teacher preparedness, the Teacher Development SSE discusses how to
improve in-service and pre-service teacher education, and raise the status of
the teaching profession in the islands.
There is a substantial body of research internationally which affirms that
quality education is not possible without quality teaching. Teachers are
at the heart of every education system, and plans and strategies for the
initial preparation and on-going professional development of teachers
are central elements of the process and dynamic of achieving goals and
targets relating to quality, access and equity in education (Pacific Islands
Forum Secretariat, 2008, p. 13).The PEDF also specifies the need to improve and increase school leadership
training as well as to challenge ‘colonial mind-sets’ in teacher education and
to develop and encourage what it calls ‘Pacific pedagogies’.
In line with regional policy directives, the Fiji Ministry of Education’s vision is
‘quality education for change, peace and progress’. Its mission is to ‘provide a
holistic, inclusive, responsive and empowering education system that enables
all children to realize their full potential, appreciate fully their inheritance, take
pride in their national and cultural identity and contribute fully to sustainable
national development’ (Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts, 2013, p. 1).
The most recent development in education policy in Fiji is the second
edition of the National Curriculum Framework (NCF). Recognizing the
changing and diverse learning needs of students in the twenty-first century,
the NCF prescribes a ‘social constructivist approach which emphasizes the
importance of culture and social context for cognitive development’ (Ministry
of Education, Heritage and Arts, 2013, p. 14).
According to the NCF, curriculum content and classroom pedagogy should
be guided by three core principles: social constructivism, Delors’ pillars of
education, and cultural influences. The social constructivism pillar particularly
informs the kinds of pedagogical practice desired in Fiji. Figure 1 summarizes
the principles adhered to in the NCF.