Colonial and Postcolonial Circumstances in the Education of Pacific Peoples
Author(s)
Philips, Susan U.
Abstract
A historical dialectic exists between colonial powers and indigenous populations in the Pacific, where education is perceived by local elites and colonialists as the key to economic development. A major factor determining the nature of the present-day relation between traditional and Western forms of schooling is the actual colonial status of the population in question. In newly independent nations, indigenous forms of internal social differentiation and highly valued intellectual traditions play a significant role in shaping educational systems in a way they no longer do for peoples who have been incorporated into colonizing nations.
