Status Single Married

Q4 Ethnic Group Fijians Indo-Fijians Others

Q5 Number of Years in the Present School.

0-3 yrs 4-7 yrs 8-10 yrs more than 10 yrs

Q6 What is your current status of appointment?

Confirmed Temporary

Q7 Teacher Training Institution (Pre-service).

CCTC FTC LTC NTC

Q8 Qualification Attained

Certificate Diploma Bachelors Professional Degrees

Teacher Education

Q9 Is this school was your particular choice? Yes No

Q9a How did you get posted to the present school? (Please tick only one response)

Interested in coming as my spouse/I was from the area.

MOE only gave me this school/I applied for transfer.

I was interested in experiencing rural life.

Logistical/promotion reasons.

Spousal Posting

Q9b In your pre-service teacher education, did the system prepare you for the

rural life world of work?

Yes No

Teacher Professional Development

External training – organised at district, divisional, national and international levels.

Internal training – organised at school level, which may include staff developments and team

meetings.

Q10a How often do you go for external in-service trainings?

Once per week. Once per fortnight.

Once per month. Once per term.

Once per year. None at all.

Q10b How effective do these trainings have assisted you in coping with your work in

OFFICIAL USE ID Entry:�

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rural schools?

Effective Ineffective

Q10c Are you currently or have been enrolled in any in-service training

programmes (courses) offered by professional service providers? (E.g. USP,

FIT, TPAF, etc).

Yes No

Q10d How do you rate these trainings in assisting you in terms coping with your

work in rural schools?

Effective Moderate Ineffective

Q10e In the internal trainings done in the school, how do you rate these staff

development sessions to assist you in the daily challenges in schools?

Effective Moderate Ineffective

Q10f Please write down in order of importance 5 words to describe your views of quality teachers.

i.

ii.

iii.

iv.

v.

Education Policies Q11a Is the policy concerning teachers to teach in a rural schools for at least for a term of three years before being legible for promotion is always adhered to? Yes No Q11b Do you suggest that there should be changes in the policy? Yes No Leadership Attributes (H/T’s, Asst H/T’s, E/T’s, MOE officials and etc).

Q12a In your role as rural teachers do you think that school leaders receive

adequate training to equip them with the challenges that they face in the

school?

Yes No

Q12b Do you suggest that leaders should be given more training to assist them in

the challenges they face in rural and remote schools?

Yes No

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School Management (Committee, School Boards). Q13a In your role as a rural teacher do school committee in your school provide a

supportive part?

Yes No

Q13b Do you suggest that school management should be given more training to

improve their services?

Yes No

Remuneration (Salaries and allowances) Q14a In, which schedule as stated below is your category of rural allowance?

Remote Very Remote

Q14b Is the current rate of your respective category adequate for your travelling

expenses?

Yes No

Q14c Does your school cater for boarding students?

Yes (go to d – e) No (go to 15)

Q14d Do these additional responsibilities have an impact on you being a teacher

in a rural school?

Yes No

Q14e What is the incentives rate that is received in a term?

$100 - $199 $200 - $299

$300 - $399 $400 - $499

$500 - $599 more than $600

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Q15 The following list includes some factors that people think are important in working

in rural schools. We want to know how important they are to you. Please fill in one

box for each item on the list:

Attitude is more “relax”

High potential savings

Confirmation in post/civil service

Opportunity to help others

Near home village -include spouse

Need to experience rural life

It was the MOE’s initiative

Low class roll

Q16 Please write down 5 words to describe your feelings about rural experience.

i.

ii.

iii.

iv.

v.

Not at allimportant

Of some importance

Very important

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Q17 Please consider the following statements and fill in the appropriate box to show

how much you agree or disagree with them:

Most rural teachers work very hard

Rural experience is more enticing than urban life

It is vital to go to rural areas for promotions

Culture is influential in the teachers’ lives

Rural policies should change

Change multi-class teaching to singular classes.

School management needs to look at ways to

retain teachers.

Safe environment.

Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree

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Q18a Please rate the extent to which your school lies on each of the following strategies

for retaining teachers.

i. Instituting formal induction programs for new teachers.

ii. Offering formal mentoring support programs for new

teachers.

iii. Offering other support for teachers (e.g. administrative

support).

iv. Offering incentives for staying past a certain period (e.g.

5 years).

v. Creating a positive school culture.

vi. Providing the best possible conditions.

vii. Using technology to for mentoring and professional

development.

viii. Involving communities to welcome or support new

teachers.

ix. Investing in leadership development/shared leaderships

throughout school.

x. Offering increased salaries or raises.

xi. Offering improved benefits.

xii. Providing professional development opportunities.

Q18b Place in order of importance three of the above that you view is in immediate need

of addressing in order to retain teachers?

1)

2)

3)

Not at all Some A great deal

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Q19 Do you consider yourself to be teaching in a rural school in the next five years?

Yes (go to a.) No (go to b.)

a. Choose one of the following reasons that would best suit your reasons of your

remaining in a rural school?

I enjoy rural lifestyle.

I would be promoted/confirmed easily in my appointment.

Getting a transfer is bothersome.

With my current appointment it would difficult to find an urban school.

Satisfaction with salary and benefits.

Support from parents and community.

b. Choose one of the following reasons that would best suit your reasons of moving to an

urban school?

Personal or family reasons (e.g. children attending secondary school

urban area).

I want to up-grade my qualification hence the move to an urban centre.

Medical reasons.

Low/uncompetitive remuneration.

Geographic isolation.

School environment and culture.

Working conditions (e.g. multi-class, poor resources).

Q20 What is the most important issue that puts you off in teaching in rural areas?

Q21 If you are willing to take part in a short interview about your rural experience

please fill in the following details here:

Name:

Address:

Signature: Date:

Any information you provide is completely confidential. Please use the attached envelope to return your questionnaire. VINA’A VA’ALEVU…

/ /07

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Appendix B2 Interview Schedule for the Selected Stakeholders. DEFINITION OF QUALITY TEACHERS

• How do you define quality teachers?

• What are some of the characteristics of a quality teacher?

• Is this definition of quality teachers similar to that of the MOE, community and other

stakeholders?

TEACHERS PREPAREDNESS TO TEACH IN RURAL SCHOOLS.

• Do you have formal induction/mentoring programs for new teachers?

• Can you think of training programs that could help teachers prepare for rural posting?

• Aspects that training to be focussed on?

REASONS FOR TEACHERS RELUCTANCE TO SERVE IN RURAL AREAS.

• What do you think are the reasons for teacher’s reluctance to serve in rural schools?

• Please list and discuss four to five reasons on teacher’s reluctance to serve in rural areas?

SELECTION OF TEACHERS TO SERVE IN RURAL SCHOOLS.

• How does the MOE post teachers into rural schools?

• What are some of the criteria?

• Do you have any suggestions on selection strategies that should be adopted by the MOE?

STRATEGIES TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN QUALITY TEACHERS.

• As a teacher what is your view on how can we keep teachers in rural schools?

• Can you suggest some further incentives that could retain teachers in rural schools?

CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS

• Do you think the local culture of the community have an impact in your service in rural

schools?

• In what ways does it affect your work as a teacher in a rural school?

• In what ways it can further contribute to the development of teachers in rural schools.